12Aug

Hemsedal Nordic Open TTR World Snowboard Tour – Mikkel Bang

FILED IN Snow Boarding No Comments


www.ttrworldtour.com The TTR 3STAR Hemsedal Nordic Open, in Mikkel Bang’s hometown, were one of the last big Norwegian snowboard gatherings at the end of the season. Qualification took place in a huge slopestyle course with more than 10 obstacles in one line and over 20 obstacles total including kickers, rails and boxes, quarters, stepups, corners, walls and even a 120m pipe (definitely a sick park to check out — to be honest — the most versatile park I have ever seen!!!). The 16 qualified riders moved up to the huge kicker to corner setup for the finals on Saturday. Lars Eriksen and his crew build a smooth 24m kicker followed by a big ass corner. Hemsedal’s very own Mikkel Bang fought his way through knockouts to win his first TTR title in front of a big home crowd against Norwegian Champion Kim Andre Eliassen. Sick riding level at this three star! For further information, results and interviews check www.ttrworldtour.com

, , , , , , ,

09Jul

Bulldog skis in Snowboard mode

FILED IN Snow Boarding No Comments


Ive been skiing for the last 15 years in Soll in Austria, first 3 years on skis and the rest on snow blades. Changing to snow blades brought so much fun to my skiing that last year I decided to treat myself to a new set of snow blades, as I looked about and on the net I came across bulldog skis. Over the years Ive looked at snow boarding and thought that looks like fun, but I did not want to bye or hire all the kit to find out its not for me. (More importantly waste skiing time) So as you might have guessed last year I bought a set of bulldog skis just the thing I was looking for, a new set of blades that gave me the option to try snow boarding as well without having to carry twice as much gear. (Or bye new boots) Lets start by saying that when I hit the slopes with them I got lots of looks and asked to demo them, let me say after the first day I think I am a pro at the changing the bindings over. Not that it takes much to change them over, about 30 seconds to a 1min. As blades I can only say fantastic, my old blades were shorter and not as wide but with these being a lot longer and wider they handled the piste as good as a set of short carvers. Off piste they just eat though the powder, long enough but not to long so you can still do those tricky rock and tree runs. As a snow board, now bear in mind that Id never done snow boarding before last year. A few friends of mine have and were happy to give me a few pointers and tips. I stayed in blade mode to go up the lift so I …

, , ,

05Jul

A Guide On How To Snowboard On Your Winter Ski Vacation

FILED IN Ski Boarding No Comments

There are several ways to learn how to snowboard, the exercises you can do, cool tricks you can try, and forms you need to focus on. There are also quite a few guides for skiing as well – think of this guide as your own personal Colorado ski lesson. The Basics: One of the first few things you will learn when you start to snowboard is the simple process of strapping in, standing up and adjusting your position. You should feel comfortable in the position you are in. Hopefully you chose the right gear such as board and shoes for the board. If you still need help with this, I suggest visiting a specialty store that specializes in snowboarding or heli ski. Manners: When it comes to carrying your snowboard you need to make sure that you watch out for people and other objects on the slope. The last thing you want to do is injure yourself or someone else. This means no goofing around, and always having your eyes in front of you. In the same way that people take their turns in a car at a stoplight, you need to take your turn and pay attention when it comes to the slopes. Skating: This is a really novice position, it means keeping one foot in the boot and one foot out of the boot. This is a good position to follow when you are going on flat areas or sections or when you are getting on or off a chairlift. Moving up the slope: While most places have chairlifts, you can also move up the slope on your own as well – as long as it’s not too steep. This can be done by slowly inching your way up the slope, feet in boots, and hands on ground in front of you. Traversing: This is how you will essentially control your speed on the board, it will also help you to learn how to balance yourself as well. The heel side is all about standing on your board in a “side-ward” position. Try leaning to each side slowly and see how quickly you can regain your composure. Linking Turns: This is obviously how you are going to link together your different turns. Your body should be to the side, along with your snowboard or snowcat skiing facing forward. Be sure to bend your knees! Your body (feet and legs) should be outward when your body (waist, chest, shoulders) are inward and vice versa. This is going to help keep your balance off kilter. Side-slipping (heel side & toe side): This is all about controlling your descent down the slope. The heel side is used with the heel or back of the board whereas the toe side is used with the toe or front of your board. Overall, this is about slowing down and “breaking” to a halt. Definitely a good thing to learn how to do! Hopefully these few steps and exercises will help you out on your next trip on a winter cat skiing vacation or snowboarding exhibition! Snowboarding and skiing can be a lot of fun, but as said above, it’s also important that you follow certain skill sets and that you practice. Be sure to check out some of the Colorado ski packages and Colorado snowboard packages online! And remember to have fun!

