My little girl is eight!

School holidays and the children have arrived! The boys wasted no time in getting onto the skis. Tonight we had a special tea for Ruby's birthday - a candel light snow dinner followed by chocolate birthday cake and a few presents! Happy birthday Ruby!!!! Love Dad.

Er well... More Snow!!!!!

Today I awoke to bluebird Sky's and no wind (as a gale was forecast) so I quickly packed a lunch and headed to Temple. It was their opening day today and the trail was already well blazed before I skinned up it. The snow was still powder and despite temperatures of minus two. Phew!

Temple was pumping - Great to see the tows going and folks shredding!!! I'm stoked for the staff, who work extra hard up there to make it all happen, along with all the volunteer effort that goes in!

For my part I checked in with patrol and then headed for more laps in Casidy's - I think about four in total in knee deep powder. After a break I headed up in variable conditions to Temple tow and then Page Shelter, which I was surprised to find occupied with the fire going! Its normally way colder than my fridge in there! The guys were working on downhill.

As for gear today I suffered the usual problems masses of compacted snow creates to boots and bindings -ie totally locked up. I'll reserve judgement, as my f1s did their 'i'm not going to lockdown for downhill thing' or came unstuck at that really critical turn. Very frustrating when you've worked so hard to get those turns! But then again maybe I'm expecting too much from them, after all they have been modified- and would probably have far less flex with their tongues back in them! I think I'll try that, and see how it works.

Here are a few photos from the day. The guy drinking paint is Ash.

More Snow YAHOOOOO!!!

Today at lunchtime I skinned and skied State Highway 73 to the top of the Pass. The trick to this, as I have learned over the last couple of winters is to wait long enough so that there is 10-15cm coverage at least at the sides of the road. This should be enough to close the road to traffic, as was the case today. Then you need to get as high as you are going to go before the road crew bring up 'the big orange grader/grit spreader'. This machine totally stuffs the whole thing up and once it has been over the road a couple of times - all the snow is banked at the sides and it is full of gravel - killer on your skis! It is advisable also, when skiing down to just straight line the whole thing as there is no base for turning. With this knowledge it would be pretty cool to ski the viaduct!! Why not - provided the road is closed! That could be a great objective if the road is totally closed for a half a day.

More snow at Temple

After work today I went and ran some laps at Casidy tow. There was about 10cm of fresh, so it was cool to be the first to rip it up! I think they are fixed to open this coming Saturday.

Another thing that happened today was I just caught the news about the Chinese Olympic Torch on Everest, and the controversy surrounding the expedition (I know that was 2.5 months ago!). At least it was Tibetan climbers who summited. For those who dont know ( probably no one) the Chinese closed the climbing season and posted snipers at camp two to stop protesters! Lethal force was apparently authorised! The media coverage was totally locked down, so all the coverage there was, is some happy smiley faces and about seven torches being waved. The irony is that it was cloudy, so apart from the thick jackets, you couldn't really tell it was the summit. The China's occupation of Tibet is so un justified! I'm looking forward to the Olympics as the ultimate sporting event on the planet, but China really need to give Tibet back (and pay rent). There is more on this on Graeme Kates site www.softrock.co.nz

Anyway back to Ski Mountaineering! I've been going over some gear modifications lately:

BOOTS

I've been having some lockdown issues with my F1s, which most people would be aware of. Basically to lock down into down hill mode you have to clean snow out of the groove and then push so hard your hand bruises. I sanded the groove for less resistance and this has helped. I might sand them a bit more, but I don't want them to become too loose either!!! It's frustrating as this issue is really slowing my down hill transitions. On the positive side I've saved a lot of weight on the f1s by taking out the tongue and disposing of the powerstrap. I also sawed off some of the sole, and replaced with a bit of closed cell foam. This system seemed to work well with my Lasers too.

SKINS

Here I've shortened them 20cm back from the ski end and Incorporated the 'Grant Guise' bottle cap and bungy cord attachment system. To use this I had to cut a groove into the tips of my skis. This system rocks! It is much easier to get on and off too. The skins now glide better with plenty of traction in 'normal' conditions.

POLES

Skate ski poles with new straps - quite long : about 140cm. They seem to give a lot more power from the upper body.

PACK

A deuter race pack with all the extras stripped off. I've added a loop and a bungy cord, so that it can carry skis on the bootpack. The system works really well.

Non of these modifications are original and all have mostly come from Grant Guise who in turn learned them through experience and from others. However the difference they make are incredible, as it doubles the distance you can do in a day. I used to feel absolutely stuffed after a day skinning and now it feels more like just going for a run. You can check out Grant's site at www.skimonz.co.nz

New Snow at Temple

With the recent dump of snow I went skinning up at temple. Basically to the top of Temple tow, then up to the Tarns, then over to just below Mt. Casidy. Strong wind prevented me from summiting. The photos are the cairn above temple tow and the building from across the valley from under Casidy. The staff at Temple were extremely nice and Ben made me areal coffee, which I must say went down well. Temple Basin is just awesome for ski Mountaineering!!!!

We had a little more snow over this weekend, so it was cool to be invited along with Grant and Jane at Mt Cheeseman Ski area by Peter and Sonia. While they groomed the slopes we went for a bit of a tour, and had a general looksie. Very Nice.

Last weekend I ran in the Christchurch sbs Marathon 10k run. I came in 58th overall which worked out to be 26th in the open mens'. I was hoping to be in the first 50! It was an enjoyable and entertaining event, which I would be keen to do again. On the way down to town I stopped off in the Craigieburns for a wee ski!