Recon Instruments is a Vancouver (BC) based technology company that has released a micro optics display for ski/snowboard goggles.

So what the heck is that?

It took me some time to figure it out as the press release is pretty “nerdy”, but shortly said their two versions of their GPS-enabled goggles provide skiers and riders with a variety of data including speed, jump analytics, vertical, altitude, location, distance, chrono/tracker, run-counter, and temperature. This means that you can record lots of different data during your day on the slopes, and you can share all this data in the Internet. You can re-live and learn from your trips and runs, add images and video to create a highlight reel to share with other community members or with friends and family via Facebook and Twitter. Pretty cool I would say. Kids must really like this.

There’s even more. The Android-based MOD Live ships with four new, industry first applications:

• Buddy Tracking
• Smartphone Connectivity
• a Navigation app pre-loaded with the largest database of trail maps in the world
• Music Playlist Mode
• Camera Connectivity for use in the future with select wireless point-of-view action cameras.

“The transition to modular based optics allows us to expand our reach exponentially,” said Darcy Hughes, Chief Marketing Officer, Recon Instruments. “The snap-fit design, Bluetooth interaction, combined with the ever-evolving Android platform, is a game changer for the action sports industry in terms of connectivity, real-time information direct to eye, and community sharing.”

Other new features this season include a fasten-anywhere Bluetooth remote control, 33% larger widescreen optics, and an adjustable optics arm for a truly custom fit. Recon Ready goggles are already available from Uvex, Briko, Alpina, and Zeal Optics, with several more leading goggle brands scheduled to come onboard this winter and spring.

MOD and MOD Live are available now for $299 and $399.

This is a pretty good Christmas present idea. Products should be available in Amazon soon.

More Snowboarding Videos >>

Let’s start with the most important thing: Equipment.

• Avalanche Transceiver
• Shovel
• Collapsible Probe

These are the three main things you’ll need for avalanche safety. Of course you’ll need plenty of warm clothing but I’ve taken that as a given because if you choose to go up a mountain in a t-shirt and shorts then maybe you might need hypothermia to give you a kick up the backside!
You need to make sure you understand how the transceiver works. If you get caught in an avalanche this will be your main lifeline. If you think it’s a new form of Tetris you’re pretty screwed. It helps you to locate others also and you should be able to locate your victim within 3 minutes so make sure you practice.

Spend the money and get a metal shovel. Don’t fob your mates off with a plastic shovel as they’re easy to break and less reliable in moving snow. You don’t want to lose a life because of a shovel.

The collapsible pole enables you to locate a victim accurately and reduces the possibility of missing the victim when you dig them out.
It should not just but you that knows how all of this equipment works but your friends as well. It’s no good having one person out of four know how something works. Make sure you all know and you all practice.

You need to always have an escape route planned. It’s better to have one planned beforehand rather than get yourself into trouble and be left high and dry under a slab of snow. Always travel one at a time. It’s best to leave one person in a safe place and others watching the area that your run will go through as well as having some nearby. This will allow them to guide others to your location if you become buried.

If you’re unlucky enough to get caught in an avalanche there are a few things that you’ll need to do. In this intensely pressured situation you may wonder how you’ll remember it but you remember the important things when your life is on the line! First things first, get off the snow slab! This has to be done straight away. It’s hard to do but if you’ve kept to cutting across slopes on your mountain run, it will be a lot easier to do than you think. Get to where the most stable snow is by skiing to the side. If it doesn’t happen the first time, keep trying. Gain speed and keep pushing yourself. Don’t try to outrun the avalanche. This rarely ever works and by rarely I mean it’s closer to never. Some people say that it’s best to keep away from trees in an avalanche as they can break very easily. A third of avalanche victims die from trauma from hitting trees and rocks, so if you’re able to grab onto one before you pick up speed then there’s a good chance of survival. Lose the poles. They hinder your chance of ‘swimming’ out when the snow drags you down the slope.

If you do get buried, clear an air space in front of your mouth as the avalanche comes to rest. This will delay an ice mask forming and will aid your breathing. Try to push your hand up. This will act as a visual aid for your rescuers to find you much quicker (if you don’t know which way is up, take your best guess). The snow in an avalanche is akin to concrete as it sets as soon as it stops so make sure you make all important actions before it stops!

