Next time you’re at Manchester’s Chill Factore keep your eyes peeled for some new hits courtesy of Nomis, Technine and Subvert boardstore.

There’s a four metre long by one metre wide flat box and a flat down rail which is two metres flat then two metres down and about 12 cm wide.

They’re both branded with the website www.oneloveofsport.com which has info on Technine and Nomis products and stockists plus logos for Subvert, the snowboard store in the Chill Factore centre.

Look out for them at the Subjam session taking place tomorrow – Friday June 27. The event, which starts at 7pm is raising money for cancer care at Christie’s Hospital in Manchester.

There’ll be 2008/9 demo kit, DJs, raffles, free nibbles from Nandos and drinks promos.

Over the Easter weekend, Dave and I took the Avalanche Skills Training Level 1 course run by Whistler Alpine Guides Bureau. It involved two evenings in the classroom and two days on the mountain, including some backcountry powder turns.

We’d booked split boards for the course, but unfortunately they were needed by someone else, so we got a refund and had to use snowshoes instead. In a way that was a good thing, as we’d wanted to try them out for comparison.

The first evening in the classroom, we met our fellow students (Ashley, Ian, Sholto, Brigitte and Tim), and our instructor, Jeff. All but Ian and Jeff were snowboarding; Jeff used to be a snowboarder but learned to ski because it’s much more practical for ski touring and guiding.

We learned about avalanche terrain - start zones, terrain traps, the effect of the steepness and aspect of the slope; and a little bit about weather, snow conditions and snowpack. We were each given an ‘Avaluator’ card, which helps you to assess the risk and complexity of the terrain you want to ride. You use the ‘ALPTRUTH’ acronym to assess the risk (A - have there been any Avalanches in the area in the last 48 hours? L - has there been significant Loading of the slopes due to snowfall or wind? P - are there any avalanche Paths on the terrain you want to ride? T - are there any Terrain Traps (such as gullies, crevasses, cliffs, big rocks) to look out for? R - what is the avalanche patrol’s Rating for avalanche danger today? U - have you come across any Unstable snowpacks (have you heard any whoompfing noises or cracks as the snowpack settles)? TH - are there any signs of Thaw?)

You then look at how many factors need to be taken into consideration (this is a bit complex to go into in detail here) and decide whether the terrain is ’simple’, ‘challenging’ or ‘complex’. Based on all of that you decide whether to proceed with normal caution, with extra caution, do something mellower, or just go home!!

Normally, the first day on the mountain is spent learning how to use avalanche rescue equipment and conduct a proper search for buried victims, but the weather forecast said that Saturday would be beautiful and the avalanche risk low; whereas it was going to be windy and snow a lot overnight, so the avalanche risk would sky-rocket by Sunday.

So we spent Saturday touring in the backcountry, looking at the terrain, discussing its risk, practising ‘avaluating’, doing lots of trudging uphill, and getting some sweet powder turns. (First we had a coffee in the Roundhouse, looked at a topographical map of the region we were heading for, and discussed the weather and snow reports.) We practised cautious travel, such as checking the terrain above for start zones before picking a route up, and crossing more risky zones one at a time so that if a slide were to happen, only one person would be in danger and the rest of us would be able to rescue them.

I hadn’t realised, though it seems obvious now, that you’re in more danger from avalanches when you’re hiking up than when you’re riding down, because you move so much slower and are exposed for much longer.

(It turns out that although snowshoes work pretty well, the fact that you have to carry your snowboard on your back rather than converting it into skis makes the whole thing much harder work.)

In the evening, we regrouped in the classroom for more book-learning and slides, then watched a genuinely harrowing video about a real-life avalanche incident and its victims. I’m pretty sure one of the main aims of this course is to scare the students into realising that going into the backcountry is not something to take lightly. It worked.

As predicted, on Sunday the avalanche risk was very high. We established ourselves in a big patch of deep snow near the base of Harmony chairlift, where we spent several hours telling hopeful people that avalanche patrol were still blasting Harmony Ridge and the chair wouldn’t be open for a while. Meanwhile we learned how to use our transceivers, shovels and probes efficiently, and how to work as a group in a burial situation.

Jeff set up several scenarios, and pretended to be a panicking guy whose friends had got buried. It was very well done - we learned from a lot of mistakes along the way. For instance we learned that as well as making sure all of us had turned our transceivers to receive instead of transmit (so we could find the buried transceiver), we had to check whether the panicking guy was wearing a transceiver and had switched it to receive. We spent ages getting confused because we were picking up Jeff’s beacon signal…

We also learned to look for surface clues such as ski poles and pieces of clothing, to check if they were attached to a person, and to probe near them and near other potential burial sites such as trees and rocks, while two people conducted the transceiver search; to have a spotter to check that we weren’t in danger of the rescuers being caught in a second avalanche; how to dig effectively so that we had access to clear an airway and get the person out easily if there’d been trauma; and the importance of having a group leader who asked lots of questions, directed the team and kept an eye on the big picture.

