WhiteNoize The Noize from the UK snow scene
Movie Maker
Eco Issues
UK Hills
Rider: Lewis Sonvico Photograph: Richard Clark
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Contents 05 EDitors letter/contriibutors 06 Rider Profiles 10 News 14 highlights 36 Tom Elliott - Interview 40 Bamboo Rider - interview 44 Are the Mountains Green? Feature 48 From Humble Yorkshire Origins - Feature 52 Yad Moss - Feature 56 fulham to fernie - feature 58 Green Product Guide 60 Eco Tips 62 Diary 3
Rider: Hector Barbour Photograph: Neil MacGrain
Images courtesy of Bamboo Rider 4
Editors Letter It’s here! The snow has covered the UK hills and it’s dumping all over the European resorts as well as the rest of the northern hemisphere! The seasonaires have packed off, the film premiers have all been and gone and the rest of us (including me) are sitting at our desks or at home longing for the mountains! Winter is finally here!
Contributors e
I thought it might be hard putting together this issue, thought it might break my heart a little writing about and seeing pictures from people out doing seasons and enjoying the snow since I’m stuck in the UK this winter, but its actually been pretty therapeutic. It’s amazing seeing the talent that the UK produces, there’s doubles being thrown down on dry slopes, Billy Morgan has just stomped that famous triple rodeo and that’s from a country with no mountains like those of the Alps or the American ranges. You may notice an eco theme running through this issue, it started with an article idea from Trine Bregstein, which quickly developed into a host of green features. Each one of us should do our best to be that little bit greener, whether its buying eco friendly gear, taking more time to recycle our waste or reducing our carbon footprint, each small action is a positive step in the right direction. The future of our sport depends on our actions, more importantly; mother nature depends on our actions.
Front Cover-Charlie Eddington
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e Richard Clark e e Neil MacGrain e e Bamboo Rider e e Hector Barbour e e Sissy Herant e e Soul Sports e e the-brits.com e e Graeme Milton e e Shaka Events e e Aivars Zarins e e Mark Cheshire e e James North e
e Wallace Wainhouse e e Emma Gaffney e e Trine Bregstiene e e Sarah Jackson e e Laura Seward e e Nick Tuckwood e e Mathew Shaw e e Damian Cray e
Harri Bennett - Editor
Contact Send your contributions, photos, comments, queries, praise and abuse to Editor@whitenoizemag.co.uk Follow us on twitter - @WhiteNoize_Mag and find us on Facebook Find the latest issues www.WhiteNoizemag.co.uk
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Rider Profiles Name? Hector Barbour Sponsors? K2 Skis, Bamboo Rider, Full Tilt, Bawbags Underwear, SNO!Zone Scotland.
What got you into skiing? Foreign girls in one pieces and fur hats....
Local slope? Bearsden Ski Club
What do you think about the UK scene? Its a lot better than its made out, deserves so much more respect than it gets.
Set up? K2 Recoils, Full Tilt Hotdoggers
Dryslope or indoor? Dryslope Anyday! whats been your biggest achievement so far? Coming 3rd overall in Brits Big Air Championships 2011 Whats your next goal? To continue skiing and progressing in the sport. Favourite place to ride? Saas Fee in the summer 100% best place to be!
Favorite tricks? Flatspins and switch 5’s. Inspirational riders? James Woodsy Woods, Paddy Graham, Joe Tommo, and pretty much all my UK heroes. Biggest dream? To one day, be sitting on the first chairlift up a hill somewhere and feeling absolutely content...
What you up to this season? Going to Livigno in Italy for the first time, Skiing at London Freeze for the 2nd Year and Competing at the Brits again.
What do you do when you're not skiing? Music, Beer and women! What else do you expect!?
Name? Sissy Herant
Ever feel intimidated by older riders? I haven’t really skied with many professional older riders so not really sure if I would be intimidated or not but in the UK scene I ride with them all the time so it doesn’t really affect me as they are the ones pushing me to get that next trick down.
Age? 16 Setup? Armada 166 ARW’s Sponsors? I ride for Armada Skis, Dragon Alliance, Ellis Brigham, Chill Factor. Local Slope? My main slope is Chill Factor I love the rails there, but I’ve been skiing at Stoke Ski Centre a bit lately too see friends. Dry slope or indoor? I love indoor because it’s real snow and there are so many more great set ups available to hit but I have a heart made of Dendix as it’s what I grew up on. When and how did you get into skiing? I Got into skiing about 5 years ago, my brother was going on a school ski trip so thought I would tag along for a few lessons. What did you get up pre season? I went out to Greece, Rhodes for two months to take some time off and just relax. When I got back to the UK I got back into the swing of things and hit up some competitions. I also competed in the London Ride at Earls court a few weeks back, where I had a wicked weekend, but now its time to crack on with winter.
