Boarding In Glencoe: the Return

What a difference a year, and a decent level of snowfall, makes. After a rather cold and damp trip up to Glencoe to go snowboarding last year I (and a few other Glasgow astronomy folk, and one sibling of astronomy folk) returned there yesterday. This winter's seen Scotland getting it's best snowfall in probably at least a couple of decades and the ski centres have been doing very well from it. This combined with the rather nice weather over the last few days meant taking a trip up to the slopes seemed like a very good idea - and so it proved to be. The one downside to this trip was the early start, but we got over this quite quickly. On the way to Glencoe there was slight confusion between our convoy of two cars over a stop at the Green Welly - the car I was in ended up stopping there for about 25 mins waiting for the others, when in fact they'd already reach the ski centre - but this didn't hold us up for too long, and we were probably up the chair lift and on the slopes by just after 10am.

The contrast with the previous year was pretty staggering - it was dry, there was barely any wind, you could (kind of) see the Sun, and most importantly there was a lot of proper snow rather than mounds of slush, with patches of mud poking through. My ability to use the Poma tow was also greatly improved, and I got up the slope first time (and only fell off once thereafter)! We all started off with a few runs down the main beginner slope to reacquaint ourselves with boarding (and skiing), although the two Swiss in our group were quick to head off to the more challenging slopes up the top of the mountain. We soon moved on to a slightly more difficult run, up the top of a small chair lift, and stayed on this until lunch. I think it was just prior to lunch that I peaked in my ability, and was being pretty competent at heading downhill, turning and reaching reasonable speeds, all whilst not falling over!

After a lunch of roll and sausage and chips (following on from my pig in bread-based breakfast of a bacon roll at the Green Welly), and a needed rest, we headed back up to the slopes for about three hours more. Our Swiss contingent, who'd been on all the blue, red, and even (accidentally) black runs, up the top of the hill, suggested we be more adventurous and head up there too. This required negotiating the first tow, the chair lift, and a rather painful T-bar lift (these really aren't recommended if you're on a snowboard). It was worth it for the view that you got of the surrounding Glens from the top, and I managed to cheat my way to bagging a Munro (some might say it doesn't count though) by walking to the peak. After taking in the view we had to make it down the mountain though. We took what looked like the easiest of the blue runs and tentatively made it down. In the end it turned out to not be a particularly tricky run, but being as it was the first time the non-Swiss of us had run it (and given that we'd tired ourselves out in the morning) it proved a bit troublesome and more intimidating than it should be. If we'd gone up earlier in the day and tackled it a few times I think the knowledge of the route (and that we wouldn't die by falling off the edge of the mountain) would have made it more fun. We also didn't help ourselves by discussing the recent avalanches that there had been on the slopes right by where we were.

We finished the day by taking a few more runs down the easy slopes, although by this time people were aching and levels of boarding/skiing ability were diminishing rapidly. Still Marina, Hugh and myself decided that rather than take the chair lift back down to the car park we would board our way down to the bottom (Marina and Hugh had done this prior to lunch too, but we decided to take a different, less scary, route this time). There were a couple of runs down to the bottom marked on the map, but these weren't very easy to spot when you tried to go down them. There were a few other people doing the same thing, so we tried following them, but soon had to make our own route. The initial part of the run was very nice, and there were some areas of untouched powder that were great fun to board through, but nearer the bottom things got a lot bumpier and icier. For the second half of the run Hugh and I were generally traveling about 10 metres maximum before falling on our arses. Needless to say that part took a bit longer than planned and I, at least, was completely knackered and drenched in sweat.

In all it was a great day and a proper treat to see such good snow conditions in Scotland. Hopefully we can have some more seasons like that in the years to come (although I've not been a freezing weather that has lead to these good conditions).

[I forgot to mention that on the way back we saw some runners with a torch. We thought this might be the Olympic torch (a bit early I know, but who else runs with a torch?), but going passed them we saw it was the World Harmony Run. This is apparently an organisation that runs in an attempt to promote world harmony - they aren't trying to raise money, just be more harmonious. A bold and noble aim, but I'm not sure how much more at harmony with the world I was after seeing them. Maybe you have to run and hold the torch to feel the harmony.]

Boarding in Glencoe

Yesterday I went on my first snowboarding trip in Scotland (not including the indoor slope) to a real mountain ski resort (well calling it a resort's a bit much, more like ski set-of-huts). I tagged along with a few people from the Glasgow University Surf Club, who had been planning a weekend surf trip down to Wales, but had to cancel that and instead decided to hit the slopes for the day as they still had a minibus to use. We went up to Glencoe for the day.

When we got there it was apparently a borderline decision as to whether they'd open the skilifts or not due to quite high winds. They did open up and stayed open all day despite conditions actually getting worse throughout the day. When we first got up the main chairlift to the bottom of the ski runs the weather and wind wasn't actually that bad. The was some light sleet, but it was quite bareable. The hardest thing to start off with was getting the hang of the Poma tow that takes you to the top of the beginner slope. It didn't take me as many attempts as my first ever go on a tow, but it was probably four attempts before I made it all the way up to the top (the main problem was keeping your weight over the centre of the board when the pull initially kicked in and gave you a big jolt - many people, me included, were falling off as soon as it started). I stayed on the lower slopes all day (a few other went to the top, but I didn't really feel up for it after hearing what the conditions were like up there), but they provided a good enough challenge for me to practice improving my boarding.

