Around 100 athletes & coaches took control of Cardrona’s finest features last week and the progression was mind blowing. With the Whitestar lift spinning & sleds shuttling skiers and boarders there was every chance for great things to happen. Coach to Shawn White, Bud Keene stated Cardrona Spring camp jump progression setup. If you can’t get it done here, then maybe you can’t get it done at all…
“…If you can’t get it done here, then maybe you can’t get it done at all” – Bud Keene
The SBX course shaped up beautifully throughout the week challenging athletes from Australia and New Zealand to discover new limits of speed, agility and edge control. I was fortunate to be up there for a few days helping the NZ riders Carl Murphy & Duncan Campbell on their form. After working with Carl during the 2014 season on Treble Cone, it was great to see his progression using the skills from riding TC’s challenging terrain & strength training from the gym.
Carl Murphy Adam Dooney
SBX Cardrona
Variations of the AirBag were set up along the Super Pipe wall along with the bottom. The biggest bag in the southern hemi was catching athletes on boards, skis and even a sit-skis! Jody Blatchley has been ruling it on his sit-ski this season and nailed his first back-flips onto the giant pillow. Impressive!
Triples, triples, triples… Cheers of Stoke rippled across the home basin as new personal bests were made. Coaches tactfully challenged their athletes to bring new found air awareness on the jump line. Fewer speed-checks were made every day as racers pushed themselves over the rollers and berms. Old fears were controlled more and more each day as new heights were reached.
Neversummer Riders throwing down.
Exciting and progressive times all week as many of them raised the bar getting ready for the northern hemi winter… Breckenridge will be a destination of choice for the park riders along with La Molina Spain, where Carl will compete in his first F.I.S race for the winter.
“Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear… not absence of fear.” – Mark Twain
Much to look forward to during the next year and it has never been a greater time to be involved in snowboarding.
The Treble Cone Export 33 Banked Slalom was another successful event. The event pulled in 60+ riders in open and maters categories. Local and international riders enjoy attending each year shredding for a prize pool of $2000 plus spot prizes thanks to Never Summer & Candy Grind.
It was local talent that stood on the podium this year and I was honored to stand next to some good friends – a great way to celebrate my Birthday! If there was an official world circuit in this event I would sign up in a flash. Until then, I will continue training in boarder cross, coach Paralympian Carl Murphy part time and work with Rookie Academy.
The quad lift reaches tower 6 and the SW wind really starts to kick in… Like a sand-blaster, snow is picked up and shot into me, particularly my glove-less hand which is hoping to get a photo of how epic Treble Cone’s pipes are looking.
This last week on Treble Cone has treated many skiers and riders to some cold winter conditions. The gullies are loaded with some high quality snow which has been getting sprayed all over the place by stoked locals and visitors.
The great news is that conditions are looking mighty fine for the Banked Slalom which is being held in 6 days time. An international flavor to the start list is usually expected next weekend including Olympians, World Cup racers and die-hard locals. All of which have an equal chance of winning a cash prize pool of over $2000 and assorted prizes.
35 years young? No problem, there is a Masters category just for you. Thanks to the generous and very supportive sponsor Never Summer Snowboards and Candy Grind, Treble Cone will host one of the worlds most famous snowboard gatherings. Get your kit tuned by the pros at The Wax Room be sure to enter and I look forward to seeing you there!
Check out the hi-lights from the 2013 DB Export Banked Slalom:
Did you know that people lucky enough to survive the 4-5 year wait-list for a kidney, only 30% of them would receive one from a deceased doner? I was fortunate to attend a meeting recently, held by Kidney Health New Zealand. Ten keen kidney doners crossed paths in Christchurch and shared ideas on starting a Living Kidney Doner Network (LKDN).
• Helping to increase living kidney donations in New Zealand
• A support group to donors – mentor to those donating
• Educating people on personal stories
• Increasing financial support for live donors
Continued support for people involved in this life saving operation is very important to us. Providing the public with well informed information about donating and general kidney awareness is key here, because we are bound to someone who will be affected by renal disease.
We are still in the early stages of getting our project off the ground. If you have any suggestions regarding how we can make this opportunity better than it already is, please get in touch.
An anxious wait for snow is never easy… When and how much white stuff will we have the pleasure of shredding? That day finally came on Friday when Treble Cone opened her gates and the crowd went wild!
Smiles for miles as we lapped up line after line of fresh pockets both in the Home and Saddle basin. Chris Rogers and Janina Kuzma scored first chair, probably because their kit was freshly tuned by The Wax Room. As it should be…
The coverage in the saddle was much more than expected, with only a few patches of tussock to keep challenged as you reached the quad lift. Avalanche debris looked soft from afar, but far from soft… It claimed a few unsuspecting shredders including myself. An involuntary front-flip/rag doll will always provide some entertainment for the onlookers. Wind picked up in the afternoon, however it was ideal because the tracks were filed in for the next day skiers and riders to enjoy. See www.360queenstown-wanaka.com for daily information on where to ride.