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Tell us what you love about skiing? The adrenalin, the feeling of achievement when it all goes well and the atmosphere surrounding the sport.
Plans for next season? I am hopefully going to head out to Breck for two weeks, then over to France for some training, I am planning on getting out to a few opens this year, such as the Austrian open, Polish open and maybe the Czech and compete in some FIS competitions.
Favorite trick? I would say my favorite trick would be a misty or a mute 720 on kickers but on rails it would definitely but a K-fed. Any new tricks you want? I want to get cork 540’s down by the end of the next month or two and then take it from there. Favorite resort? Well I haven’t had the chance to ski many resorts yet but out the ones I have been to I would say that Saas Fee was the most memorable. Who's your inspiration? Well there’s an endless list, there are big names such as Ashley Battersby and Kaya Turtski and Maude Raymond pushing the women’s side of the sport but Michelle Jones has pushed me a lot as a friend and coach in the last few weeks as a fellow girl skier. Most stoked moment? WOW, there are so many moments but even though it was so, so long ago and may sound lame but my most stoked moment was when I landed my first 360, always the hardest step. What do you love about the UK scene? I love the fact that there is always someone up for a good shred and there is always a wicked vibe from everyone.
Rider:Sissy Herant Images courtesy of Soul Sports www.the-brits.com 7
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Rider: Hector Barbour Photograph: Graeme Milton Images courtesy of Bamboo Rider 9
News e Billy Morgan stomps a triple rodeo! e Calum Paton breaks world’s longest rail ride record! e The Nevis range gets a new piste basher.
e Tamworth Snowdome wins this years Golden Shovel from the Burton Hi-5 tour. e Video plans for the new indoor slope complex at Weston-Super-Mare are unveiled.
e Word Snowbording Day was 18th December, Westbeach UK donated 10% of all online sales from this weekend to two charities - Disability Snowsports UK and Snow Camp.
e Kevin Pearce gets back on his snowboard!
e Aimee Fuller wins the Horsefeathers Pleasure Jam.
e Hillend Dryslope submits plans to build more runs.
e Andy Nudds wins the UK stop of the Nike Chosen Series.
e All five Scottish ski areas are open!
e Lake District Ski clubs celebrates its 75th year.
e Burton launches Burton Girls - Burton’s first online community dedicated to women and the snowboard lifestyle. www.burtongirls.com
e Glencoe gets a new toe
Competition Black Hole Recordings and snowinfo.com present Snow Dance! Black Hole Recordings was originally set up by Tiesto and Arny Bink in 1997 and now brings you Snow Dance Snow Dance offers dubstep and drum ‘n’ bass cuts to boost all winter sports with a fresh rhythm. Want to win one of five copies? Simply click here to be taken to the Black Hole Recordings competition page and enter your details. Five winners will be chosen at random and sent copies of the compilation.
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Rider: Marko Grillic Photograph: Richard Clark 11
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Photograph: Graeme Milton Images courtesy of Bamboo Rider 13
e Highlights
The Brits Indoor Championships - The Rebellion The British Indoor Championships hit SNO!zone Castleford Saturday 24th September, with over 120 competitors demonstrating that the UK can rival European riders in the jib department. The new format offered a dedicated box line and rail line, with skiers and snowboarders running simultaneously. British Indoor Snowboard Championships In the women’s category, local rider Katie Ormerod captivated judges with her consistently solid and technical runs, taking home the title of women’s British Indoor Champion. 14 year-old Katie cemented her place on the podium with her winning runs that also earned her the title of Trespass Jib Master and Protest Rail Slayer. Showing why she’s tipped to be the next big name in UK snowboarding, Katie put in a solid run that included a frontside boardslide on the stairset, 5050 to frontside boardslide on the flat down rail, a front flip off the down box and a super styled half cab to frontside boardslide on the flat down box. It was extremely close in the men’s finals with riders pushing hard and putting in some standout performances. First place went to Scottish ripper Danny McCormick with a super clean run that included a switch backside 270-on to the top box, backside 270 gap-on to the flat down box and a gap 270-on to the flat down rail, a run that also won him the title of Trespass Jib Master. British Indoor Freeski Championships Over fifty skiers hit the course and the standard had the MC struggling for words with supertechnical runs flying in every direction. In the women’s category, Sissy Herant put down an impressive run including a k-fed on the top box, British Indoor Snowboard Championships Results Men 1 – Danny McCormick 2 – Simon Cudlip 3 – Sam Turnbull Women 1 – Katie Ormerod 2 – Laura Berry 3 – Faye Young