If you are going to be the rescuer in this tale there’s some important tips for you to know as well. Watch the skier. It might seem like a stupid comment but if you don’t watch them then you won’t know where they end up and getting to them will be nearly impossible. Do not go for help. Another comment that might seem stupid but is essential as the first few minutes are the most important. If you leave to get help, your friend will more than likely be dead when you return so spend a good half an hour looking for them first. Don’t stay in one place. Try to cover as much ground as quickly as possible. Turn your beacon to receive if the victim is wearing one. Get everyone else to do this and you should find them in no time.

Those are my safety tips. Some of them are more warnings than tips but they all work in the same way. Don’t let this put you off back-country or mountain skiing but let it remind you that the mountain is bigger than you and that nature does not have a problem in teaching you this lesson.

Here’s some tips from the Roxy Girls:

February 4th: The life is smiling with a couple of really good ski days behind us. Before that we had a week of pretty bad snow, rain on the mountain is not good for skiing. Now we finally had a good dump of snow, no idea about the official numbers, but definitely enough for some nice skiing. Not feeling the crust underneath and there would’ve been enough faceshots to share with my neighbors, no complaints. Life has been good otherwise also, I could move to this place. There’s some new snow in the forecast for tomorrow and the day over, but I think I’m going to concentrate on skiing and leave the camera at home. It’s such a heavy, big thing and the thought of falling on it does not appeal to me, so I find myself taking it a bit slower with the camera in my backpack. Next week should be warm so I’m probably going to visit the beach. Have to go and throw a stone into the Pacific Ocean while I’m in the hood. Here’s some photos from the last few days.

7th February. What a great day. Nearly a week of continuous snowfall and then today the sun finally came out. Yesterday we had maybe the deepest powder I’ve ever skied in my life, I managed to ski into a tree since I couldn’t see anything after getting my goggles covered by snow after a faceshot. I quickly swiped the goggles clean while skiing and the first thing I see is a tree in front of me. Nothing serious happened though and the skiing continued. One thing is clear now, Ville is tougher than a Japanese tree.

The snow had settled quite a bit during the last night and was great for skiing. Not the most perfect faceshot-blower-powder, but damn fun to ski. During the afternoon the clouds went away and we moved to the sunny side of the hill to hunt for this trip’s first sunny powder photos. We got couple good photos out of it, with Kalle getting the best photos of the day and me being on the other side of the lens for a change. A very nice day indeed. Tomorrow, if the weather allows we’ll go and check some of the bigger lines on Happo. There rain and high freezing levels forecasted for Tuesday but luckily we should have more snow on Wednesday. So no big catastrophe.

First ten ski movies are all mainly for entertainment, while the last three ones are instructional.

By purchasing Christmas gifts that we promote you also support the development of Homeboy ski blog. We work in co-operation with Amazon, and every time our readers buy something we promote, we get little money that helps us to provide you top notch articles, interviews, gear reviews and road trip reports straight from the battle field. If you get interested in the products, just click the picture and you’ll be redirected to Amazon’s online store.

Christmas Presents for Skiers #1 – Steep

Steep ski movie is awesome as I described in my Steep ski movie review article few months ago. I have watched it several times and I never get bored with it. Check out the sales pitch below with which I agree 100%.

Steep is a mesmerizing documentary in the Warren Miller mold about extreme skiing, but with more emphasis on the drive and psychology of the adrenaline-hooked athletes involved. A number of skiers are captured in archival and original footage braving the odds against surviving runs down astonishingly steep, dangerous slopes. Among the subjects is Bill Briggs, who climbed in 1971 to the top of Grand Teton in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and skied down, an unprecedented effort echoed by Europeans who later did the same thing down the French Alps in Chamonix. Doug Coombs, who twice won the World Extreme Skiing Championship, is also profiled and speaks honestly about the possibility of dying for the sake of living life to the fullest as a thrillseeker.

Written and directed by Mark Obenhaus, a producer for several of the late Peter Jennings’ television news specials, Steep is visually gorgeous, and literally breathtaking whenever a skier is seen barely outracing an avalanche nipping at his heels. Steep attempts, somewhat, to get inside the heads of the pros who do this sort of thing, but it is hard for many of the subjects to articulate what they feel. It’s best just to be knocked out by their deeds and let the fantastic visuals in Steep speak for themselves.

Christmas Presents for Skiers #2 – Journey Through the Decades

In his quest to capture the thrills and spills of alpine skiing and kindred adventure sports, Warren Miller has spanned not only the globe, but the decades. This amazing collection of Warren Miller films is a trip down memory slope, preserving for future generations of winter sports fans the breathtaking scenery and astonishing feats of legendary athletes on the snow and in the air. Offers over 7 hours of nonstop action adventure!

