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About the blog of me

Im travelling around the world, working as i go, living life as much as i can, enjoying everything thing and everyone i encounter. Along the way I capture these moments of fun and beauty and like to share these with whoever is watching.

Tag: ‘snowboard’



New life

Friday, June 4th, 2010

So time for new beginnings.

But I’ll start with a recap of the last few weeks;

So after I finisked working at Nakiska I had plenty of time to ride for myself. I purchased a new snowboard in the sales for just over $200 to replace my years old board. All of this lead to huge improvements in my riding, and me performing new tricks and gaining lots more confidence.

I started working as a line cook in the Elk and Oarsman pub, the busiest pub in town. I worked on the salad/pizza/desert section so could munch on yummy fresh food all the time. Being able to take food home meNtion saving spending on groceries too! It was fun working there, met a few good people and made some good contacts.

I started socialising more with my new found time, and not having to wake up for six am. So this gave me time with my friends and party a bit more.

At the end of the season, the last day we went to Slush Cup. I started off by tobogganning from the highest lift on the mountain, which was crazy. Nobody on a board could keep up with me down the longest black run, only alan could manage, and that was with the brakes on. I hit moguls went flying and throw myself off to stop, heart pounding I saw the ski patrol waiting for me to tell me off. Needless to say he was nice, and just called all of the lifts to stop us from taking the sled up again.
So maybe I’d pushed fate and come off fine, for later while making my last run I caught an edge and fell down hard. Had it not been raining over the weekend, then snowing, turning the mountain to ice, I would had been fine. But hitting the ground face first onto ice left me checking for all of my teeth and questioning where all of the blood was coming from. Well I should have been wearing goggles because my sunglasses cut the bridge of my nose. I smashed my nose in causing a big nose bleed, and I grazed the skin from my face from chin to forehead.
The lively lady in ski patrol cleaned me up, gave me a little plaster so I could wear my glasses to protect my eyes from the sun and off I went to enjoy the festivities. My first slush cup was fun all in all.
Why is it I manage to smash my face up each year?

So I looked haggered and scary for a good week, I can only breathe a little through my nose, and I have a mousache because I can’t shave my upper lip.

I got a hold of a ticket to Sasquatch, a music festival in Washington state that Alan and co. were going to and I had come to think I had no chance of getting to. I rode down in convoy with some guys I’d never met, a great road trip with much junk food along the way, 13 hours in all. The venue ‘The Gorge’ is possibly one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been. It’s a canyon like the Grand Canyon, but smaller and greener with a natural amphitheatre and beautiful sunsets.
The music was great especially LCD Soundsystem, Vampire Weekend, Z Trip, Booka Shade, Simian Mobile Disco and Deadmaus, and I had a good dance.
So I met some great people and had an awesome last weekend with Alan, Chris, Sarah and Sarah, so farewell to them I’ll miss them.

On the way back to Banff, I didn’t want to go back, we had trouble at the border, misunderstanding a question, getting searched and fined for not declaring alcahol. But on the upside we some a family of black bears, momma and three cubs, my first sighting of bears!

This left me with 2 days to sort my life out, pack up and clean the house.
So lots of farewells and help from Malcolm and so we left Banff, Malcolm, Natalie and I in her VW Golf laden down, roof rack piled high off on the next adventure.

We drove west, stopping got lunch in Revelstoke, an awesome mountain town.

We then hit BC and the Oakanagon valley where we’ll live for the next few months. We’ve come to pick fruit and live a leaisurely summer on the farm. I called around a few weeks ago, with little positive response but one guy Al we met up with us has given us a place to set tent, and given us lots of advice, no promise of work but things are looking positive.

So this is our new life and we are super excited for this will be a wonderful summer!

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resume

Thursday, April 15th, 2010
i’ve been dressed up, smart shoes, trousers and shirt, handing in resumes. it feel so peculiar to be dressed like that, but got some positivish results. one place wants me to memorise the menu by thursday, i presume next thursday as 12 hours is a bit short. i’m going to continue to job hunt today.

otherwise, i’ve been riding a bit, nice sunny weather, snow is hardening up now, so we’re eagerly awaiting the next storm.

and it’s shocking to wake up and read in the telegraph that all flights in the uk are no go due to the icelandic volcanic eruption, check the photo of where there are flights in europe and where there aren’t:

well time for some breakfast and off to look for jobs.

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job done

Wednesday, March 31st, 2010

i’ve just about finished my work as a ski/snowboard instructor. it’s been great, i’ve spent sooo much time on the mountain, had some great experiences, met some great people, learned a lot.

i’ve progressed to level 2 snowboard instructor and level 1 ski, and will take my snowboard freestyle course in a couple of weeks, so i’m working my way up nicely.

i’m pretty exhausted and so im resting up a bit this week, even though it has been snowing, i’d rather rest up than tire myself out more, there is still 2 months of riding left before the lifts close!

so i have to job hunt now, need money.

so photos i’ve been uploading from my travels in the past year:

grrrr

cobble

illume

mooo

hiding history

banger?

lush

Sun set lake vermillion

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Ice anybody?