As it got later the rain got heavier and there were more and more parts of the slopes that were turning slushy. By the time we went down for lunch we were all soaking wet. Lunch gave us a little time to dry off and warm up, but when we went back up the rain and wind had again picked up and the bottom of the beginner slope was now more slushy mud than snow. However we persisted. I had to regain my ability to use the tow, which I'd somehow lost over lunch (this got quite frustrating and almost led me to calling it quits straight away - luckily I managed to get up the slope a bit and as soon as I was boarding again I realised that I wanted to stay on the slopes longer). Once I was able to use the tow properly again I had quite a lot of good runs down the beginner slope. The main thing I tried to get myself to do was bend my knees more - I'm generally quite upright and use my body and back foot to turn, which isn't that good and made turning quite an effort. So I took more of a crouched position, which gave me a lot more control and felt more natural. During this time I got thoroughly soaked through and the slopes became more and more slushy and cut up. Everything on me was wet and my gloves where full of water (and bits of ice) - this was fine when I was doing stuff and my body was producing heat, but it wasn't so nice when getting the chairlift down. It was very nice to change into dry clothes in the end.

Despite the weather's best attempts to make it a miserable day I actually had a great time and it was good fun to be on a real mountain slope for the first time in just under two years. I need to get out somewhere else soon.

Back on the (fake) piste

This evening I went snowboarding for the first time in just under two years. I went for a session at the indoor ski slope at SNO!zone (that's how they spell it, it's not me!) at the Xscape complex in Braehead. I wasn't particularly convinced that I'd remember how to do it and had planned to book a refresher lesson due to the standards ("You must be able to use the lifts, control your speed/direction, perform controlled linked turns and ensure your boots fit correctly") that SNO!zone expect you to be at to go on their main slope - I was particularly worried that I wouldn't be able to use the lifts (you can read about my first particularly atrocious attempts here), which would show me up as completely unsuited to the main slope straight away. But unfortunately there were no space left for a lesson, so I had no choice except to throw myself onto the mercy of the big slope. Things in fact turned out perfectly fine. The tow lifts were far easier to use that I remembered, other than being particularly uncomfortable and crotch-crushing - I didn't fall off the lift at all. On going down the slope, which was actually rather tame compared to all of the real slopes I'd been on, I still remembered how to turn from one edge to the other, control my speed and stop - so I met all the requirements with no problem! I did fall over once, but it was a minor topple. It was very good to go and remind myself how to snowboard and I'll probably go back a few times before hopefully embarking on an actual trip to some mountains early next year.

Hard at work

This conference lark is grueling stuff I can tell you! Here at the Moriond meeting we start at 8.30am in the morning and things don't finish until 8.00pm at night. So what have I been doing during this taxing schedule? Well snowboarding mostly, as there's a specific skiing related break in the conference for 4-5 hours every day. This has provided ample time for me to brush up on my snowboard skills and look pretty damn cool in my gear (I went shopping at the weekend to buy some salopettes, i.e. waterproof skiing trousers, and some ski gloves, and despite the salopettes being half price they still cost £50!) My fellow conference attendees, Christian and Alastair, have also been improving their skiing. My ability has improved quite a lot and I can, most of the time, go back and forth from either edge of the board at will. I've spent considerably less time on my arse, and am far less bruised and battered, than my first time. Here in La Thuile there are no green/beginners runs, although there are several pretty easy blue runs. These are all rather nice to go down, and they aren't too busy so there's plenty of space to move. However, I'm not limited to the blue runs and have attempted, along with Christian and Alastair, a couple of red runs. Let me tell you these can be steep and pretty scary at points. We may not have been the most graceful looking people descending down the slopes, but we survived which is the most important thing. I can't believe I originally didn't want to come to this conference.

On an actual work note I did have to give a presentation which seemed to go well. I also got quite an interesting comment, well worth following up, from a certain Jim Faller (who some people know quite well).

Oh, and did I mention that the weather has been amazing!

Meet me in the mountains

After a couple of weeks of rushing around and giving talks in Brighton and Nottingham I've gone slightly more exotic and am in La Thuile in Italy. I'm here for the Moriond meeting, which is a scientific meeting come ski trip - the skiing is a major part of the meeting I'm told. In fact they have a four hour break in the middle of the days schedule for hitting the slopes. For this reason this will be a short post as I've got to get lunch before grabbing my snowboard and getting on the piste.

Everybody hurts

My body at the moment is in a fair bit of pain. This pain has been inflicted on me by throwing myself down the side of mountains on what's essentially a plank. I have bruised and battered knees, hips, elbows, wrists, coccyx (aka arse bone) and ribs and just about every muscle in between aches like buggery. But it was great fun! This is what happens when you spend three days snowboarding in the French Alps.