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a switch-on-switch-up on the kink box, and a 270-on 270-off on the flat box, winning her the Overall title. Sissy was stoked with her win: “I’m feeling pretty good right now, so happy about how I rode, there were some really good girls out there so I’m really pleased with my result”. Showing why she deserved the top podium spot, Sissy also bagged herself the titles of Trespass Jib Master and Protest Rail Slayer. Coming in very close second Overall position was local rider Molly Summerhayes (who also won the youth age category). Scottish rider Chris Wadsworth took the Overall Men’s title with a run that included a supertechnical hardway 270-on to the down rail, a gap 270-on to the flat down rail and a switchon switch-up onto the bottom rail. Chris’s Box run also included a 630-off the flat box and an impressive gap 450-on to 270-off on the flat down box, securing him the title of Trespass Jib Master. Local rider Tyler J Harding was hot on Chris’s heels with a second-placed run that included a 450 gap-on to the down rail and a 360 switch-up on the down box, a run that also landed him the title of Protest Rail Slayer. British Indoor Freeski Championships Results Men 1 – Chris Wadsworth 2 – Tyler J Harding 3 – Harris Booth Women 1 - Sissy Herant 2 – Molly Summerhayes 3 – Rowan Cheshire
Images courtesy of Soul Sports www.the-brits.com 15
e Highlights
The Brits Invitational The BRITS Invitational Championships wrapped up the UK leg of the British Snow Tour at the London Ski and Board show at Earls court. Hundreds of spectators gathered at the allnew hip jump to watch some of the UK’s finest snowboarders and skiers battle it out for the title of The BRITS Invitational Champion. In the snowboard championships, eight riders made it though to the knock out semi final. Billy Morgan, Mike Austin and Matt McCormick were throwing down with super smooth 720’s, McTwists and huge backflips but it was Sparrow Knoz, Andy Nudds, Cody Hierons and Sam Turnball who caught the judges eye and made it to the final. It was Sparrow Knox who took the title with a huge rodeo on his first hit. “Today has been amazing, the hip was different to previous years and was loads of fun, everyone rode so well and I’m amazingly happy to win,” said Sparrow. Eight out of eleven skiers made it through to the semi-finals with Tom Coe, Chris McCormick and Snowboard Results 1 – Sparrow Knoz 2 – Cody Hierons 3 – Andy Nudds 4 – Sam Turnball 5 – Billy Morgan
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6 – Danny McCormick 7 – Mike Austin 8 – Matt McCormick 9 – Fin Bremnar 10 – Si Cudlip
James Machon all going big but it was Julian Ball, Josh Birch, Murray Buchan and Andrew Matthew who got through to the final. Despite the fierce competition it was Andrew Matthew’s massive Double Japan Flatspin that took first place. Sparrow Knox and Andrew Matthew’s won the titles for snowboarding and skiing respectively, bagging them each a seven night holiday at Chalet Montana courtesy of PRG Ski. Ski Results 1 – Andrew Matthew 2 – Murray Buchan 3 – Julian Ball 4 – Josh Birch 5 – Tom Coe
6 – James Machon 7 – Joe Tomlinson 8 – Cal Sandieson 9 – Chris McCormick 10 – David Bilsland 11 – Mike Wakefield
Images courtesy of Soul Sports www.the-brits.com 17
e Highlights Scottish Freestyle Championships The Scottish Freestyle Series is back for 2011/12 with eight dates this year, so far we’ve seen the Lowlanders go down as well as the Dryslope event at Bearsden. The series continues in February with the three highlanders and finishes with two indoor comps. (Full dates and details can be found in the diary). Snowsport Scotland has developed a UK wide freestyle seeding system in partnership with
Photograph: Graeme Milton Images courtesy of Bamboo Rider
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the British Snow Tour, www.snowsportscotland. org or www.britishsnowtour.com and this development has enabled British freestyle athletes to follow a direct pathway from regional to national and on to international competition. TTR points are once again up for grabs when competing at the Scottish Indoor Freestyle Champs and the Scottish Freestyle Champs at Cairngorm.