Features of Journey Through the Decades are:

• Journey (2003) – The newest Warren Miller film to arrive on DVD.
• Endless Winter (1995) – Travel around the calendar and around the world as skiers and snowboarders enjoy epic snow conditions from Alaska to Argentina and Jackson Hole to Japan.
• Steep & Deep (1985) – A whirlwind search for freedom in the high country of Canada, Asia, Europe, New Zealand and the good ol’ U.S.A.with cliff jumpers, helicopter skiers, ice climbers, slalom experts and more.
• Ski A La Carte (1978) – Warren Miller began shooting ski films in 1949. By the time he made this film in 1978 he had honed the style that now makes him famous. Ski A La Carte is a terrific nostalgia ride.

Christmas Presents for Skiers #3 – Focused: Ski BASE Europe – Part 1

What does it take to capture 10 seconds of epic action sports footage? Rush HD’s Emmy-nominated series Focused follows the world’s top action sport athletes and their film crews on their global quest for the ultimate image. In this episode, professional skiers JT Holmes and Shane McConkey travel through the mountains of France and Switzerland in search of massive cliffs for the ultimate ski BASE jump.

Shane McConkey passed away last spring while attempting a ski base jump. Read more about Shane McConkey’s death and the story of rocker skis invented by Shane himself.

Christmas Presents for Skiers #4 – NOMADS: Heli-ski Haines, Alaska

Haines Alaska, the wild west of heli-skiing, is the perfect location for this group of athletes to push the limits of their sport. X Games gold medalists Reggie Christ and brother Zach dominate skier X then head straight to Haines Alaska to experience the pinnacle of big mountain skiing. The trip is a long overdue reunion with childhood friend and freeskiing icon Kent Kreitler. Down days ensue and Alaskan rookie, Jamie Pierre joins the team. The mountains are awe inspiring and the action is world class.

Christmas Presents for Skiers #5 – Re: Session

The award winning producers at Teton Gravity Research (TGR) present their newest 16mm and HD film, Re: Session (read our very own Re:Session movie review) This project takes viewers beyond the traditional ski and snowboard movie into a revolutionary realm of action sports entertainment. Shot on both film and RED ONE high definition camera technology, Re: Session documents the true wealth of the mountain experience.

Follow the crew as they score in one of Alagna, Italys deepest seasons on record. Check out forbidden powder in Poland, massive wedges in Colorado, new gap jumps in Utah, and seven weeks of epic riding conditions in Alaska. Re: Session brings the most talented athletes in the sport together into one must-see film. The all-star roster includes TGR regulars Sage Cattabriga-Alosa, Seth Morrison (check also our recent Seth Morrison interview), Jeremy Jones, Kye Petersen, Ian McIntosh, Dana Flahr, Dylan Hood, Erik Roner, Wiley Miller, and Dash Longe rounded out with the fresh faces of Tanner Hall, Sammy Carlson and Callum Pettit.

Christmas Presents for Skiers #6 – Believe SKI DVD Tanner Hall

Follow Tanner Hall and crew around the world in his latest ski film, Believe. Watch Tanner, Seth Morrison, Kye Petersen, Sean Pettit, Callum Pettit, Anthony Borownowski, Ian Provo, Dan Treadway, CR Johnson and more as they take skiing to a level unlike anything you ve ever seen before.

Believe takes you from sessions in chest deep blower pow at Mt. Baker to a little cat time in Retallack, British Columbia. The journey continues while picking up major speed through Whistler, B.C., then on to a massive roadside session in Japan as the crew mashes the all time dirtiest pillows in Mica and up North to Haines, Alaska as Seth Morrison throws a 150+ double front flip to stop! Believe is the new standard in ski films, don t get left behind.

Christmas Presents for Skiers #7 – Anomaly DVD Extreme Ski Snowboard

This is one of the top-selling ski/snowboard titles of the 2006-2007 season. It is from Teton Gravity Research– they kill it year after year–their films raise the bar and everyone knows it. This DVD is 60 minutes, but there are over 2 HOURS of bonus footage, over 3 hours in all.

Here is their description of it: ANOMALY: A deviation or, departure from the normal or common order, form, or rule. From leading producer Teton Gravity Research comes a film that departs from the common order of skiing and snowboarding. Anomaly showcases the freakish and abnormal abilities of todays top athletes as they push the boundary of what is humanly possible. Join these athletes as they explore a brave new world of riding in locations around the globe.