, , ,

14Jun

How to Buy a Snowboard

FILED IN Ski Boarding No Comments

Buying a Snowboard isn’t as trouble-free as it used to be. There are approximately 20 various types of Snowboards. With so many enormous choices, the snowboarder in the present day needs to be knowledgeable, so I put this list together in hopes that How to Buy a Snowboard will be an exciting and pleasurable experience.

There are many different types of snowboards available today. Here are the most common types of snowboards: Freeride boards, Freestyle boards, Backcountry boards, Park/Pipe boards, Kids boards, Women’s boards, Boardercross boards and Signature series boards. As you can see you, you have your work cut out for you in making a decision on what board to buy.

Snowboard buying necessitates a few central questions to be answered, but you’ll be encouraged in knowing that you, by now, have the answers. Your, height weight, riding style and foot size are the chief features that will classify the suitable width, shape, stiffness and height of the board you’ll buy.

Although there are other factors to be taken into consideration, a few of the ones you should be familiar about is your riding ability and riding style. The riding style you have a preference for will lend a hand in determining the sort of board you ought to buy. There are a lot of diverse opinions on the countless riding styles there are but I am going to split them up into three main categories of riding styles.

All Mountain and Freeride style-a freeride or all mountain snowboarder make use of the whole mountain. You enjoy catching air, carving and basically all riding aspects. This is the essence of snowboarding. While a clichéd expression in snowboarding, freeride is still the best way to portray the majority of snowboarders. These riders take pleasure in the whole thing about snowboarding: the imagination that can only be understood sliding the half-pipe, the astounding feel of carving a turn on slopes, the sense of flight you get at lift-off from the big-air jump, and the feel of freedom one gets sliding on new snow. It is still inconceivably first-rate fun on spruced slopes. For next in line we will present the following.

Freestyle or Technical riding- involves mostly jumps, trick riding, rail sliding, grabs, jibbing, spins and tearing it up. Technical freestyle riding is usually set up in the parks or near the halfpipe. For a beginning snowboarder, freestyle and technical boards are the best choice. This style is well-liked among the younger snowboarders. Many of today’s technical freestyle riders come to snowboarding with an understanding as a BMX, in-line skater, skateboarder, or other action sports conditions. While the gear specific to this category of rider excels in park and pipe riding, it can also be very adaptable across the whole mountain at less than full-speed. We now will move on to the last category.

Carve/Alpine style-pulls together speed and deep turning and make the most of everything the mountain has to put forward. Alpine riders are repeatedly transitioning from one turn into the next. It is all about hard carving and high speed. Expert skiers who decide to learn snowboarding tend to like the performance of carving boards, although stiffer flex and narrower width can make them intolerant for beginners. These types of riders are recognizable out of the crowd; they are always seen laying a trench in the snow with each turn. These riders “use” a snowboards edge like no others, while using authoritative body movements and gravity as their friend, alpine riders enjoy the sport only when they are attached to the snow.

In conclusion, these are the basics of How to Buy a Snowboard. All the most important issues have been enclosed and hopefully the buying process will be simpler for you.

However please keep in mind that whatever you choose to buy, remember that it is your choice and that nobody has a right to influence you at all.

17May

Can You Have Faith in A Ski Company To Make a Snowboard Boot?

