Can You Look Cool In A Ski Onesie?

Are they coming back into fashion? Or are they just for novelty and a laugh?

A Fun Tree Run Ends In A Crash

One Year Snowboard Movie Review

One Year is a snowboard movie that stands out from the crowd. Not only does it feature some amazing footage and tricks. It also features some great insight into the lives of the riders.

This snowboarding movie joins many of the other globe trotters visiting Argentina, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, California and Colorado. The scenes are captivating in their beauty and the shots are creative. If you enjoy a movie with a lot of back country footage, One Year delivers. With Dave Downing and Janna Weatherby doing some incredible lines. It also satisfies on the park front with Matt Hammer laying down some gnarly tricks. In the half pipe we see Olympic medallist Kelly Clark proving why she is one of the best female snowboarders in the world today.

 Everyone in the movie pushes their riding to the limit whilst also letting their fun sides and their enjoyment of the sport shine through. There is a fantastic section of two different Generations riding together featuring Andy Finch riding with Brock Crouch. We also get other great pairings of riders where we get to enjoy their different styles of riding, side by side.

The movie is also very honest in showing the thoughts and feelings of the riders who are very open in sharing their life stories. They are Christians with a passion for God as well as snowboarding. It is fascinating and emotional to see how God has helped and affected them in their lives.

One year has a great balance of insightfulness, snowboard action and fun. After a world tour and dvd sales the Nation Foundation movie company have decided to put the movie online for free. So that everyone can enjoy and gain something from it.

Here’s a link.

http://www.nationsfoundation.org/oneyear/

Snowboard And Ski Insurance: Remember To Check The Small Print

Snow sports offer a thrill that few other activities match. Accessible to all ages it is a unique experience but also carries a unique risk. Getting the right travel insurance for a trip was once a quick 10 minute search online. But over the years insurance companies have changed their policies making it more difficult for people to find the correct level of cover. Here are some areas of your policy to consider carefully.

When the insurance policy starts
Firstly if you’ve already left your country of residence a policy might cover you. This may be because insurance companies are worried that you are only taking it out when you need to claim. But it’s awkward for long term travellers who may decide to go snowboarding at the last minute as they travel from country to country. Or for those whose plans are last minute. There are companies who will cover you if you’ve already left the country but it requires a bit of searching.

The date you return
Unless you are able to prove you had a return ticket a lot of insurance policies wont cover the costs of repatriation. This means that if you need to get flown home for medical reasons or in the unfortunate event of death, there will be a hefty bill for you or your family. This can be difficult if you’re not sure of your travel plans and when you’re coming back. However an open return ticket can often cover you, just check with the insurance provider.

Value per item
Check the value of what your insurance will pay out for because basic cover might not pay the full value of ski equipment. Even if your skis aren’t high end you may still find yourself unreasonably short, especially after excess.

Off Piste
This is the biggest area of difference with ski insurance policies. It used to be a case where most brokers covered you off piste if you followed local guidelines and the avalanche risk level was 3 or less. These policies have become rarer with many policies insisting that you go with a qualified local guide.
This isn’t always practical or necessary as an insurance provider should know. So make sure you go with a company that covers the type of skiing or boarding you want to do on a trip. There have been cases where people were in an avalanche and the insurance hasn’t paid out because they blamed the skiers despite the fact they followed local guidelines and took precautions. So don’t be in a rush to take the first policy you see. There’s rarely any different in cost, so you can still get good value with a policy, whether they insist you ski with a guide or not.

Take your time and research the policy and insurance provider. There are a lot of companies saying they specialise in ski and snowboard insurance yet they clearly don’t understand the sport.  They can place the blame on a skier without even investigating the incident properly. If you are in any doubt about the policy details phone your insurance provider. It’s always best to go with a company which knows what it is doing and can ensure your needs are provided for.

Funny Snowboard Video: Crash then Roll then Continue Riding

 

The conditions were a little unpredictable. I did get back on to my feet though...

Snowboarding Tips: How To Still Push Yourself When Riding With Slower Friends

If your the fastest in your group you can still challenge yourself

Whether we are out for a whole season or just one week a year, snowboarding is a sport we like to enjoy with our friends. However one of the big problems to overcome is always the broad range of abilities within the group. Some may cautiously glance  at a blue run whilst others are speeding down the blacks and cruising off piste. Snowboarding has a big advantage over skiing as you don’t have to be an advanced rider to mix up your style on the easy slopes .There are loads of simple tricks to  learn even if you’re an intermediate rider. These will slow your ride down yet keep it fun and exhilarating. Why wait around? Get the most out of each run.

Jibbing
Twists, butters, ollies, nollies, 180s, these all add some fun variety to the ride and a gentle slope is a perfect place to practice. As your friends learn to link turns you can learn new tricks leaving everyone stoked with the progression achieved at the end of the day.

Film your friends
Filming someone whilst you are both moving is a challenge for any rider. Not only do you have to ride smoothly, you also have to keep your friends in shot. Looking back over the footage will help a beginner see where they need to improve. It also improves the camera mans riding as they have to be very precise with each movement and understand the terrain through feel as well as sight. Seeing yourself ride is a joy and it will be greatly encouraging to beginners.
Find some tips on filming in my Article

Snowball fight
A running snow fight with other advanced friends will slow you down and will be a good laugh at the same time. Just keep an eye out for other slope users.

Practice Switch
Switch riding is a crucial skill to learn for anyone wanting to progress with tricks and this is the perfect time to learn. It will take you back to the basics and can help you to explain the techniques to friends who are learning. One of the hardest things to do is stick with riding switch when you know you can ride so much better regularly. But if you are with slower friends then there is plenty of time to practice. It’s extremely satisfying when you can start carving down runs riding switch.
If you can learn and improve along with the beginners then each run will be satisfying and fun. When you want to push yourself there are still plenty of opportunities to go and do your own thing.