Anomaly unfolds as Jeremy Jones continues to touch the void in Alaska, Erik Roner completes his disturbing two-year vision, Jamie Pierre survives a world record 25-story free fall, Seth Morrison and Candide prove why they are at the top of the game, and newcomer Ian MacInstosh opens the doors to the future of big mountain riding. Watch the riders adapt to the dynamic mountain terrain in Japan, Morocco, Jackson Hole, Alaska, Aspen, and British Columbia. Athletes: Sage Cattabriga-Alosa, Jeremy Jones, Jeremy Nobis, Chris Collins, Seth Morrison, Jamie Pierre, Victoria Jealouse, Candide Thovex, Kye Petersen, Ian MacIntosh, Erik Roner, Marc Andre Belliveau, Mark Carter, Skogen Sprang Jonas Emery, Dash Longe, Dylan Hood, Peter Olenick, Travis Rice, Micah Black, Shroder Baker, Karina Hollekim, Zach Leach and Byran Iguchi.

Christmas Presents for Skiers #8 – Greg Stump’s Foursome – Greg Stump Box Set

Greg Stump‘s Stump 4Some DVD box set showcases the skiing talent of Scot Schmidt, Glen Plake, and others to the backdrop of awesome powder and steeps and truly fantastic soundtrack featuring the music of acclaimed British producer Trevor Horn. It includes the titles Blizzard of Ahh’s, License to Thrill, Groove Requiem: In the Key of Ski, and P-Tex Lies and Duct Tape.

Christmas Presents for Skiers #9 – Yeah Dude Ski DVD – Yeah-Dude

Yeah Dude Ski DVD, created by Poor Boyz Productions shows skiing on a whole new level. The Poor Boyz crew followed the industries top athletes and withstood some of the harshest conditions to produce a great ski DVD. ‘Yeah Dude’ will bring you mind-blowing events from Japan to suburban city streets. Features Andreas H, Chris Benchetler, J.F. Cusson, John Symms, Julien Regnier, Mike Henituk, Sammy Carlson, Tim Durtschi, Anthony Boronowski, Craig Coker, John Spriggs, JP Auclair, Matt Walker, Peter Olenick, Simon Dumont and Tim Russell.

Christmas Presents for Skiers #10 – There’s Something About McConkey

Ten years ago, young renegade ski racer Shane McConkey quit his collegiate team to pursue a career in the small, unglamorous world of freeskiing. Through the ’90s, McConkey battled the odds and the establishment as he put “fun” back in skiing. With an unprecedented manner of attacking mountains and a committed effort to appear ridiculous, McConkey opened the doors to a new way of thinking and skiing. As attention to his feats and antics blossomed, so did the sport around him. They teamed up the raddest skiers of today with the past decade’s most influential skier and biggest idiot. So sit back for a wacky, whirlwind tour through a man, a mind and a sport. You may never look at skiing the same way again.

There are interviews with McConkey, who comes off as the laidback dude one might expect, as well as interviews with his mother and a few friends (one of whom tells a funny story proving that “there’s something wrong with McConkey”). And a few comic interludes, including McConkey’s attempt to star in a music video, pop up. But the real point to this production is the skiing footage, which is uniformly spectacular. McConkey and others (including Olympic champion Jonny Moseley) go rocketing down absurdly steep mountainsides in footage shot from helicopters, and of course they make it all seem so effortless that you can almost forget how insanely dangerous it is.

Shane McConkey is a legend, and this is one of his best ski movies.

Video below is not a trailer for the movie but a great tribute for the biggest icon of the sport ever.

Here are 7 Christmas presents for skiers. Last year’s Christmas presents for skiers were purely ski related, but this year I wanted to provide some new ideas. I recently watched the North Face, and I enjoyed it very much. So I came up with an idea of telling our thousands of readers that “hey, these DVD’s are absolutely worth watching!”.

If you are looking for Christmas presents for skiers, I strongly recommend these movies. All mountain people love watching awesome mountains, such as those in Himalaya.

By purchasing Christmas gifts that we promote you also support the development of Homeboy ski blog. We work in co-operation with Amazon, and every time our readers buy something we promote, we get little money that helps us to provide you top notch articles, interviews, gear reviews and road trip reports straight from the battle field. If you get interested in the products, just click the picture and you’ll be redirected to Amazon’s online store.