We did get some powder too, once Harmony opened and we were able to access Symphony Amphitheatre, where we were able to hike a small distance for some untouched snow and do some more rescue scenarios. Jeff also took some time to dig a snow pit and show us how you test the snow density and check for weak layers.

The end result was that we all got a lovely certificate, and left the course knowing a lot more than we did before, but also knowing how little we still know. Jeff’s advice was to do some low-risk backcountry riding to put what we’d learned into practical use, and then take the Level 2 course. He emphasised that we are definitely not qualified to take other people into the backcountry. But he was excited that we’d all enjoyed it so much.

A top skier Austrian had to have his leg amputed after an accident during a World Cup race in Norway at the weekend.

Eyebrows are now being raised about the safety facilities available at World Cup events after it was revealed that Matthias Lanzinger had to be airlifted off the mountain at Kvitfjell by tourist helicopter because medical helicopter was not available.

The Austrian Chancellor has criticised the organisers of the World Cup circuit for the poor medical facilities.

More on the story on The Times website.

Well great news for the southern hemisphere...may be old news for everyone else but Burton have chosen to create the third unique Stash run at the Remarkables in New Zealand. The other two are at Northstar, Tahoe and Avoriaz, France.

If you don't know what the The Stash is, its a run which incorporates natural organic materials (eg wood and stone - no metal or plastics) to create jibs and and other creative features for your riding pleasure!

Check out the full press release at Burton.

A couple of weeks back, three friends and I spent two days split-boarding with Whistler Mountain Guides.

Split boards (as you can probably guess) split down the middle so that you can transform them into skis. When in snowboard form, there are metal plates going across the board that you can slide ordinary snowboard bindings onto (also attached to a matching metal plate). When in ski form, there are metal plates facing forward on each ski that you can also attach the binding onto, with the heel loose as in telemark skis. You can then attach skins to the base of the skis and hike uphill.

The boards are surprisingly easy to split and to put back together again – which is good, because you don’t want to be messing around with complex parts in deep snow and interesting weather in the backcountry. Everything uses either simple clips, or a bar through holes secured with a clip.

In all honesty I can’t remember what we did when or what each area was called, so rather than a chronological account I’ll give you some impressions and opinions.

Riding the split board on-piste was not so much fun. It was incredibly heavy, and the split down the middle did nothing for its gliding abilities, especially on flat roads. I had the smallest board they could rent me, which was a 154 – pretty hefty for a short person like me. Luckily we only stayed on-piste while we waited for the alpine lifts to open.

Hiking up was hard work. It took a while to get the knack – you glide your toe across the snow rather than trying to walk properly. The skins work amazingly well – even on pretty steep slopes they didn’t slide back down the hill. Luckily I was at the back of the group so I never had to break trail, which was much harder work, especially in the very deep snow we found in the backcountry. It helped to get into a rhythm with your breath, and go at your own pace, not the pace of the guide or the person in front. My legs were significantly shorter than everyone else’s, after all!

If I remember correctly, on the first day we did three untouched powder runs in the backcountry (Oboe Basin); one really lovely powder run down Flute Bowl; and four hikes up; followed by a trudge back past Harmony to reach the pistes so we could snowboard back to the Village. The backcountry powder was a revelation. It felt bottomless, and the big board really came into its own as I put big surfy turns in. Obviously, in relation to the long hikes, the runs were over very quickly – but the adrenaline really pumped, which helped with the next hike up. Was it worth it? On balance I have to say yes.

On the second day, we went to Blackcomb, got the T-bars up, and traversed across the Horstmann Glacier to the beginning of our first hike. Again, my memory is a little hazy but I think we did two untouched backcountry runs and two in-bounds but non-lift-accessed powder runs. Some of the hiking was harder this time because there was a steep camber on the slope, and the access through the pass to Bodybag Basin (really) was rocky and icy and very exposed. The conditions were touch-and-go at the start of the day, with white-out conditions forcing us to stay close to rocks and trees as reference points.

On both days the avalanche risk was considerable, but our guide, John, really knew what he was doing. He was in radio contact with ski patrol and with other guides; kept a keen eye on conditions and slopes; made sure we all had the right gear and practised using it before setting off; and made sure we knew which slopes and which aspects of them were risky and had to be avoided. There was one slope in particular that was just to one side of a ridge and looked fantastically tempting, but was very much off limits.

I have to admit it was exhausting. By the end of the first day I was so tired I didn’t speak for about three hours. But I think I’d quickly build up fitness if I did it enough.

