Snowboarding in Italy : 2

With the Thai team coach.

Still trying with the snowboarding thing... after my ill-advised attempt to do a red I return to the small blue run, where I do at least have the pleasure of meeting some Thai people - the Thai youth olympic ski team and their coaches no less, doing some last minute training.  They are I think a little surprised to find an English guy here who can speak Thai (a bit)... good luck to them in the competition, given Thailand is entirely without snow the country doesn't have much of a winter sports pedigree!  Still they are going faster than I am, although I do think I'm progressing, actual linking of turns is happening now, so, on the last day here it seems like a plan to drive over and meet up with Dan and family again at another part of the area, Antagnod, where my cancelled hotel was in fact.

There is another small blue here which I do OK on, then they lead me up to the top of a longer blue, this should be good practice, well the top half of it is at least.  But then, the lower half turns out to be an utter nightmare, a long, narrow, flat section which I'm practically unable to get through... I'm simply not able to control the board while moving at low speed in a straight line, and turning at low speed is hard, I keep falling over.  Worse, even if I do manage one turn the result is inevitably that I am heading towards the side of the run, a snow bank on one side and a drop on the other, in theory this requires another quick turn to correct but I can't do that, so I just fall over again.  And of course there are several sections where the snow is so flat I can't move forward at all, so I have to unstrap the stupid plank from my feet and walk... after finally getting through this ordeal I head straight to a nearby bar to revive my spirits with beer.

Well, I'm not giving up, we abandon Antagnod, and drive through Champoluc to another nearby village, Frachey, where we get an excellent lunch at least.  There is a blue here for me to get my snowboard mojo back on, and then for my last run of the week I try another red, and this time it goes surprisingly well.  There are some moguls at the top, and I find I'm able to plow through them on the board pretty easily, then quite a lot of decent turn linking happens, and I even get on OK with a relatively flat and narrow bit at the bottom.  I think that a little bit more slope helps, it is simply easier to do the fast turns if I'm moving a bit, but also I do really think I am finally starting to get the hang of this... of course now it is time to go home!  Well, after a convivial evening involving sneaking into the rather posh sauna and spa bit of Dan's hotel, and then a fine meal of course.

I think I earned a beer or two this week.

This was an interesting week then.  It's definitely worthwhile for me to be able to properly join in with the family, with all of us on boards.  I'm still unconvinced this is in any way better than skiing... there are some good things about it I guess, I certainly get the impression that going through deep snow, be it fresh powder on the piste or off-piste action, is easier and more fun on a board.  The business of jumping about and trying to break your legs in the snow parks is probably easier on a board too, you won't have your legs trying to go separate ways while you are in the air, and also you are already used to going 'backwards' so the most basic 'turn about in the air jump' is probably a bit easier to grasp.  Not sure I'm going to be trying any of that mind you.  But anyway... mostly fun, would do again, a bit of a shame about all that driving though.

Photos to go with this post can be found here.

Snowboarding in Italy : 1

The baby slope on which I spent my first day.

Wow, long time no blog entry, I am so lazy.  Well, I can't say I have done anything very exciting this Autumn, some time back in Tenerife and then in Thailand again.  Still, something a bit different now - yes, more snow sports, but this time I am trying something new, learning to snowboard in fact!  It seemed like a thing to do, my brother and all his family 'board, and I have grown a bit tired of waiting for them on my skis while they faff about with bindings and so forth.  So, can you teach an old dog new tricks?  We shall see...

The circumstances aren't exactly perfect for this - we've come at New Year, to the Aosta Valley in Italy, Dan has a hotel in Champoluc but sadly my nearby hotel cancelled on me, and the best replacement I could find was the other side of a mountain, or something like eighty minutes by road.  We do have a hire car but the long drive on mountain roads to meet up on the first morning isn't ideal preparation for my initial attempt at snowboarding.  Dan has very kindly offered to coach me on the nursery slopes, obviously I respond by getting somewhat frustrated with the stupid plank strapped to my feet and yelling at him.  Yes, I can appreciate that one of my feet (the left one apparently) is the 'front', but can't you just call it my left foot?  I can manage to slide down the hill well enough, but the thing doesn't feel at all under control and I'm really not sure about turning.  Maybe I will improve over the course of the week?

With the board.

Well, the next morning I do indeed start to get the idea of turning, maybe enough to try a blue slope?  This proves doable although I do fall over a lot... at least this is my 'local' area, Staffal, so only a twenty minute drive, and it is accessible from Champoluc via various runs and lifts so Dan and family are able to join me for lunch.  Food is good here at least, we are in Italy after all, we consume much pasta and pizza.  In the evening I find a bar which again does pizza, but on several nights they provide me with so many plates of tasty little snacks that I don't bother to order anything - except several beers anyway.

I grow bored with the single blue run I've been doing, but this resort is really not learner-friendly, there is a longer blue higher up which I manage OK, but the only way up from it is a chairlift leading to a really tricky steep, narrow bit that I don't enjoy at all, so I decide to head back down.  I have a choice of returning on the gondola or taking a red, well, how hard can the red be?  Not a great idea it turns out, particularly as I take a wrong turn and end up on a very steep bit, which I have to slowly come down on the edge of my board, and then a combination of board and bottom!  I do very few turns, still don't really have the hang of this at all... I have a pretty nasty fall too, travelling at quite a speed I flip over and smack onto my front, my goggles in a jacket pocket take much of the force and transfer it to my ribs, ouch.  Nothing to do but get up and keep going of course.

Photos to go with this post can be found here.