Sport
Skiing like an acrobat
I broke my skis today. Well, actually I just ripped the binding off, so I’m sure they can be fixed. I was skiing in Le Tour, off piste in the mist. I thought ‘ooh, I’d better cut out of this section before I hit the gully’ BANG! I hit the vertical wall of he gully [...]
epic
There’s a word skiers use to describe days like today. epic. It’s when the weather, the snow and timing conspires to make it the most perfect day on the mountain. Some epic days turn up when you’re not expecting it, and some you can tell are in the post and all you have to do [...]
Is the snow REALLY that good in the alps?
I’ve been asked this question a few times this week by friends in the UK and here on the continent. The answer is yes. It really is. It dumped for days and days, and now the sun has come out and the temperature’s dropped. It almost seems that there’s more snow now, before we’ve even [...]
We’re going in
The season has started in earnest now. Blessed with one of the best early snowfalls anyone can remember, there’s powder to be had and the lifts are opening. I’ve been up the mountain both days this weekend. Yesterday inadvisedly skiing with a bunch of snowboarding numb-skulls . As usual skiing with snowboarders means blindly launching [...]
There is snow. And you’ll find me there.
I found out today that the lifts open properly on Saturday. After the weekend I can ski on the grande montets without skinning up the bloody Pierre A Ric. Which I did today. I tell a lie. I skinned up half of it and skied down. It’s just so tiring going up hill!
So what to [...]
Home.
Finally back in Chamonix, the death-sport capital of the world, and it really does feel like home. Everything seems to be still standing and more or less intact. Hilariously the road my van was parked on was re-tarmacked at some point over the past 3 months & not being able to move it, they simply [...]
Get On Board
Over the last couple of months I’ve been helping out with preparing the launch of a new online magazine title for the US called ‘Onboard’. It’s a snowboarding mag, and it’s one of the first titles to really get the hang of Ceros, the publishing platform we’ve built here at FMG. The publishers, Factory Media [...]
Coupe Du Monde D’Escalade (Climbing World Cup)
I was blown away watching the climbing world championships here in Chamonix last night (Coupe du monde d’escalade). I’ve never seen competitive climbing before and it’s a seriously watchable sport. Last night was the speed climbing finals. Basically two climbers go head to head on a massive, specially built artificial wall. Both climbers start with [...]
Shrinking Balls
My great friend Phil and I have taken trips together since we were kids. At school we surfed together, after school we’ve travelled, skied and hung out in bling spots all over the world, but for a while our sporting interests diverged a little. Phil spent a lot of time in South America mountaineering while [...]
Sundays. Then and now
What did I do with my Sundays when I lived in the smoke? Well… I might have dragged myself to some market or other, spend the afternoon in the pub if I was feeling a bit adventurous, make some dinner, play a bit of xbox and probably go to bed early with that sinking feeling [...]