Christmas Present Idea for Skiers #1 – Touching the Void

Touching the Void is an awesome story of survival. It is a document of two climbers getting into serious trouble after summiting Siula Grande in Peruvian Andes. Joe Simpson went went through extreme situations after Simon Yates had to cut the rope. No wonder why Touching the Void is on the top of my list of Christmas presents for skiers.

Here’s what they say about the DVD.

In 1985, two British mountaineers, Joe Simpson and Simon Yates, embarked on a daring–arguably reckless in the extreme–attempt to climb the previously unconquered mountain Siula Grande. A mixture of overconfidence in their own abilities and underestimation of the climb’s difficulties brought them to grief after the successful slog to the summit. What follows is an often harrowing account of their perilous descent.

Based on Joe Simpson’s gripping book, the film boasts glorious widescreen photography of Siula Grande and its notorious glacier. Actors take the place of the two climbers for close-ups, though Simpson did return to Peru in order to reenact parts of his dreadful crawl back down the ice. The story of Simpson’s almost-superhuman fortitude has become legendary in climbing circles, and even for viewers uninterested in mountaineering, Touching the Void is an astonishing slice of real-life drama, magnificently retold.

Christmas Present Idea for Skiers #2 – Messner

In 1978, Reinhold Messner and his climbing partner, Peter Habeler, stunned the world by reaching the summit of Mt. Everest without using bottled oxygen. When asked why he would attempt climbing Everest without oxygen — something that was unimaginable at the time — Messner answered, “I’m doing this for knowing myself. If I put some important technical thing between me and the mountains, I will never have the possibility to know myself, to explore myself.” He returned to Everest two years later and climbed it again without using supplemental oxygen, but this time alone; and he went on to become the first to summit all 14 of the world’s 8,000-meter peaks without using oxygen.

In this exclusive documentary, the first on Messner since Werner Herzog’s “Dark Glow of the Mountains” in 1984, he looks back over his career with surprising candor and personal revelation. It is the career of a man who began climbing with his father in the exquisite Italian Dolomites, but whose restless quest for self-knowledge through extreme adventures made him the greatest climber of modern times.

Today Messner today carries on a diversified business related to his mountaineering skills. From 1999 to 2004, he held political office as a Member of the European Parliament for the Italian Green Party (Federazione dei Verdi). He was also among the founders of Mountain Wilderness, an international NGO dedicated to the protection of mountains worldwide.

Christmas Present Idea for Skiers #3 – Everest

Relive a breathtaking journey to the top of the world with Everest, the spectacular giant-screen motion picture for IMAX theatres! Filmed during the infamous 1996 storm that claimed eight lives, Everest documents the filmmakers’ harrowing rescue efforts to help surviving members of the ill-fated group. Join an international team of climbers as they scale the world’s tallest peak. Witness the perils of skin-blistering cold, violent blizzards that drop the windchill to minus 100 degrees, and air so thin it numbs the mind. Everest will take you across creaking icefalls and gaping chasms, up dangerous, towering cliffs and into the death zone of oxygen-thin altitude. Filmed in spellbinding IMAX photography, “the most hyperrealistic format yet invented,” says producer Greg MacGillivray. Narrated by Academy Award(R)-nominee Liam Neeson, including the music of George Harrison, Everest is a rich, dramatic story — a daring adventure of triumph and tragedy.

Sorry, that was the sales pitch, but it pretty well describes what this film is about. If you enjoy watching those huge Himalayan snow covered peaks, check this DVD.

Christmas Present Idea for Skiers #4 – The Alps

In the air above Switzerland, on the sheer rock-and-ice wall known as the Eiger, an American climber is about to embark on the most perilous and meaningful ascent he has ever undertaken: an attempt to scale the legendary mountain that took his renowned fathers life. Against a backdrop of overwhelming natural beauty, The Alps is a true-life story of extraordinary courage. It’s the intensely personal journey of a man who has every reason not to climb the deadly Eiger North Face, yet climb it he must.

I watched The Alps 2-3 weeks ago, and I personally found it very interesting. Eiger is an interesting and scary mountain, and you can really feel it in this DVD. The Alps contains lots and lots of awesome shots and camera angles from extremely exposed places on the north face of the Eiger. Strongly recommended!

Christmas Present Idea for Skiers #5 – North Face

I watched North Face last weekend, and all I can say is that this DVD is worth watching, and it is a great Christmas present for skiers or other mountain men. Ok, I can actually say few words more.. North face is a stunning story of climbing the Eiger during the early days.It is based on true story, and it is perfectly done. On top of excellent camera work you can also see very nice climbing of the early days.