Am I tempted to get my own split-board and go on backcountry adventures from now on? Yes indeed – but I have two reservations, and they’re big ones. The first is cost – split boards are very expensive. Ours were made by Prior (based in Whistler) and were worth over $1,000 CAD each. The cost per use is likely to be pretty high. The other reservation is whether I’m prepared to go into the backcountry without a qualified mountain guide to shepherd me. I’ve got a lot of education to complete first – avalanche awareness being an important first step. A first aid course probably wouldn’t hurt either…

There’s a full Flickr set of photos if you’re keen to see them.

Anne-Flore Marxer just dropped us a line to tell us about  her latest escapades with the Runway Films crew in Canada. Here’s the lowdown…

Day 1
We are sitting on that oldschool chairlift in White Water BC, it s bouncing.. the slope is still untracked.. The fog is going up and the sun starts appearing behind the evergreens. The snow builds up on the trees,, they are frozen.. everything is white and crutsy, humid, fresh tracks, pillows, cold and heartwarming. Runs in the trees all the way to the road and hitchhike back to the lift. Small resort, 2 lifts.

This is how poetic the trip started.. and the crew made it all become funky and adventurous!  Leanne Pelosi, Janna Meyen, Natasza Zurek and I are following Shandi Campos and Scott in the deepest of their mountains..

Day 2
Crazy way up the hill this morning, cross avi passes.. huge avalanches. Danger zone.
The sleds go down, shandy saves us all.. I m on the radio.. I m so important with my radio!! Next one! Sweet and mellow Pillow lines.
Nat let her sled go straight into a tree.. half of it just commits to suicide.. the sled seems fine.. upper bowl I spit my lungs in the death zone. Cant see shit.. scared as hell..
Adrenaline I love you, best drug ever. Scott shreds down that line I was way too scared to do on his noboard! That’s the coolest thing by the way!! No Boardng? Love it!
Janna rips it on her sled!! She jumps even! Randy (Shandy’s dog) runs faster then any of us on the sleds.. and hangs with us all day up there! Warm and sunny. Christy runs over that other dog. Bamboo or meetball should we call it? The dog goes under the track of the sleds and gets spit out the other end. The dog seems to be used to it..
We find sick cliffs and sweet pillow lines.. the snow is epic! On the ride down a huge avalanche had crossed our track back.. our only way out.. we had to dig our way through tons of heavy snow! Happy day.

Day 3
On the third day we found huge rocks pillows field! Messy day.. tired day.. Janna is having enough fun for all of us! Huge airs out of that one sick rock pillow.. me hungry, me grumpy when hungry.. me not friendly when grumpy! Sorry..
Day 4
Janna is a sledneck, she went TTT (to the top) on her sled high marking way better then any of the sled duds.. scott fs 360 on that natural hit in the middle of his line on a No Board! What?! All the girls are killing it! We all stomped our cliff lines first track! We are all done by noon and just have a good time. The dogs are here too, they are so cool.. they just run all the way up the tracks and hang out with us all day..
lunar eclips and famly dinner.. good times..

Day 5
Tired.. sketchy avalanche area, no roping for the first time, it s really like surfing on snow. WE are all quite tired, lucky that Natasza is hard working for us all, and she didn’t die on that first try. We watch and sit in the sun. move the sled to sun  little by little as the shadow gets us.. wett boots tired back to our hobbit houses. Me tired, me even stop talking when tired. Good night. The week end approaches and it’s time for us to rest before we keep on shooting.. That was an epic week and certainly the most productive in a long time.. check next year’s Runway movie to see the footage!

You can also find out more about Anne-Flore on her website www.annefloremarxer.com

If the thought of a long hot summer leaves you cold, you might fancy entering eesa’s competition to win two weeks of summer snowboarding in Argentina.

The prize is for a 17 day trip to the South American Snow Session and the prize includes round trip plane ticket to wherever you live, transportation within Argentina, 17 days of accommodation, lift tickets, meals, coaching, guiding, Spanish classes and avalanche awareness course. The whole shebang is worth more than $5,000.

To enter, you just need to convince eesa why you should get the trip. You make your argument on a dossier you can get by contacting eesa by email asap.

The competition is open to anyone over the age of 18 and entries must be submitted by April 1.

Click here for full details on the eesa website.

There has been a fatal helicopter crash in Golden BC. The news is reporting this afternoon that the helicopter pilot from Purcell Helicopter Skiing, near Golden has died. Two other employees were injured and airlifted to hospital in Calgary and amazingly the 6 German tourists on board walked away from the fatal crash. The news report can be found at:

http://www.cbc.ca/cp/national/080208/n020843A.html

This MSNBC news package from Aspen has some great footage of avalanches being triggered by ski patrol crews. You can also snigger at the presenter in a suit on skis…