Photograph: Graeme Milton Images courtesy of Bamboo Rider Lowlander - Aberdeen - Own It Big Air Aberdeen Snowsports Centre - 22/10/11 Womens Ski 1 - Hannah Milne 2 - Erin Sharp Mens Ski 1 - Grant Donald 2 - Fin Jacobs 3 - Cameron Wood 4 - Andrew Hadfield 5 - Sam Harrison
Womens Board 1 - Vaila Chamman Mens Board 1 - Kris Bell 2 - Matt Corry 3 - Nathan Sim 4 - Sam McGrath 5 - Jamie Trinder
Glasgow Lowlander Rail Jam Glasgow Ski & Snowboard Centre - 20/11/11 Womens Ski 1 - Anna Vincenti 2 - Erin Ward 3 - Isla Ward Mens Ski 1 - David Bilsland 2 - Cal Sandieson 3 - Harris Booth 4 - Grant Donald 5 - Chris McCormick
Womens Board 1 - Vaila Chapman 2 - Bradie Zimmer Mens Board 1 - Jamie Trinder 2 - Fin Bremner 3 - Matt McCormick 4 - Sam McGrath 5 - Angus Trinder
Scottish Dryslope Champs Big Air Bearsden Ski Club Womens Ski 1 - Eve Mackenzie 2 - Dionne Curran 3 - Kirsty Muir Mens Ski 1 - Chris McCormick 2 - Cal Sandieson 3 - Harris Booth 4 - Grant Donald 5 - Alex Cameron Womens Board 1 - Vaila Chapman 2 - Bradie Zimmer 3 - Breezy White Mens Snowboard 1 - Matt McCormick 2 - Jamie Trinder 3 - Danny McCormick 4 - Matt Corry 5 - Sam McGrath 19
e Highlights Morrow Jam Morrow Jam was back at Hemel on the 2nd Dec for its 18th Anniversary with a huge bag of prizes from a ton of sponsors! The shapers built a monster of a quarter pipe which saw some great progression thoughout the night! Mens 1 - Ross Welch 2 - Mark King 3 - Tom Pilling Women 1 - Pippa Stowell 2 - Alise Blalode 3 - Vicki Harding
Photograph: Aivars Zarins
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Junior 1 - Callum Welch 2 - Sasha Needham 3 - Maddy Rowlands Special Award - Josh Ogden Highest Quarterpipe Air - Duncan Carr Special Award for an amazing park shaping – Norm from the DWA
Image courtesy of Shaka Events
Shaka Zombie rail Jam Shaka Events is a new collective of DJ’s/Artists/Musicians/Riders & Creatives running monthly club nights and snowsports events around Scotland. Born out of a love of shredding and partying, Shaka Events is the brainchild of 3 snowsports instructors & creative types from Glasgow. The team create a powerful live show with their unique blend of DJ’ing, live percussion and live snow/surf/skate visuals. Gaining momentum from its fruition in summer 2011, the team quickly picked up interest & sponsorship from major players in the UK & Scottish scene and now work closely with The Snowboard Asylum, Sno!zone, Bamboo Rider, Librance & Re-Ride. For Halloween this year the team organised a mini rail jam outside the club night.
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e Highlights
Westbeach Snowflex Series
The Westbeach Snowflex Series hit up Aberdeen, Bearsden and Halifax this year with a huge bag of prizes to giveaway and competitors went all out to win them. As well as the main categories, prizes were also given out for best unsponsored rider, worst slam, best team, among others. Prizes came from TSA, Stepchild, Ellis Brigam, Demon, Northwave and Nikita to name just a few!
Bearsden TREELINE CHALETS SHREDDER OF THE SERIES – winning a week at treeline chalets, Morzine and Endeavor snowboard and SP bindings and a pair of APO skis Ski - Tyler Harding Snowboard - Matt McCormick Stepchild ‘Child Support’ Rail Jam – Stepchild Jibstick Connor Carey Ski Rail Jam – Ellis Brigham Team Wheelie Ski Bag Grant Donald Ski and Snowboard quarter pipe Chris McCormick & Pete Meadows Whitelines & TSA Best Unsponsored Snowboarder – Whitelines Subscription and TSA voucher Jo Gardner Fall-Line & Ellis Brigam Best Unsponsored Skier – Fall-Line Subscription and Ellis Brigham Boot Bag Alex Cameron
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Demon Worst Slam overall – Demon helmet and impact shorts Sam McGrath Sickest Trick of the Day Tyler Harding Northwave Boots most improved Tomski Robinson Female Ripper – Nikita Jacket Dionne Curram
UNDER 16 BOYS SKI 1st – Chris McCormick 2nd Cal Sandieson 3rd – Tyler Harding UNDER 16 BOYS SNOWBOARD 1st Matt McCormick 2nd Matt Correy 3rd – Fin Bremner
Team Event Rome Team
OVER 16 MENS SKI 1st – Grant Donald 2nd – Fraser McIsaac 3rd – David Bilsland
UNDER 16 GIRLS SKI 1st – Anna Vincenti 2nd – Rowan Cheshire 3rd – Dionne Curran
OVER 16 MENS SNOWBOARD 1st Pete Meadows 2nd Danny McCormick 3rd – Jessie
UNDER 16 GIRLS SNOWBOARD 1st – Vaila Chapman OVER 16 WOMENS SKI 1st – Cory McVicar OVER 16 WOMENS SNOWBOARD 1st – Liz Osborn 2nd – Anna Beswick
Photograph: Mark Cheshire 23
