It's been a while...

So it's been a while since we blogged and that is because it was Ian's turn and he has been spending all his time mucking around on Movie Maker instead.  We'll let him off though, as he made this...

Weather

I guess the sentence "So, it snowed again..." is getting a little dull - but it did.  At the end of January we had a few days of manic snowfall with about a foot falling overnight and then more moderate dustings for about four days.

Also, the the temperatures have dropped dramatically over the past week or so, reaching as low as -23℃!  Fortunately our apartment is like toast as are the chalets so we only have to brave the cold for fifteen minutes whilst we get to and from work!  Unless we go out snowboarding (which I didn't for about a week!).  The good thing is that it keeps the snow in good condition and gives great light to the scenery so mustn't complain really.

The French Life

Part of the reason why we came out here was to experience a different way of life.  We've certainly achieved that in terms of a 'work-life' balance, but are we really living the life of a French local?  Well I guess working a season in a ski resort is probably not the place to get that experience.  For a start, any spare time we do have between working and sleeping is spent out on the slopes.  We occasionally go out for a meal or a drink and attempt to practice our French but we generally have English spoken back to us (must work on that accent).  I suppose all the French locals who are living here in La Plagne (the lifties, pisteurs, shopkeepers etc) have that same life, so maybe we have achieved it.  But it would be nice to visit the markets, have time to drive to other towns and see other places... a French summer holiday then!!  We haven't met as many people as I thought we would have - although that is 100% down to our lameness at the night scene... on one of the two nights we went out for drinks we met a guy called Baptiste who said that ski seasons are the place to socialise and meet loads of crazy people from all over the place.  We see Baptiste around La Plagne at least once a week and have a little chat, so maybe if we'd had more than two nights out, we'd have met more people like Baptiste to talk to!  It's just that at the end of a long day, the duvet is so much more appealing!!

Geek Speak

I have a new snowboard (Nitro Cheryl Maas, 2011) and have been spending time getting used to that for the past week.  For anyone not interested in talk about snowboard gear, you may want to skip this section!!!  My old board (Omatic Disco, 2011), being a flat rocker, is a great board for whizzing all around the mountain and doing all crazy stuff and trying out new things in the park, off piste etc., and because of the rocker shape it is pretty difficult to catch an edge, therefore giving tonnes of confidence for throwing yourself into things.  However, despite being able to see all the little jibs and kickers and hips on the pistes as "do-able", has it made me a better rider?  Since being on my new board (a traditional camber, albeit less aggressive) I have found that actually it has just made me a lazy rider.  With the Omatic it doesn't really matter if you get stuck into a turn properly, or come out of 180's at a full 180, or lands jumps nice and straight - the rockered edges just let you spin out and keep going on your merry way.  Not so with a camber!  It requires much more concentration, effort and commitment into what you're doing - even on the flats I need to keep more of an eye on what I'm doing, rather than checking out the scenery (the razor sharp 'straight from the factory' edges probably don't help though).  The Cheryl Maas is also a Pro model, so whilst it is marketed as being 'soft flex' you kinda need the legs of a pro boarder to really feel that flex!  Once or twice I've managed to get the pop just at the right time on a jump or an ollie and if you can managed to get all your energy into the board then it really does give a lot back!  I'll be spending most of my time in the park over the next few weeks (it is primarily a freestyle board) so once I'm used to straight-lining down to the jumps and have the nerve to really get the pop going off the top, then maybe there will be some video footage to share with you all!  For now, a picture of the sweet artwork...

I've also ordered new bindings - Rome Strut - so will give a wee rundown on those once they arrive.

Geek speak over.

Other stuff

As we are nearing the halfway point of our season (boohoo!) we are starting to think about what to do afterwards. The general idea is that we'll spend 3 or 4 weeks travelling across Europe with our end destination being Holland at the end of May for the Elfsteden.  In terms of a 'plan' that's as far as we've got!  We've talked about maybe going all the way across the Black Sea and taking a left to head up to Holland so we'll probably get a map pinned up on the wall and start to draw ourselves a route.  We'll keep you posted with any developments there!

Okay, well that's about all for now - it's our day off and the sun is shining so we're heading out pretty soon.  The GoPro will be packed and ready for action in preparation for some more video action!

Ciao for now!

November signing out...