Even though it was a delayed opening, there was still plenty of terrain and snow to get the legs burning again. Time to get make stretching routine a habit again and dust off the foam roller!
Big thanks to Lachlan at Clean Line Producitons for the shots from Saturday. Lachlan’s film is showing at the out the Mountain Film Festival tonight. It follows a story of Colin Boyd on his path to compete in the World Freeride Tour.
Carl at Winter Imports works hard to ensure that Instructors and leaders in the industry are looked after. He provides the support necessary and helps out the best he can, especially to qualified instructors.
Winter Imports New Zealand
Winter Imports New Zealand
Really looking forward to the Treble Cone season ahead and riding on Never Summer again! Any questions on the gear, just ask.
New kit for the season including the RipSaw!
A capacity audience left The Rippon Hall on Saturday buzzing with ideas after the first ever TEDxWanaka. The event, which took place on a perfect winter solstice, could mark a turning point for many in more ways than one after an enlightening programme of seven speakers plus entertainment and local food and wine.
The food coma started to set in… Only 10km from Pienza. We crawled into the small yet lively town. As our bikes bounced over the cobblestone streets, the atmosphere was lively. It was Saturday afternoon and the bustling markets were still thriving. The smorgasbord of Italian delights had overwhelmed us from our lunch stop. We preceded to find a shady spot under some trees and passed out next to our bikes.
Taking the back roads through Italy
After seeing some of Croatia 4 years ago, cycle touring through her neighbor Italy, has been a dream for some time. Every tour is a chance to experience and meet the locals and landscape while enjoying the food grown from their land. That extra meal and snack can always be justified when clocking up the kilometers each day! Hollie and I rode around 500km from near Bologna to the outskirts of Rome.
On tour. The best kind of way.
What we didn’t have when starting out each day we picked up from local shops and markets. Food tastes better when it’s bought from the grower and the owners of shops – especially when asked for in another language. Yes, we mastered a few phrases! An instant level of rapport and connection was made when we used Italian to get what we wanted. Of course using your hands added to the experience!
Streets filled with history and delicious
An unexpected and favorite place we stopped for lunch one day was Grieve. Seriously the best Gnocchi and Ravioli ever tasted! A beautiful balance of flavor and texture washed down with some vino. Responsible amounts of wine, of course were essential so that balance wasn’t compromised. An Italian breakfast consisted of an espresso and cometto (Italian croissant). A fairly rich start to the day but a delicious one at that. “Keep right!” sounded strange at first but important nonetheless as we pulled out onto the roads after lunch with full bellies.
Transporting the essentials
We continued along some incredibly beautiful countryside enjoying the smaller things that often made the difference. I remember clearly these moments, for example a smile and wave from a farmers tending their crops or a curious group of kids checking out the bikes and we had a few interesting looks! The chance of them meeting two Kiwi’s on tour was probably small, plus Hollie did look pretty good in Lycra. Sometimes it probably looked like an Icebreaker commercial as we peddled our way South. We decided to ride as far as Orte and catch the speedy train into the heart of Rome.
Transition points can be challenging
Rome was huge. It was not even peak season, however we got a good taste of the city as a whole including seeing the museums, art galleries, exhibitions, the Pope and local relics. Sometimes good old fashion people-watching was all the entertainment we needed as we ate lunch on the Spanish Steps. The shopping was pretty good! I resisted the urge to buy a leather fanny-pack and opted for the leather jacket and Italian suit instead. In the back of our minds we visualised how much space we had left in our luggage and how realistic it was wearing it all on the plane to save space!
We had the fortune of acquiring a crevice between a wall and an elevator at the base of an apartment building. It was perfect for stashing out boxed bikes while Hollie and I escaped the city for a few days and checked out the Almalfi coast. Air B&B was useful to find affordable accommodation in just the right location. Once we arrived on the coast we settled into a B&B and hired a scooter which was AWESOME! We clocked up over 100km exploring the narrow roads which lined the stunning coast. Colorful houses checkered the cliffs above small beaches
Incredible canvas near the Sistine Chapel
A fisherman working his nets
Leaving Pienza… a favourite.
Sampling Bologna’s finest with Matteo
Testing the bikes out
Colosseum, Rome
Maori, Almalfi coast
A spot for lunch
Almalfi coast
More art history than you could shake a stick at.
It’s incredible what two passionate adventurers can pull off! I challenge you, the reader to choose a bike for part of their trip next time instead of the bus or car. You might surprise yourself how much more full-filling your holiday experience could be. Stay tuned for the video… If you have any questions on cycling and touring, just ask. If you’d like to sponsor our next one, then that’s great too!
A rainy day in Wanaka is perfect for wading through hundreds of video files searching for the moments worth remembering! Here is a short video of the hi lights stitched together with some Oriental beats to go with it.
Richie Johnston 