e Highlights Aberdeen Stepchild ‘Child Support’ Rail Jam – Stepchild Jibstick Ben Parker Ski Rail Jam – Ellis Brigham Team Wheelie Ski Bag Lewis Wilson (honorary snowboarder biggest air prize – Matt Gibson) Whitelines & TSA Best Unsponsored Snowboarder – Whitelines Subscription and TSA voucher Matt Gibson Fall-Line & Ellis Brigam Best Unsponsored Skier – Fall-Line Subscription and Ellis Brigham Boot Bag Sam Harrison Demon Worst Slam overall – Demon helmet and impact shorts Fraser McIssac Sickest Trick of the Day – Freeze
Photograph: Mark Cheshire 24
Festival Weekend Tickets Grant Donald Northwave Boots most improved Anna Beswick
UNDER 16 BOYS SKI 1st – Tyler J Harding 2nd – Cal Sandieson 3rd – Chris McCormick
Best local Groms Air Bag sessions Finlay Jacobs, Keilan Bremner, Fin Bremner, Rohan Samdani
UNDER 16 BOYS SNOWBOARD 1st – Matt McCormick 2nd – Matt Correy 3rd – Fin Bremner
Team Event 3 Lions and a monkey
OVER 16 MENS SKI 1st – Grant Donald 2nd – David Bilsland 3rd – Sam Harrison
UNDER 16 GIRLS SNOWBOARD 1st – Vaila Chapman OVER 16 WOMENS SKI 1st – Cory McVicar OVER 16 WOMENS SNOWBOARD 1st – Anna Beswick 2nd – Sophie Addison
OVER 16 MENS SNOWBOARD 1st Danny McCormick 2nd Jesse Smith 3rd – Matt Gibson
Photograph: Mark Cheshire
Halifax Stepchild ‘Child Support’ Rail Jam – Stepchild Jibstick Marc McClement
Sickest Trick of the Day – Freeze Festival Weekend Tickets Jesse Smith – double front flip
Ski Rail Jam – Ellis Brigham Team Wheelie Ski Bag Grant Donald
Northwave Boots most improved Bradie Zimmer
Whitelines & TSA Best Unsponsored Snowboarder – Whitelines Subscription and TSA voucher Clifford Hanson Fall-Line & Ellis Brigam Best Unsponsored Skier – Fall-Line Subscription and Ellis Brigham Boot Bag Joel Melia Demon Worst Slam overall – Demon helmet and impact shorts Madison Rowlands
Team Event Runner up – Dude Central 1st place – Four Lions Bro UNDER 16 GIRLS SKI 1st – Sissy Herant 2nd – Anna Vincenti 3rd – Madison Rowlands UNDER 16 GIRLS SNOWBOARD 1st – Katy Ormerod 2nd – Becky Menday 3rd – Cerys Allen OVER 16 WOMENS SKI 1st – Zoe Lewis
OVER 16 WOMENS SNOWBOARD 1st – Liz Osborn 2nd – Anna Beswick UNDER 16 BOYS SKI 1st – Tyler Harding 2nd Cal Sandieson 3rd – Harris Booth UNDER 16 BOYS SNOWBOARD 1st Matt McCormick 2nd Matt Correy 3rd – Fin Bremner OVER 16 MENS SKI 1st – Grant Donald 2nd – Joel Melia 3rd – David Bilsland OVER 16 MENS SNOWBOARD 1st Danny McCormick 2nd Jesse Smith 3rd – Si Cudlip
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Photograph: Mark Cheshire 27
e Highlights
Burton Hi 5 The Burton Hi 5 was back for 2011, visiting six UK indoor slopes with a ton of prizes to give away to several categories and the utimate prize going to the best park of the tour - the
Hemel Hempsted
Braehead
Female Kids 1 - Becky Menday 2 - Cyrys Allen 3 - Roxy Whittrick
Female Senior 1 - Orla Doolin 2 - Alice Blake 3 - Emilla Vanni
Male Kids 1 - Billy Cockrell 2 - Leo Fordham 3 - Branden Bow
Male Senior 1 - Lewis Sonvico 2 - Aston Egelmeers 3 - Sam Cullen
Male Juniors 1 - Josh Ogden 2 - Heinrich Watson-Miller 3 - Jake Terry
Tamworth
Female Kids 1 - Katie Ormerod 2 - Valia Chapman Boys Kids 1 -Brandon Bow 2 - Tomski Robinson 3 - Fin Bremner Male Juniors 1 - Sam McGrath 2 - Matt McCormick 3 - Barry Cairns
Milton Keynes
Female Senior 1 - Orla Doon 2 - Rio Peterson 3 - Emilia Vanni Men’s Senior 1 -Jamie Trinder 2 - Will Smith 3 - Sam Turnball
Female Kids 1 - Becky Menday 2 - Cerys Allun 3 - Skyla Bailey
Male Juniors 1 - Josh Ogden 2 - Jake Perks 3 - Jake Terry
Female Kids 1 - Becky Menday 2 - Cerys Allen 3 - Skyla Bailey
Male Junior 1 - Reece Gould 2 - Conner Gould 3 - Josh Ogden
Male Kids 1 -Tomski Robinson 2 - Jake Binnie 3 - Leo Fordham
Female Senior 1 - Orla Doon 2 - Becky Menday
Male Kids 1 - Jake Binnie 2 - Tomski Robinson 3 - Leo Fordham
Senior Female 1 - Becky Menday 2 - Orla Doolin 3 - Izzi Jones
Female Juniors 1 - Natalie Silkstone
Senior Men’s 1 - John Weatherly 2 - Andy Nudds 3 - Ross Needham
Female Juniors 1 - Natalie Silkstone 2 - Chloe Izzard
Men’s Senior 1 - Gazza Andrews 2 - Andy Nudds 3 - Ross Needham
Manchester Female Kids 1 - Becky Menday 2 - Bradie Zimmer Male Kids 1 - Tomski Robinson 2 - Billy Crockwell 3 - Jake Binnie Female Juniors 1 - Katie Omerod 2 - Natalie Silkstone
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Golden Shovel! As well as the prestigeous Golden Shovel the winning park also wins two of the Hi 5 rails for keeps! Plus four of the winning park shaping get a trip to Morzine!