Here’s the pitch.

Journey to a heart-stopping landscape of danger and relive 48 white-knuckle hours that would go down in history. This is the incredible story behind the first ever attempted scaling of the North Face of the infamous Eiger mountain. Summer 1936. Bearing the expectations of a nation and their Fuhrer, two climbers set out to be the first to conquer the last great problem . But soon their ascent becomes a race for survival threatened by injury and extreme storms. Suddenly, it becomes a pulse-pounding race against both time and the awesome forces of nature.

Christmas Present Idea for Skiers #6 – National Geographic – Everest 50 Years on the Mountain

In 1953, Sir Edmund Hillary & Tenzing Norgay made history as the first people to reach the top of Everest. Now, 50 years later, three sons of Everest’s most celebrated climbers return to the mountain to challenge it again. Join their journey as they brave the elements and face death to climb 29,000 feet of wind-blasted rock and ice. And, relive the dramatic history of Everest from great triumphs to deadly tragedies, enduring rivalries and the unsung role of the Sherpa people – as National Geographic exposes the untold stories that lurk in the mountain’s epic shadow and takes you on THE ultimate Everest experience.

Christmas Present Idea for Skiers #7 – The Man Who Skied Down Everest

This incredible, award-winning film features adventurer, poet and world-champion skier Yuichiro Miura as he and his team face the most challenging climb in the world, Mt. Everest. The ascent is fraught with tragedy, the descent miraculous. During the climb, they face an icefall that claims the lives of six of their team, still considered the worst natural disaster accident in Himalayan history.

With a 35mm Panavision film crew in tow, they continue on to the South Col, only 350 meters from the summit, where Miura put his life in the hands of the gods in his descent. Using oxygen and a parachute to slow his speed, Miura skied 7,000 feet over sheer ice and rocks. Unbalanced by the gusting winds, he hit a boulder and fell 1,320 feet, smashing into rocks and ice ridges. A patch of snow was all that saved him, allowing his fall to end just moments away from the Bergshrund Crevasse. This final climax has been called the most exciting six minutes of film ever shot as Miura plummets helplessly down Everest’s unforgiving icy slopes toward certain death.

Here is a list of some of our own favorites among the skiing/snowboard-related YouTube hits and links to older articles explaining a bit of background of the particular event/clip. Click on the title if you want to check out the older article too. Some of these are the obvious ones – spectacular crashes or huge air times. On the other hand, a couple clips show nuances that are probably clearer to those already familiar with all the small details of the sport…

1. Jamie Pierre’s 75 meter cliff drop – onto his head!

Well, before Syversen’s incredible feat, this was the matter of debate for hard core skiers for a long time. Whether or not this is skiing at all? Or is this kind of stunt a “record” at all? Should it be all about “stomping” your landings (=standing on your skis after the touchdown), and not just surviving? You be the judge – the clip is pretty amazing no matter what your opinion is. No wonder this is a hugely popular YouTube hit!

2. Scott Macartney’s Crash Video in Kitzbühel Downhill

MaCartney was another lucky survivor. Hitting a jump at around 140 km/h in a World Cup Downhill race in Kitzbühel, Austria, completely losing it, being unconscious for a while and waking up at the hospital with minor injuries. You can’t say World Cup Downhill lacks drama on the “ordinary” day but this was something that was talked about for weeks even outside the skiing world. And kids: remember to wear your helmets!

3. Eric Pollard Self Edit

Those unfamiliar of skiing latest trends probably won’t get this completely. Let it be so. And if you are interested to read some more and find out why EP is the cutting edge of modern skiing, check out this post too.

4.  An Oldie But Goldie from Riksgränsen, Sweden – Ingemar Backman’s huge snowboard air from way back in 1996

This was groundbreaking stuff back in 1996. This is still a very high air. And nothing beats simple snowboard backside airs. I guess skiers just won’t ever get that stylie…

5. Simon Dumont sets the new world record height in quarter pipe at Sunday River

Speaking of skiers style: skiers probably are not as stylie as boarders (except Pollard, heh…) but these days we two-plankers go pretty big. Don’t you agree?

Also, click the above link and you can compare the size of the air to the previous world record held by Norwegian snowboard legend Terje Haakonsen.