Saturday, December 12th, 2009

I think it been a long time again. I’m sat in the restaurant at lake louise having some lunch. I’m on a pre course level the snowboard instructor level 2. I think I’m becoming accustomed to the cold a little, yesterday it was -10 and felt almost warm! Monday they couldn’t even open the lifts because it’s was over thirty below. People say this is freak cold for this early in winter, but so good for getting used to it. I tend to lose feeling in my toes after twenty minutes outside, and frostbite comes in around ten.
So it hasn’t snowed in a while, just nice and sunny, the sun not feeling warm. But everybody is waiting for the next snow, after all snow is what we came for.
After being here around 5 weeks, alan and I finally have a place to move into, so that’ll end my almost 8 months of homelessness. It’s unfurnished so were trying to find our furniture online at no cost. It’s been done, so doable. I can’t wait to have a home.
So we decide to stay here for the winter, and have season passes for the local hills, so we are totally committed to Banff, expensive as it is.
I have a definately job lined up for January onwards, but only part time, so I’m still looking. But instructing is what I’ve been working towards, so excited!
Most of the time here is spent cold, on the snow, drinking, eating, and having lots of fun meeting new people.
Oh and one bad thing, I failed my level 1 for ski instructing. I passed the teaching but failed the technical skiing. It was pretty ambitious taking the course having barely skied In ten years. So there is a another course next week so I have to get practicing, and make sure I pass this time.
I guess last thing is ???

Photos; cheese, dice and drinks, bingo, robs new car, elk in town, more bingo, me riding, circular rainbow and my leg bruise after landing on a tree

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Powder in april

Saturday, April 18th, 2009

So Alan is here, and everybody had last night off work. So much for the plans for a BBQ, it snowed loads. So we had a house party, we were all a mess by five pm. It was a fun evening, with a big bad head day today.
Alan and I managed to go skiing, boarding today, I even took him up mont gele, pretty hardcore for his first day! Maybe thirty cms of powder, now, in April, insane, and awesome!!!
We got my car back from the garage, with the summer tyres :)
So off to lugarno tomorrow to jump 220m off a dam, same one that James bond did at the beginning of goldeneye. Ace or what.
Good luck to us all.

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and the snow returns

Monday, March 23rd, 2009

finally after 2 weeks of very little snow and lots of sun, it seemed like all of the snow would soon be gone, and as i speak it is snowing now :D yay for a powder day!

with christian here and beautiful sunny days, i’ve been out partying so much, so now i need rest. i feel a bit shitty, and need less booze for a while. i want to get soem snowboarding done, and that’s difficult when hangin!

today’s skiing just about killed me, after one sketchy run i could barely hold a bottle to drink from.

well anyway, yesterday was the verbier extreme competition and the finals for the world freeride championship. it was a lovely sunny day and loads of people were perched up on mont fort to watch the action. i don’t think i can imagine how to describe how extreme it is, so watch the video:

so i’m quitre excited about thsi year. we are only 1/4 done and it’s been crazy, i expect it is going to be crazier yet!!!

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doomsday

Sunday, March 15th, 2009

i just watched the best f&*)ing film ever. Doomsday. it’s like a cross between 28 days/weeks later, braveheart, waterworld, and mad max. it’s almost all set in scotland, some in london. and it is cheesey as hell, and great fun!!!!

come on look, at the end a mad max style chase with a bentley!

doomsday movie car chase bentley continental gt mad max style gimp

watch it!!!!

so i’m back in verbier and it is sunny and warm and is lovely!

mayrhofen was great, but i had enough of the crazy germans who can’t ski, and the apres ski music, though i did buy the cd for a laugh.

ian’s bro is here from new jesey for a week, so time to party again :s

oh and my stitches are out and my mouth is looking much better. i’m still a bit swollen. but time to see the dentist tuesday, and i want a new tooth!!!! any thoughts on a gold tooth?

i’m ready for summer now!

off to ride, so ciao

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brokenedddddd

Friday, March 6th, 2009

today i was super excited to ride the big powder, and had an ace day until…..

yeh so i tried to ride a tree like a rainbow rail. i got half way, lost momentum and slipped off. i tried to protect my face, but obviously that didn’t work too well! my tooth came right after hurting myself snowboardingme out, and went straight through my lip. i still have my tooth being that i had to pull it out of the front of my lip!

so i rode down with a mate to the car. drove myself back to verbier and went to the doctors.

my broken face, bloody mess after my snowboard accident in bruson, verbier

the doctor had to do 13 stitches. he even found a piece of tree inside my lip. i have both that an dmy tooth as souvenirs!

no work tonight, doctor’s orders. my boss is totally squeemish and kicked me out of the restaurant upion seeing it.

so i’m going to look beautiful for a while! and the cost of a new tooth is going to be huge, so better get onto the insurance!

not bad timing, as off on vacation for a few days, so can chill and heal a bit.

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mardi gras

Tuesday, February 24th, 2009

happy mardi gras to all. i guess back in blighty you will all be scoffing pancakes.

here it’s a BIG party, and everybody has to dress up!

olli and i up on col de gentianes

olli and i up on col de gentianes

so we went to lausanne on saturday which was nice, the idea was to finalise mardi gras costumes, but we just got drunk. it’s a nice city, i’d like to see more of it, and sober.

wednesday ian and i spent the afternoon in geneva, found a charity shop and sorted out our costumes. we were a bit late to collect his girlfriend courtney and her friend.

it’s been cool, we’ve been partying a bit and getting some riding in.

and no chris’s bro and mate are here, so we have 9 people staying here, and it’s only a 3 bedroom place! so it’s a rare thin g getting a warm shower!!!!

so off to the partying!!!!!

ciao

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sleepy times

Thursday, February 12th, 2009

i’m so tired, i have just had a nap before work.

the snow has been great, so i’m trying not to party too much right now. partying has been the reason for not updating, so life hasn’t been too eventful.

i hurt myself snowboarding and just got back to partying due to not want to ride. but after the s & m party the other night i’ve stopped that i hope. for now…

sadism and masachism party in casbah verbier verbier s & m

sadism and masachism party in casbah verbier verbier s & m

my car is all working now which is great, and i’m working on sorting out the number plates.

oh and the snowboarding is greeeeeeeeat right now, so back to teh snooooowwww!!!!!

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