 

Copyright © Nathan Groves http://wondersandparodies.blogspot.com/
This Work Is Not To Be Reproduced With Out Permission.

Snowboard Review: Santa Cruz Allstar 20th Anniversary Edition

Riding conditions
I rode the Allstar over 7 days so I was able to take it all over there mountain and see how it handled both ice and powder. It is a 158 ridden with K2 auto bindings and my position was set one back from centre.

Design
The Anniversary edition has a simple but stylish design which is only fully appreciated
 close up. It is easy to customise with your own stickers and the red stands out nicely.

Flex
A medium to stiff flex.

Riding the Pisted runs
The board felt fast on the slope with the new sintered base having a definite advantage over the extruded bases of previous years. It felt quick going edge to edge and was stiff enough to be stable at high speeds. The addition of dampening in the sidewalls under the bindings helped the board to be a bit forgiving on rough terrain as well. The board was also easy to hold through long carves and it popped well from one turn to another.

Riding Powder
The longer nose helps to keep the board afloat but didn’t make it too hard to ride switch through the powder. I was able to cruise comfortably with the board feeling light and easy to make turns. There are plenty of holes to set the bindings even further back, but I still found my almost central stance ok.

Riding on ice
The edge hold did well for some really icy conditions; I only really lost the edge on the steepest parts of the slope.

Riding Switch
Despite being a directional board it still felt easy riding switch with a bit of an adjustment as it rides differently. But the difference is only slight.

Jibbing/Pop
The board poped well on both the nose and the tail as it’s a twin flex board. It felt solid on landings but being on the stiff side wasn’t the easiest board to butter.

Overall impression
The board felt responsive and steady wherever I took it. The pop is good but the board will not be the best for those wanting to concentrate solely on the park. I found the Santa Cruz Allstar great fun to ride. It was good for speed on the piste but I was never hesitant in going down off piste powder runs or going through the trees. It is a fun all mountain board, which I believe it is great value for its low cost.

Cutting Through The Crud: Picking A New Snow Board

Some of the crazy claims manufacturers have made over the years.

Deciding on a new snowboard is not easy. With so many a snowboard manufacturer describing themselves as the forerunner of snowboard technology and style. Excellent! You think now all you have to do is decide how much you can justify spending. Whilst you think about this you may as well look at the other snowboard manufacturing losers. Wait a minute! The first line you see on their page is “From our early pioneering days we have pushed snowboarding to ever greater levels.”

Eh? All advertisers have a certain artistic licence with there claims but no one can match a snowboard company in there claims at being the best.

Firstly I’ll mention the more down to earth and modest sites.

Palmer

Santa Cruz

Forum

Never Summer

Ride

Rome

Atomic

These are some actual claims from the least modest websites.

K2

Podium

 “The best board for the buck anywhere, the Podium is best in class combining superb technology and all terrain performance and versatility for any rider.”

Libtech

Swirl Sintered UHMW Base

A long name for a base which is described as “Slippery like banana” Great tech info guys.

Burton

By far the worst offender, but the company has come a long way since the days when they tried to patent the snowboard.

Vapour
Setting a standard that the competition can’t even fathom.

Ok…

Custom

From jumpers to jibbers, pow slashers to cruisers—this is without a doubt one board that everyone will have a blast on.

Except those who’ve been on the Vapour we assume.

Joystick

“three-stage rocker designs don’t get more turbo-charged than this”

Supermodel

“The Channel is snowboarding’s most direct connection—focusing power through a central connection spine that evenly distributes energy for added rebound and snap.”

Mayhem

Slow down. Just because the Mayhem™ is capable of supersonic speeds doesn’t mean you have to go that fast.

Faster than the Vapour and cheaper, brilliant. May as well go for the cheapest as they are all described as the best board.

Then there are statements which are just bizarre.

Balancing warp speed edge control and drive with force field stability on takes-offs and landings, (Burton website)

Those Trekkies wont be able to buy the board without some technobabble.

We even put the Deuce through our Infinite Ride™ factory break-in for perfect pop that lasts longer than you will.

So they’re saying the board will outlive me? When I’m snowboarding I really don’t want to think about my life expectancy.

Slow down. Just because the Mayhem™ is capable of supersonic speeds doesn’t mean you have to go that fast.

Don’t insult our intelligence.

To cut through the crud of snowboard boasts the best thing to do is talk to some experienced riders. There are a lot of good forums and a good shop should be able to help you. You can also look out for snowboard reviews but beware of reviews giving by snowboard pros who ride for that company.

Extreme: A Performance Poem

A poem designed to be performed as a bit of fun

Extreme
Extreme on the mountains
Extreme on the sea
Extreme on the concrete
Extreme in the breeze

Extreme speed down the mountains
Extreme snowboarders go
Extreme through rocks
Extreme carving through snow
Extreme avoidance of learners
Extreme to the trees!

Extreme being tumbled
Extreme waves of great height
Extreme freezing salt water
Extreme ride and dive
Extreme pulling of currents
Extreme something’s not right

Extreme on the road
Extreme hitting of steel
Extreme in tight places
Extreme out in the fields
Extreme dodging and jiving
Extreme adrenalin striving

Extreme flying frail kites
Extreme skidding side to side
Extreme swooping
Extreme turning
Extreme getting lots of air
Extreme landing with great care

Extreme burgers
Extreme pies
Extreme styling
Extreme clothing
Extreme lies
Extreme realise
Extreme limits

Copyright © Nathan Groves http://wondersandparodies.blogspot.com/
This Work Is Not To Be Reproduced With Out Permission.