FILED IN Ski Boarding No Comments

Salomon, formally Salomon Group, is an outdoor sports corp that has been making equipment for decades. They are an innovative company and were the first to present twin tipped skis to a ski market eager for variation. Snowboard companies have been rising up ever since the winter sport took off commercially, but not every ski company has had successful forays into the snowboarding world. Where exactly these companies have botched is tough to say but the snowboarding demographic has remained elusive to most of them. Salomon, however, embraced the world of snowboarding and have a complete line of snowboarding equipment available. But does their equipment actually meet the quality standards when placed next to top snowboard makers?


Ask any rider what the most important piece of gear is and they’ll probably reply it’s the snowboard boots. Why is it more important than the board and bindings? Mostly because riding a second rate board won’t have a huge impact on your performance. Low end bindings might make it hard to lock your carves in but also won’t ruin your day. But a junky pair of boots will possibly send you to the bar out of aggravation. In fact, a lousy boot is the quickest way to turn a groovy snowboarding outing into a nightmare. If you’re ever going to overindulge on a piece of snowboarding gear, it should be the boot.


So would I recommend throwing down on a set of Salomon snowboard boots? Salomon has definitely jumped head first into the snowboarding world. You aren’t left with the sense that this ski company is selling out and just trying to make a quick buck in the snowboard market. They actually seem to have put the work into building these snowboard boots, in spite of of the style you buy. Salomon snowboard boots come in a full line for men and women. While the boots may not be faultless, they are undoubtedly a match for any other snowboard company out there.


One of their most prevalent is the F20 Salomon snowboard boot, which is basically their most inexpensive boot. This boot has a nice low profile for increased ankle flex and is lightweight. It is essentially a soft park boot, and it works well here as it doesn’t feel like you’re sporting a big heavy snowboard boot. The craftsmanship appears to be fairly good with their boots as well. Meant for all around riding, the boot is styled modestly but packs all the technology you might get from any other company. The only genuine complaint about their boots is the lacing system. Laces have become archaic and every company is seeking for an alternative. BOA lacing systems really make it as an alternative to laces, but some, like Burton’s Fast Lace and Salomon’s PowerPro laces, just don’t have the same great feel.


Still, Salomon is not taking their attitude to snowboarding flippantly. Rather than succumb to the pigeonhole that ski companies can’t make a decent snowboard product, they are giving it everything they’ve got. Salomon’s boots substantiate that a ski corporation actually can go toe to toe with almost any snowboard company.

, , ,

01May

henri van damme fällt im schnee auf nem snowboard

FILED IN Ski Boarding No Comments


unser superheld henri van damme hat sich auf ein snowboard gestellt, und hat sich erstmal abgepackt… einfach nur witzig

, , , ,

19Apr

Learn to Ski or Snowboard in Breckenridge, Colorado

FILED IN Ski Boarding No Comments

Winter is drawing near and you’ve decided to learn a new sport, of course snow related. You’ve been scouring the internet and travel magazines what great mountain ski resorts you would want to spend your winter vacation, Breckenridge Co, a perfect place to enjoy a few weeks of great snow and relaxation. You’ve booked yourself in a nice mountain resort in Breckenridge, Colorado and everything is in order, except one thing, you haven’t chosen whether to learn skiing or snowboarding. There are few points for you to consider before choosing your next favorite sport.

Weight in comfort. If you haven’t tried either one, the first thing you should do is try on the gear and see which of which feels right to you. On skiing, the skier’s boots are each snapped to skis. Snowboarders however, attach themselves into a board, yes; the board kinda looks like a skateboard just bigger, probably shinier, and of course minus the wheels. You would get the idea of how you will be able to move with these contraptions attached to your feet. Skiers of course would be facing forward (most of the time) and snowboarders have their lower half of the body sideways and the top half quarter on the side. Just a rough description of what you’ll be in for.