Castleford Male Juniors 1 - Kieran Stanton 2 - Matt Corry 3 - Alex Brandwood Senior Female 1 - Katie Omerod 2 - Orla Doolin 3 - Becky Menday Senior Men 1 - Will Smith 2 - Calum Paton 3 - Matt McWhitter
Female Kids 1 - Becky Menday Male Kids 1 - Tomski Robinson 2 - Bailey Doyle (10) 3 - John Etham (39) Female Juniors 1 - Katie Ormerod 2 - Becky Menday 3 - Natalie Silkstone
Male Juniors 1 - Josh Ogden 2 - Connor Welch 3 - Connor Gould Senior Female 1 - Katie Ormerod 2 - Orla Doolin 3 - Becky Menday Senior Male 1 - Matt MacWhirter 2 - Will Smith 3 - Calum Paton
Photograph: James North Rider: Ollie Dutton 29
e Highlights
Freeze Festival
Freeze festival once again hit up its annual home at Battersea Power Station late October. The two day event is a music and snow sport extravaganza, with this years music line up including: Groove Armada, The Streets, The Joy Formidable, Everything Eveverything, Beardyman, Rizzle Kicks, Pulled apart by Horses, The Xcerts, Does it Offend You Yeah? And Modstep to name just a few! The riders list was even longer with the worlds best skiers and snowboarders in attendance,
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Photograph: Richard Clark
Its become a bit of a tradition, to welcome in the new season we must first erect a huge thirty two metre kicker at London’s Battersea Power Station, cover it with 500 tons of snow, watch and cheer as the worlds best skiers and snowboarders have a go at it then shop, drink and party!
including: Seppe Smits, Jamie Nicholls, Janne Korpi, Marko Grilc, James Woods, Jossi Wells and Oscar Scherlin. For each sport there was two competitions; The battle of Britain and The International Freestyle Big Air (Ski), FIS World Cup (Snowboard)
LG Snowboard FIS Word Cup 1 - Janne Korpi (FIN) 2 - Seppe Smits (BEL) 3 - Joris Ouwerkerk (NED) 4 - Jamie Nicholls (UK) 5 - Staale Sandbech (NOR) 6 - Torgeir Bergrem (NOR) 7 - Gjermund Braaten (NOR) 8 - Petja Piiroinen (FIN) 9 - Marko Grilc (SLO) 10 - Dimi Da Jong (NED)
Battle Of Britain 1 - Billy Morgan 2 - Dom Harrington 3 - Lewis Courtier Jones 4 - Cody Heirons 5 - David Grahams 6 - Mike Austin 7 - Scott Penman 8 - Ian Ashmore 9 - Andy Nudds 10 - Sam Turnbull
International Freestyle Ski Big Air 1 - Jossi Wells 2 - Oscar Scherlin 3 - PK Hunder 4 - Ole Mustadg 5 - Gus Kenworthy 6 - Elias Ambuhl 7 - Fridtjof Fredricsson 8 - Jon Olsson 9 - Klaus Finne 10 - Joss Christensen
Ski Union Battle of Britain 1 - James Woods 2 - Andy Matthew 3 - James Machon 4 - Nathan Connolly 5 - Andy Bennett 6 - George Walton 7 - Julian Ball 8 - Peter Speight 9 - Andy Collins 10 - James Webb
Rider: Billy Morgan Photograph: Richard Clark 31
Rider: Jamie Nicholls Photograph: Wallace Wainhouse
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Rider: James Woods Photograph: Richard Clark
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Rider: Jamie Nicholls Photograph: Harri Bennett
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Movie Maker For all those who think snowboarding has become too mainstream these days (Chalet Girl, anyone?) the three creative heads behind Isenseven – Alex Schiller, Vincent Urban and Tom Elliott, have brought it back to where it belongs in their tenth movie, Kaleidoscope. Tom Elliott is the English third to the Munich based Isenseven crew. Dropping out of college to go into filming was probably his best decision to date. At 24 he can already list Nike 6.0, Red Bull, Vans and Oakley among his video credits. These days, however, Tom works full time for Isenseven. Not bad for someone who started shooting at Milton Key’s indoor slope just nine years ago on his dad’s mini DV camera.
