Sorry for the late blog, last week got all a bit wrapped up in the first ever X Games in Europe, but more on that to come.
It has now been well over a week since the last snowfall, although when we did last have snow there was quite a lot. Knowing that powder days were getting few and far between, we made sure we got first lifts the following day and headed straight to the Swiss couloirs. This is the area to the skiers left of the infamous ‘Swiss wall’, it is a series of chutes in a row each opening out into a vast powder field. We were lucky enough to get up to the Fornet bowl just as they opened the lifts and were literally in the first set of people to start lapping the couloirs. After a few tests to check the stability of the snow pack we quickly discovered that it was actually very safe and so we quickly opened three of the chutes before anyone else had time to come down. By lunchtime that day everything was starting to get pretty tracked and without some hiking there has actually been no powder riding since then.
However, the slopes are by no means looking bare. Around the same time as that last snowfall, the temperature around the Alps plummeted. It has been my favourite ski conditions for about a week, blue skies but pretty cold keeping the snow in really good condition and giving us some well due goggle-marks. Last I heard, the snow-pack is around 75cm at 1000m, 175cm at 1800m and 200cm at 2400m, so still great conditions around resort.
In fact, it is better still because all the school holidays are now officially over and so the slopes are nice and quiet again. There is almost no queuing for lifts and literally every lift is open in the whole resort, so I would say that no is probably the perfect time to come out!
As well as this there have been a number of fun events in and around Morzine. Up in Nyon there was the X-Speed ski tour. This is basically where you can try out speed skiing, i.e. standing at the top of a perfectly groomed track, pointing your skis straight down and racing past a speed gun at maximum velocity. Great fun for finally settling those bets as to who is the fastest!
In fact if you missed that event but you think it is right up your street, then you can head over to the permanent speed-ski track between Chatel and Morgin. A bit of a trek from Morzine, but still covered on your lift pass, if you have a full Portes du Soleil pass.
But the event that has really got chins wagging this week has been the first ever Winter X Games Europe which was held in Tignes from the 10-12th March.
I was super stoked about the event, for a number of reasons. A great chance for a little road-trip to another resort, the opportunity to see literally the best of the best riders from around the world progressing the sports that we love but also because I have recently got myself the new Dakine Mission Photo backpack and have been dying for a good excuse to take it up the hill.
In short the event was phenomenal! We arrived just in time to see the Men’s Ski Superpipe final, a display that you can’t even fathom unless you see it live with your own eyes, the top two podium spots were taken by local French riders Kevin Rowland and Xavier Bertoni and so the crowd went wild and stormed the pipe at the end and practically mobbed these two very happy and overwhelmed looking boys!
Another huge highlight for me was seeing English rider; Jenny Jones, take her third consecutive X Games Gold medal for Snowboard slopestyle, truly proving her domination of the discipline.
The backpack did me proud too! Previously I have had the Dakine Sequence which is similar but quite a lot bigger, which made riding quite frustrating when using it.
However they seem to have made this bag out of the same stuff as Doctor Who’s Tardis, because although it can fit all of my kit in it just feels like a regular backpack and even with a tripod attached is really pleasant to ride in!
So all in all, a fantastic few days! We are now happily back in Morzine, enjoying the sun, snow and small queues. And do you know what the best bit is? It is officially now BBQ season, so pass the ketchup and I’ll see you next time!