Skiers use very thin but strong poles. The length may vary, usually depending on your height. These poles are used to help skiers launch themselves to start and using it to maintain or gain speed. The poles also help them maintain their balance, on top speeds; the poles are tucked in the armpit as the skier assumed a crouch-like position with the knees firmly together. Boarders however have their hands free and thus use them as their balancing device. Beginners of skiing use the poles to help them stand after a fall, boarders however; since they’re bound to have more difficulty in balancing themselves should be able to scoot their way up. Don’t worry the first thing instructors teach is the correct way to fall. How encouraging.

On the darker side of learning and like any other sport, sports injury should also be considered. It could not be determined which sport is more likely to cause an injury, but it is weigh the different ways you could get hurt and what injuries you are more likely to have in each sport. Snowboarding will be harder to balance, so you will be spending a lot of time of your learning process on your back side. You will be able to use muscle groups you never knew you had since most likely it will hurt right after. When falling however, snowboarders use their hands to break their fall, so wrist injuries are more likely. Skiing will be harder on the knees, so it more common for skiers to develop knee injuries.

Let us consider external factors, like the snow. Breckenridge, depending on the time of season and weather conditions will have both deep, fresh snow and icy, bumpy patches so its perfect for both snowboarding and skiing enthusiasts. Snowboarding is better suited for deep, fresh powder while skiing is a good choice if the snow is more icy and bumpy. So considering your long term plans in choosing your sport.

Speedwise, snowboarding is often depicted as the faster sport and is more likely linked to daring, daredevil, and adrenaline junkies. But skiing can offer the same exciting speeds if the skier is of the same level as the boarder.

So remember that you won’t become a pro overnight. You will experience your muscle hurt in places you don’t even know it could hurt. With patience and determination, you will be able to master any sport you put your heart into. You will be able to glide down the slopes with precision in no time. But remember to prepare yourself for the sunny Breckenridge slopes by applying sunscreen and lip balm, sunburn can take all the fun, not including the unsightly red patches of uneven sunburned skin. Keep hydrated by drinking lots of water. Skiing and snowboarding are a great way to exercise, so go out and enjoy the snow and most of all, have lots of fun.

 

, , ,

01Apr

Vince’s Snowboard Jump

FILED IN Ski Boarding No Comments


Ski Jump Farah

, ,

24Mar

Ski and Snowboard All Year Round

FILED IN Ski Boarding No Comments

Our society is becoming one of expected convenience. Improving technology is helping to raise our consumer expectations in many areas. It’s now accepted that we are able to make telephone calls and read our emails wherever we are. We are becoming accustomed to being able to watch any television programme at a time that suits us rather than the programme schedulers. We also expect to be able to purchase fruit and vegetables even when they are out of season. These are all examples of a progression towards satisfying increasing levels of consumer demand.

For ski and snowboard fans things are no different. People now want to ski or ride their boards all year round and in perfect conditions if possible. Not so long ago skiers had to journey across continents to specialist resorts and hope that weather conditions were suitable to provide the necessary conditions for their sport. Often the costs were very high and the skiers were let down by poor weather conditions. Blizzards, storms or lack of snow could all stop skiers getting onto the mountains. Now winter sports resorts all over the world have reduced their reliance on the weather and the provision of enough snow has been mitigated by high-tech snow generation systems. The technology behind the original snow cannons was patented almost 50 years ago and now most resorts that don’t have guaranteed snow falls use snow generation systems to keep their pistes operational throughout the season. Snow cannons came to the French Alps almost 20 years ago. Val d’Isere, for example, has over 300 snow cannons whereas Meribel and Courcheval both have over 500 cannons each. Snow is artificially made by ejecting a mixture of water and compressed air at high speed into the atmosphere where it freezes into snow before landing on the ground. The air temperature needs to be below zero for that to happen but once it is, ski resorts can use their cannon networks to supplement the natural snow. It is thought that a resort like Meribel generates over 2 million cubic metres of snow in a season. The technology now allows resorts to cover their slopes during November and open even earlier, extending their seasons. Snow cannons are also used to keep certain critical runs open so that resort areas can remain linked and are not vulnerable to restrictions just because certain key connecting runs are short of snow.

