Mar/090
Boss Des Bosss 2009
Boss Des Bosses day has come round again. I'm starting to feel more of a part of these seasonal milestones now I've been here for a few years. This is only the 3rd time I've seen the event, but this year marks it's 20th anniversary. For 20 years teams of seasonaires from all over the Alps have come to Chamonix to compete in a head to head moguls competition.
Last year Zermatt won. They won because they practiced and were also really good. Chamonix were second. Because they didn't practice. But they were really good. So we'll see. Either way, it's sunny, there's a BBQ & we've got a bag full of beer and wine to get through.
Tonight's parties in Chamonix mark the beginning of the end of the season
Feb/091
Bigger Better Faster Further More
It's snowing again. More powder, more skiing, more winter. Make hay while the sun shines has always been a favorite fable of mine and tomorrow is yet another powder day for us.
Today was also a powder day. It's snowing hard. Chains are going on cars and people are holing up for the snow that's in the post. Skiers are quietly slipping off to bed early without drinking too much. Being on the first benne on the GM at 8am would be special. But have you got the dedication to be there?
Whatever happens, that first bin/benne will be full. And I probably won't be far behind.
Jan/090
Ski/Work Balance
I came into this winter with a firm plan in mind. I was going to clear all my work out of the way apart from a very small portion and concentrate as closely on skiing as I can. It might be the only winter in my life that I get the chance to do this, and I want to take the opportunity. That's exactly what's been happening over the past few weeks, and I can't remember ever being happier.
Plenty of snow has meant plenty of powder days with friends on the Grande Montets, some pretty hectic crampons-wearing ascents of big mountains to access some amazing ski terrain and everything in between. I've been making ski movies with Mark Gear and met his intermediate skier group on the mountain to take a set of course pictures for All Mountain Performance.
Here's a few photos from touring in the Baron valley the other day. On a perfect sunny day we climbed straight up the face of the mountain above the top of the Damain De Balme ski area in Le Tour, over the top and into the Baron valley. It's North-Facing and so keeps the powder better. It's also so difficult to get into that we had the entire valley to ourselves, with only 8 other skiers having been down before us. Fresh powder tracks for literally miles. Bit of a James Bond 5km bush-whack out at the end to Trient in Switzerland to catch the bus back to France. Ski touring at it's best, it was a very good day.
Having friends staying for the past week has meant my office is in use as a bedroom which has further distanced me from my work. The four of us have literally been skiing all day, and playing Family Ski on the Wii in the evenings. It's all about skiing right now and I've got the tan to prove it.
Jan/090
Sick Day
Yesterday was sick. Even epic won't suffice. On a blue-sky day, the top lift opened at 10am allowing access to the un-tracked powder which had been falling on the Grande Montets for 2 days. Mark and I had 4 top lift runs through the day, plus a Lavancher for good measure. It's difficult to describe how much skiing that is, but it's 4.7 vertical miles of powder. I'm shaking with adrenaline just writing this.
Even better, we make a film. Here's the middle segment - the skiing. There are titles and plenty of advertising to come because I'm really trying to bring the quality of these films up to somewhere I can get paid to make them. I like the sound of that job. Filming from helicopters & that.
Powder Day on Grande Muir, Chamonix with All Mountain Performance Ski Courses from Chris D on Vimeo.
Jan/090
Skiing Like it's a powder day
Today's one of those perfect days. There's new snow. Soft snow, like our bruised knees have been crying out for. There's not so much of it as means avalanching is a problem. So just skiing to as many spots you can find where you can just stand on your skis, look ahead, pick your line and ski down the the whole mountain in one go.
And what's better than a powder day? One where all your mates are there too. Mark, Mattt, Pippa, Sean, and everyone. On a la banane.
Dec/080
Just epic
Of course.... I wouldn't be freediving right now. I'd rather be skiing. As a start to the season, there's really only one word to sum it up.
I helped Mark and Simon out on their course over the weekend. Things were a bit snowy, but we managed to get a decent photo of the new instructors jackets.
But Sunday was the day. The sun shone, and we skied beautifully deep powder all day. OK, so there were still quite a lot of rocks, but here's a bit of the video feedback All Mountain performance are doing thise season.
Chris Dorward, Simon Halliwell Video Feedback 7th Dec 2008 from Chris D on Vimeo.
What I'd like to do next is cut some of this footage with the footage from the actual feedback session in the bar later that day.
It was an epic start. But there were casualties. A friend of mine snowboarded into a rock with his knee and broke his patella in 5 places.