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Tell us a bit about the latest Isenseven film? You can expect the quality and style there always is with an Isenseven film. On top of the footage we shoot travelling a serious
amount of time goes in to figuring out music and intros for the parts, which I think sets Isen apart from the crowd. Also, there are only a few changes with the rider line up from last year’s movie Don’t Panic but having seen the footage I am really happy to see such a solid diversity in riding. For example newcomer this year Wojtek Pawlusia from Poland already has two video parts worth of next level rail riding whilst the competition killing Swiss rider Christian Haller brings back the pipe with amazing style and creativity. Isenseven is about promoting a lifestyle as much as showing off new tricks, so we try to present the fun side of snowboarding and travelling. There is actually an entire B-movie on the DVD which is all about beautiful scenery and good times with the crew that I’ve watched more than the main movie!
How did you get involved with Isen? I’ve been with Isenseven for the last two years now and it was kind of a right time, right place sort of situation. At the time I was working for Method Mag but back in Isen HQ they had just said goodbye to one of their good filmers Felix Urbauer who is now producing some great commercial work. So with this gap in their team and the season coming around fast they needed a filmer and ideally someone who lived in the mountains. I was more than happy to step in! How was the latest film to make? Without a doubt, this has been the most fun winter shooting snowboarding. At the start of the season we all had high hopes of making use of all the amazing spots we have around our residence in Austria thanks to a freakishly powdery December but come January conditions just plummeted. By mid January we started to get a bit nervous so we ended up jumping ship very quickly and venturing off to find better snow. This meant we travelled to Norway, Sweden, all over USA, Canada, Japan and then Europe when it allowed us. Are there any standout moments from the filming? For me the standout moments were not whilst strapped in from the Wolves of Yellowstone National park or the swarms of armed police looking for a gunman who turned out to be me with my camera. There were many tales to come from making the film. I think you just have to see the film. I
senseven are often labeled as the fun alterative filmmakers in action sport, is that something you agree with and support? I think being alternative from the other guys is what we are proud of and we definitely try to incorporate fun! Like I said, these movies are as much about lifestyle and art as they are tricks. If you try to enter the game of battling other video crews only to see who has the most technical spins then you enter the whitewash of snowboard porn being released on a daily basis. There is more than that to snowboarding and for the average person going riding with their friends, it’s good to see something you can relate to and get you hyped watching it before going up the mountain. Snowboard videos are a product and products should be useful. Does filming snowboarding films have an impact on your enjoyment of the sport and how often you get to do it? Technically I snowboard every day, but with a 15kg back pack on. To be honest I’m not really there to snowboard so it doesn’t bother me that I don’t, I am much happier to come away with some shots for the movie than try and learn a new trick. I do however get a lot of good pow turns while hunting round the mountain for spots. It’s the one thing you can still do with the pack on then after that in the spring when the parks soften up I like to have a few days lapping the park for fun, and that’s the way I like it. Are there any other Isenseven plans lined up? Making the movie usually requires shooting from November to June then editing from July to September so there isn’t really much time for other projects. I know in past years Alex basically walks out of the door from the premiere and straight on to a plane to anywhere sunny for some serious chill time just before it’s time to prepare for the next season!
Interview By Emma Gaffney
Photograph: Laura Davies
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Photograph: Tobi Strauss 39
The Eco Rider As part of our Eco theme we catch up with UK Eco clothing brand Bamboo Rider, on what impact simple things like clothing can have on our environment and what they’re doing to help protect our precious snow!
Tell us how and why the brand started and what Bamboo Rider is all about?
The Bamboo Rider Clothing Company as it’s now known...was born back in the autumn of 2010 as simply “Bamboo Rider”. It’s creator, Si Welsh, had just returned from yet another Winter Season in the 3 Vallées, France and decided that in response to another poor Winter in terms of snow fall, it was time for a ride wear brand prepared to take responsibility for the impact its products have on the environment. Whether you ride in the ocean, the mountains or amongst the urban landscape, whatever your preferred method of expression, protecting the environments we use every day is what we’re all about. Our aim and goal is to design products replacing as many environmentally harmful materials as possible, with ethical, functional and where possible eco-friendly alternatives, delivering
40 Hector Barbour Rider: Photograph: Graeme Milton
performance, great design, durability, and style in a sustainable way, reducing environmental impact. Without dishing out a science lesson to our customers, when all they want is to buy rad threads!