Bonus – the obvious ones: Skiing Crash Videos – A Few Examples of Bad Ski Crashes on Video

Well, click on the link. Here is only the most stupid – a clear “Darwin Award” nominee. Don’t try this at home… Gotta admit seeing people flail/crash miserably on skis never gets old!

We left from Basel (Switzerland) in late afternoon and spent the day by driving to France. As we finally arrived in Chamonix, it was already midnight. It took me a while to find Gîte D’Étape La Tapia because I didn’t print the map. I thought I know Chamonix so well that I can find anything in there. I was wrong, but hopefully I finally found La Tapia.

My son was pretty tired and wanted to go to bed right away. We got a room in upstairs, and as I opened the door, I thought the room was just perfect for two of us. There was a separated area for me and my son and another area for two more people. I have seen many kinds of hostels, and I was afraid that this one is one of those noisy hell holes full of drunken youngsters. I didn’t want to bring my son into a “wild” hostel, such as Vagabond in Chamonix. No worry, this one was peaceful and quiet, the right place for us to stay.

Gîte D’Étape La Tapia has six rooms for four people and two rooms for couples. There are five showers and five toilets in the hostel. The dining room has seats for 32 people, and the kitchen has all the needed equipment. In addition to your stay you can buy a cheap but tasty breakfast. I think this is an excellent service for those who don’t want to make their own breakfast every morning.

Gîte D’Étape La Tapia is cheap. For one night you pay 16 euros which is not bad for a good hostel. Although the breakfast in Gîte D’Étape La Tapia is good, I was surprised with the price, which is 6 euros. A double-room for couples costs 48 euros a night, but I must say it is worth of it. If I was travelling with my wife, I definitely would take the double-room because of the privacy it gives. For sheets you have to pay four euros.

Gîte D’Étape La Tapia is easy to find. See the maps on left side. As shown in the maps, take the main road from Chamonix to Argentiere and drive it until you see “Route de la Frasse” on right side. Take that road and drive hundred meters until you see Gîte D’Étape La Tapia on right side. You can park your car in front of the hostel. If you are going to arrive late, call the owner of Gîte D’Étape La Tapia and where you can find the key to your room. Below you can find the contact information of Gîte D’Étape La Tapia. For more about this hostel I recommend you to check the website of Gîte D’Étape La Tapia.

Contact information:

Sophie Rochet (Gérante)
152, Route de la Frasse
74400 Chamonix
tel : 04 50 53 18 19
port : 06 87 40 11 56
email : contact@latapia.com

Am I over-reacting? Maybe, maybe not. The fact is that our climate is not the same as some 20 years ago. Is it changing in the long run? I don’t know this field of science at all, but so many researchers claim that it is really happening so I believe in it. As you might have seen in this blog the climate here in Finland is not as it used to be (remember how Levi alpine ski cup race was canceled)? Winters are not as cold as they used to be and we get snow later and later every year. It is the middle of January right now and we don’t have snow in Helsinki in Finland. It is not normal and definitely it is not the same as it used to be. Based on this and what researchers claim, the climate is changing globally. It is warming. Skiing industry will die.

Climate IS changing. It is a fact now

Heh.. I am shooting big guns again. I won’t say more about the climate change because I am an amateur. I just don’t know enough about it. What I do know is that warmer climate is not good for most ski resorts, including my local little hill in Helsinki. Many ski resorts here in Finland (and of course in some other countries as well) have not really opened yet because of the lack of snow. Ski resorts may be open for three days and then closed for three weeks. This is not good for their business and one day it may lead them to quitting. If there is no snow, there are no skiers. If there are no skiers, there is no money exchanged. Without money there is no business, and when there is no business there is no skiing. Sad but true.

Let us assume that the temperature on this planet will be 2-3 degrees higher in 20 years. That kind of change would definitely lead to black winters at least here in southern Finland. It would lead to the death of skiing here. Skiing season would be shorter in north but the skiing industry would probably survive.

What would you do if skiing was dead?

What would you do if skiing was dead in your area? I would focus on mountain biking and road bicycling. Our summers would probably be longer and warmer so I would go riding some rad tracks in forests and mountains. Instead of a ski season in the Alps I would have a bike season in the Alps. If skiing was dead, it would not be a catastrophe for me, no way. Certainly I would miss skiing or riding my board in forests and on powder fields but i would of course need to get used to the new situation. I would put my energy into mountain biking even though I have some bad memories from the forests close to Basel in Switzerland. I crashed my bike due to high speed and a bad landing. The result was a broken shoulder.

