Global Warming: The death of Boarding?

As everyone knows, climate change is affecting the planet. Not only that however, it is affecting the snowboarding season. Resorts that were once blessed with inches and inches of snow, are now having to rely on bringing the snow machines out. Even the high altitiude resorts, such as Val D'Isere in France which usually have an abundance of the fluffy white stuff, are seeing the snowy season become that much shorter.
Normally, the snowy season is September to April. But this is slowly changing. Those 7 months of skiing and snowboarding over the last few years have been cut down to five months; we are beginning to see the snow melting in mid-march.
By the year 2012, the snowy season will be be reduced even further, which, inexorably will cause a frenzy of snowboard enthusiasts all trying to get to the same resorts in that small window.
So hurry and get on those slopes while you can people!

Geilo, Norway, 2004.

I went to the resort of Geilo, Norway in April 2004. I was 17 at the time, and looking forward to another week of tearing up the slopes in completely new territory.

I had grown a few more inches since I last boarded, so a longer board was necessary this time.
The array of slopes on the mountainside at Geilo is known as ‘Slaatta.’ Now, in contrast to Austria, the sun did not appear a lot. On three of the days , it snowed quite heavily.

Slaatta is more suited to the experienced snowboarder. It has four or five black runs, a plethora of reds and a variety of blues. There are only a couple of green runs.

My instructor was an insane American fellow. We started off with the basics. Our group (which consisted of me and a Scottish father and son) used the button lift to get to the top of the green slope.

As I had figured, my method was far from perfect, so the instructor gave me a few pointers and I managed to maneuver the turns without looking like a complete idiot. As the day wore on, we took the chairlift up to where the steeper runs were. There was a tricky blue run our instructor wanted us to try. I was a bit put out; I wanted a challenge, like a red or something. How stupid did I feel ten minutes later…

I picked up quite a lot of speed at the start, and the adrenaline got going until I spotted a large mogul (a mound of snow) in front of me. I was going too fast to change direction so I had no choice but to go over it. I must have caught about three feet of air before crashing to the ground. I had come out of my bindings too, so I had to move to one side and step back in.

By the time I got to the bottom of the run I must have fallen over about three times, much to my instructor’s amusement. With a bit more practice at how to do quick turns I manage to weave in and out of the moguls like a pro.

The highlight of my time snowboarding happened on the fourth day. As I was sitting on the chairlift with my instructor, he said to me, “I’m going to take you somewhere a little different this time…”
I was puzzled at this but I soon found out. He was going to take us off piste, when we got off the chairlift he said to us, “Now this isn’t strictly allowed up here, so we will have to wait until the chairlift operator isn’t looking.”

As soon as the operator looked the other way we were off- on to a field of untouched, powder snow. And we had the pleasure of being the first people to break it in. This experience still sticks with me now. The sound of my board cutting through the several inches deep snow (i couldn’t see my board, that’s how deep it was). Now, riding through powder snow is different to riding on normal. There is a method involved...

Thick powder is the best surface for trying new tricks and increasing your speed record.

It is also easier to carve turns, to control your speed, and to hold your edge when the snow is like powder.

Still, powder surfaces can be an obstacle for those who are not familiar with it.

When riding on this type of surface, it is important that you maintain speed.

If you slow down too much, you will sink in the powder and get stuck, leaving you with the job of digging yourself out.

Maintaining speed will also keep you planning on the powder surface.

To avoid your snowboard from digging into the powder, make sure to keep a slightly backward stance and your tip pointing upwards.

Due to its thick, soft layer, people tend to ride harder than they would normally do and become more reckless.

Powder can, however cover rocks, ice, tree stumps and even crevasses with a thin layer forming a trap.

Taking the above into account,it is important that you keep your eyes wide open especially when you are off piste and do not get carried away with your ride, because when you do hit a buried log or rock, it will hurt!

Kirshdorf, Austria, 2003.

Once at the snowboard hire shop, they had to determine what size board would be right for me. I was 15 years old at the time, and about 5”5 tall. As a rule of thumb, the end of the board should reach up between your chest and your chin when it is standing up next to you. The longer your board, the faster it will go.

After collecting my board I headed over to the slopes to start my first ever snowboarding lessons.

The first thing I learnt was what stance you are meant to have when riding. You are either regular or goofy. Regular is when your left foot is your front food i.e. when riding down a slope your left foot is in front. Goofy is the other way around. To determine which one you are, get someone to push you over: the foot you put out to stop yourself from falling is your front foot.

We were taken to the green slope to learn how to slip heelside down a slope. Learning to 'slip' down a slope is essential, the most rudimentary skill. After mastering that, i learnt how to 'slip' toeside, with my back facing the slope.

I was in a beginners group with four other people. Little did one of the group members know that she would not last for more than a day. That sounds sinister, I know, but it isn’t as bad as it sounds…she didn’t die or anything…

We were getting on to the t-bar, which would take us up to the top of the blue slope…t bars can take two people max…so we both got on and it started to move, dragging us forward…her board was slipping all over the place, and she couldn’t keep it in control…eventually our boards crossed over each other and we both went sprawling to the ground. I got up, dusting the snow off my coat, whilst she lay on the ground, writhing in agony and clutching her arm. She had broken it.

That was the end of her boarding holiday. One of the other girls in my group moved to the intermediate group, and the other two guys quit because they didn’t like snowboarding. So, it was just me left. My instructor was a young man called David, early twenties, weather-beaten face. So it was just him and I left; personal tutoring. It couldn’t have turned out better even if I’d paid a mercenary to break her arm with a crowbar.

The next few days passed by with a mixture of pain and excitement. I fell over countless times whilst I was learning. It’s unavoidable. If you want to learn to board you have to accept that you will fall over a lot, and yes, it will hurt.

In the week I was in Austria, the sun was out everyday. You might think this a good thing; however, snow blindness is a danger. The sun gets reflected off the snow and blinds you. I stupidly didn’t wear any sunglasses on the first day.

As the days went by I could confidently execute pendulum turns. My method was slightly bizarre-I moved my arms about in an unnecessary manner- but could do them nonetheless.

Now, getting to grips with the t bar was an ordeal. The t-bar is essentially a type of drag lift. You take one foot out of your bindings and keep the other one in. The foot you took out just rests on your board. For skiers, they are relatively easy to use, but for snowboarders (mostly men)…lets just say there is a lot of pain involved. You slide one side of the‘t’ between your legs and let it drag you along the snow and up the steep incline until you get to your destination. When you arrive, simply let go and the bar will head back down the mountain. The painful thing about them: as they drag you up the mountain, the bar pulls tight between your legs, and your *erm* groin area.

By the time the week was over, I was officially labeled a ‘level 2 snowboarder,’ which means I could: link sliding turns on easy blue terrain, learn to ride on uneven terrain and I was ready for Level 4.