So on Wednesday of my trip to Geneva spacetimewaster and I got up at the ungodly hour of 6:30 in the morning in an attempt to get out to the ski resorts. Carrying our ski gear we headed to the bus station to see where the buses would take us. The weather was quite foggy, but wasn't too cold and looked like it would clear. At the bus station we were able to buy a combined ticket and skipass for the day. We had the option of either heading to Les Houches or Chamonix, and decided to start of at Les Houches as it would give us slightly longer on the slopes between being dropped off and picked up by the bus. The bus trip to Les Houches took us straight out of Switzerland, as Geneva is right on the border, and into France, and then up into the French Alps towards Mount Blanc. As we headed higher we got above the cloud cover and the weather cleared to give a really bright day. The view into the Alps was fantastic and the mountains started to surround us as we travelled further into them. After a drive of about one hour with Mount Blanc looming over us we got to Les Houches. We were then slightly shocked and a bit a anxious about our choice of ski resort. The rather warm weather had meant that this has been one of the worst winters for snow in the Alps, and the bottom of the slopes at Les Houches showed this up. There was hardly any snow at all. One of the skiing World Cup events was supposed to have been hosted there, but had had to be cancelled due to lack of snow, but there we were and we had to make the most of it. The only way was up.

We put on our ski gear and headed for the ski lift hoping that as we ascended the snow situation wouldn't look as bleak. Now I'm a complete beginner at snow boarding - I'd never done it or anything like it before - so at the bottom of the slope spacetimewaster tried giving me some pointers. Due to my novice state I wanted to head for the green beginners slope at the top of the mountain. This required heading up three sets of ski lifts, which in themselves are a bit of a challenge to get on and off for a beginner. When we got to the top of the mountain at just under 2000m in altitude the snow situation was looking a lot better, however I still had to make it the from the ski lift to the beginner slope, which was a couple of hundred metres away. Under spacetimewaster's (who is rather good at skiing) guidance I slid and fell, and slid and fell, and slid and fell my way over to it. In some points I managed to stay upright for metres at a time, although a large fraction of my bruises arose from this period. The beginners slope at this resort was very short, but was good practice for me to get going. My main challenge on this slope was getting back to the top on the ski lift which was a tow. With this you put the tow between your legs and it pulls you up the slope, which is harder for snowboarders than skiers. The look of exasperation on the guy who operated the thing after my seventh or so failed attempt to make it up the tow without falling over became quite amusing - I did attempt to apologise in French, with more and more conviction, several times. Finally, however, I got the hang of the thing - it's all about keeping your centre of balance over the middle of the board. The best thing about Les Houches was the views it gave over Mount Blanc - over lunch at the restaurant we had an absolutely fabulous and clear view of the mountain and all its glaciers. It's one of those views you wish you could see every day. The temperature was surprisingly warm as well and we had to strip off out outermost layer when having lunch. In terms of learning how to snowboard the day was pretty successful despite all the bruising. We left for the bus back to Geneva quite happy with our day. That night in Geneva we went for dinner at a, very popular, Chinese retaurant, which had the quickest table service I've ever seen - we were probably in and out of the place in about 25 mins! We then hung out with all Geneva's youthful posse's by going on the bumper cars at a fair set up in the town - out of all the rides there were actually three separate dodgems - the main difference being the type of music being blasted out of each!

The next day was also a ski trip. It again involved getting up stupidly early - which I was none to pleased with at the time. We decided to take the bus slightly further into Chamonix this time - Chamonix having several different ski resorts to go to. As I was still fairly novice at the whole sliding down snowy slopes thing we decided to go to Flegere which had a couple of green (aka beginner) runs. Arriving at Flegere (after going up the cable car) we found a lot more snow than we'd seen the previous day at Les Houches. We also found that the green slope was actually quite a challenge. It started off with a narrow and fairly steep winding path, which for the beginner is very daunting. This lead onto a good wide slope, which enabled me to experiment with my turning skills, and was a lot of fun to go down. I still had a lot of falling over, but it was accompanied by an increase in confidence and ability - I also got a lot better at handling the ski lift. The day again had impressively nice weather affording nice views of Mount Blanc (from a different angle this time). That night I went to bed with racing down the slopes dominating my mind.

I'd though that two days of snowboarding could well have done me in - indeed it had left me battered and bruised - but I still was having enough fun to subject myself to a third morning of the early start. We were getting to know the staff at the bus station by now and also recgonised some of the other ski enthusiasts who had been on the bus the last couple of days. As it had been good to us the day before we decided to go back to Chamonix and Flegere for another go. This allowed me to improve a bit more and add in some toe edge to heel edge, and back, turns to my repertoire. It was great fun again and involved slightly less (proportionally) falling down - I did, however, manage to take a skier out by ploughing straight into them and wind myself (adding bruised ribs to my injuries). There had also been a fresh fall of snow the night before, which helped turning on the board and also in breaking falls. I managed to get down and learn the main green slope pretty well (although still without fail stacked-it at the bottom).

Overall I really enjoyed my Alpine snowboarding experience and would love to do it again. This might have to be substituted by some dry ski slopes, or if possible some actually proper snow in Scotland!