Skiing is dying, be prepared. What would you do if skiing was dead? Would you go riding a bike as well? Would you go surfing or diving? Today me and my friend discussed about what we would do if there was no need to go to work. I said I would play and listen to music all day long. My wife said she is very happy that I must go to work every morning. She would not like my idea of playing and listening to music all day long.. Hey! Why not!

Enjoy skiing as long as it is possible. It looks miserable here in rainy Helsinki..

I was six years old when my sister took me skiing with her, that was in the early 1980s. I remember how fascinating this new sport was and how extremely enthusiastic I was. I really fell in love with skiing. This might sound funny, but it is true. Now I am over 30 and I have my own kids. When our second son was two years old I almost took him skiing with me. I discussed with people on forums and most of them said it would not be a good idea, while some folks told me to go ahead. I decided to wait another year. Now our youngest child, my daughter, is about two years old. I find myself thinking of this same question again..

So what is the right age to start skiing with children? It depends on few things, but I would say that it is best to wait until your child is over four or five years old. I have seen a couple of mothers posting on forums that their children were 1-1/2 when they started skiing. I must say I would not have enough courage to even try with such little kids. There are few reasons why I think 4-5 is a good age to start skiing with children. Let’s find out these reasons.

Why is 4-5 years a good age for children to start skiing?

As kids grow, they gain body mass and become stronger. When they go skiing, that body mass and strength is needed to avoid falling, in order put on all the clothing, boots and skis, etc. It simply means that child’s body is strong enough for going to the slopes. When kids are 4-5 years old, they have much better motor and social skills than a year before. They need motor skills for learning to ski and social skills to interact with a skiing instructor. Usually skiing instructors ask parents to wait somewhere until the lesson is over, so the kid has to stay together with the instructor. If the children lacks social skills he/she might not be able to concentrate in learning. Instead the child is worried about “loosing” his/her parents.

My personal opinion is that children should not go skiing before they reach the age of 4-5 years. Some kids grow faster than others and are stronger and equipped with better motor skills sooner than others. This means the best age to start skiing should be seen “on a case-by-case basis”, but generally speaking my recommendation would be to wait until they are 4-5 years old.

When you go skiing with your child, be patient. Do not push him/her. Give time and space, let the child learn at his/her own pace. If you push, the result might be that your child starts to hate the sport and then you can forget about skiing with your child for couple of years. Skiing with children might sometimes cause headache but usually I find it fantastic. As a lifelong backcountry skier I need to “switch myself” into “skiing with kids”-mood and then it goes fine. There is no hurry and it must be fun. When your child has fun on the slopes and he/she clearly enjoys it you are in the right direction.

Do you go skiing with your kids? What do you think is a good age to start skiing? Please leave a comment.

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Ski resort to go #1: Megeve in France

Just like “Megeve-Mike” who works in Megeve, I would like to go skiing in Megeve in France.  As a family man I go skiing with my kids, and therefore Megeve would be a pretty optimal destination. There are a number of lifts and slopes from which my kids could pick up the most interesting ones. I would enjoy sunshine and after ski beer with my wife and take it relaxed. Megeve is a nice ski resort for families and therefore it is on my list for the next year.

Ski resort to go #2:  Jasna in Slovakia

We have promoted skiing in Slovakia in few articles, and I must say I am interested to go skiing in Slovakia this year. I have a couple of Slovakian friends living in Bratislava and I have been thinking to ask them to show me some backcountries. This trip would not be with kids because we would head to the backcountries and forests in order to find some powder. Skiing in Slovakia next year would probably be one of the best freeskiing experiences in 2008. I really recommend you to check out Slovakia ski resorts. I receive a lot of emails from people I do not know and they all have reported very much positive comments about skiing in Slovakia. It is really worth of checking out.

Ski resort to go #3: Heli skiing in Sweden

I met Mattias Cöster a couple of months ago here in Finland. Mattias is a Swedish freeskier and entrepreneur. He leads probably the best Swedish heli skiing company, called Arctic Elements, and he can provide you heli skiing at 3 am in late June! Just imagine, skiing 24 hours under the northern sunlight. Awesome! I really got interested about heli skiing in Sweden after discussing with Mattias Cöster. If you are looking for a different skiing experience, call Mattias and plan a very special skiing vacation with him.

These were my three ski resorts I would love to visit in 2008. I wish I will be able to complete my goals. Which resorts YOU would like to go next year? Just drop a comment. I really would like to hear.