Technology has developed even further recently and has now brought winter sports participation yet closer to home. The introduction of indoor snow centres has brought skiing and snowboarding even closer to the doorstep. There are now several indoor snow centres in the UK, with the latest opening recently on the outskirts of London. There are even snow centres in the most unlikely places. In the desert of the Middle East, Ski Dubai opened in 2005 and offers an indoor “black” run and a 400m long slope. The world’s longest run is claimed by Alpincenter in Bottrum, Germany with a 640m long slope. In The Netherlands are two of the world’s largest snow centres with SnowWorld in Landgraaf claiming to be the biggest with a snow area of 35,000 square metres. The SnowCentre in Hemel Hempstead uses the latest indoor snow generation technology to produce its snow and is able to create in excess of 80 tonnes of snow per day if required.

Such is the quality of indoor snow generation, and the resorts being built around it, that professional-level competitions can be held in these indoor centres. In 2003 the indoor centre at Landgraff hosted the world’s first indoor FIS World Cup event with a round of the Snowboard Parallel Slalom and it has held Snowboard FIS World Cup races every year since. The Snow Centre in the UK hosts two rounds of the British Snowboarding Grand Prix series in July and the ERSA Ski Race Championships in October 2009.

So technology has now brought the slopes of the Alps to the doorstep of Londoners. Skiers and Snowboarders can improve their technique all year round for a fraction of the cost of a trip abroad and, when they do eventually go to the mountains, their skills will be so much better, helping them to enjoy their visits even more.

, ,

13Jun

Awesome Ski Snowboard Vacation

FILED IN Great Place No Comments

Where To go this winter is on the minds of a lot of skiers and snowboarders. For some riders and skiers picking the right destination resort is not easy to do, but if you are like me then you would trust your vacation plans on Whistler/Blackcomb. Now this place is not just a winter place to but an all year around super resort. From mountain biking to climbing and hiking to the best skiing in the northern hemisphere. Hey if you want a great time almost anytime of the year Ski Whistler.

This past winter the snow was as deep as ever. Seemed like those global warming folks don’t know what’s up. This place is amazing awesome skiing for every level of skier and a great night life. Fly into Vancouver B.C. and just take the bus. You don’t need a car once you get to the Village. Public transit system is great. And all of your shopping , partying and restaurant needs are just a walk away.

With the up coming Winter Olympics in 2010 many events will be held at the resort. Skiing and snowboarding best of the world will be flocking there to compete for the Olympic glory. For many years Whistler has been a destination for many international travelers and skiers and snowboarders as it offers the longest season for winter sports lovers.

Skiing in British Columbia Is always a great experience. Take a class or a local guide and you with find the go to places of the day. There are daily guided tours of both Mountains that are put together by ability and run by volunteers who have a great knowledge of Whistler and Blackcomb. Skiing deep powder may not be for everyone, so there is a lot to choose from at Whistler Blackcomb. Plan a Ski Trip today. Go ski the Great Northwest. Great resort no car needed. Walk to the lift and ski all day. What would you rather do? Live the life of your dreams. Dream, action!

Whistler offers skiing for everybody. Here I took this shot after dropping some great tree runs through the Old Growth Forest. If You are planning a trip you might want to visit the site of the 2010 Olympics. Great villages and great skiing. Oh Yeah if you’re tempted to ski the tree runs…it’s the spaces between the trees we ski. Have a great time this winter skiing.

So maybe you have skied and snowboarded all that you could by using the lifts and doing a little hiking to get to some of the back bowls. Like the Symphony Bowl which has great lift service and some short hikes, that are definitely worth the effort. If money is not the concern you can now take a helicopter to fresh track right from the resort. Imagine taking a run down killer steeps that have not been touched by skier or snowboarder.

Whether you are a beginner or extreme expert there is a lot to offer up in Whistler Blackcomb Resort. Be prepared to have the trip of your life, you may just want to move there. Become A Ski Bum!

, ,

TOP