How does the usual way of producing clothes impact the environment and what makes Bamboo sustainable/eco-friendly? The environmental impact is just one of the factors that arise when making what we wear, there’s also issues surrounding the way people making what we wear are paid.
Cotton is responsible for a large percentage of the planets use of harmful pesticides and chemicals and child or slave labour involved in its production remains a very real issue worldwide. Using alternative natural materials such as Bamboo, Organic Cotton and Eucalyptus is better for the planet and in the main requires little or no chemicals in their cultivation. All of the factories we use are powered using only renewable energy from the sun or the wind and the materials they produce are certified to ensure they contain no harmful chemicals and that every worker receives a fair wage.
Why do you think people should try to be more eco?
Rider: Zoe Lewis Photograph: Mark Harris
Climate change is a REAL issue now, not an issue for the future. You only have to look at the poor snow fall and warmer winters in Europe over the last few years and the extremely cold winters that we’ve had here in the UK.
depth of talent in the UK.
Where are you stocked?
Our base is currently our own online store, but after exhibiting at Scotland’s Ski and Snowboard Show @ SECC in Glasgow and The British Ski & Board Show @ NEC Birmingham, we hope this will give us the profile needed to break into retail this winter.
Tell us about your snow team and why you sponsor them? We currently sponsor UK Free Skiers Hector Barbour, David Bisland and Zoe Lewis who all had success at the Brits in Laax last Winter and continue to compete at the highest level.
We continue to work closely with Snow Sport Scotland and Bearsden Ski Club, which is rapidly gathering a reputation for producing the UK’s
Clothing inspired by the ocean, mountain and urban landscape. We used to talk about the “Green House Effect” and “Global Warming” now we talk about “Climate Change” Talking about it is pointless! Everyone needs to do their bit...NOW.
Do you have any advice for riders who want to be more eco-friendly?
Just think about the decisions you make when it comes to what you wear. Is there another way to do things out there that will help preserve the environment that you enjoy so much…?
best young talent, with Hector Barbour picking up Bearsden’s Best Skier 2011. We’re currently looking to grow our Snow Team adding more riders this Winter on both Ski and Snowboard. “We are Bamboo Rider... Let the nonsense commence”...
What are your future aspirations as a brand? Looking forward to Winter 2011/12 our key focus is to get the brand out to as many people as possible and ultimately get the brand into retailers. The growth of our Snow Team and sponsorship of competitions is key to this being achievable.
What do you think of the UK snow scene? We believe the UK scene is in great shape and that the added incentive of Slope Style being introduced for the Winter Olympics in Sochi 2014 can only encourage the already growing
Photograph: Neil MacGrain
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Rider: Hector Barbour Photograph: Graeme Milton
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Are the mountains green ? You’re sitting in the chalet, it’s boiling hot, the radiators are going full blast and you watch a fellow chalet resident open the windows wide without turning the radiators down. The dishwasher is going, the hot showers are plentiful and the jacuzzi is full of hot water for you to luxuriate in and soak away your aches pains. You flew there, got transferred from the airport in a huge bus, part of a fleet of buses ferrying guests up the mountain. Once you’re there you set about your favourite pastime – skiing or snowboarding and to do that you get dragged, lifted and bubbled up, across and around the mountains. All of this takes energy, lots of it and do you think about it? I doubt it, not many of us do. I will confess to being a bit of a ‘treehugger’ and being fairly concerned with all issues that are green; energy consumption, carbon footprints, wildlife, ecological impacts and much more. But at times I think I might be the only one, especially in this mountain environment surrounded by hedonistic seasonaires and holiday makers. It can all too often seem like this environment is just one that we utilise for our own gains and ignore the lasting impact or repercussions of our actions. Green issues pertaining to mountain environments aren’t something that we can ignore though, just by looking at the snow fall during the last few seasons, it’s more and more difficult to listen to the climate sceptics who claim that nothing is changing and that environmentalists are just scaremongering. 44
I would wager that there are many hotel/ chalet owners, restaurateurs, tour operators and other interested parties who will readily admit that the climate seems to be changing. Snow is unreliable, the start of the season has to be delayed, events have to be cancelled, lifts are shut early and then out of nowhere, a week after resorts shut their lifts, a mammoth dump comes along that should have happened four to five weeks before. I know that there is always a degree of uncertainty regarding snowfall but it seems to me that for several years now uncertainty is the only reliable thing. When I think about the snow industry I can’t say it fills my heart with joy, from an environmental point of view and that is hard, because I love the snow industry. I love snowboarding, but I don’t always agree with the business behind it. It’s difficult to square that with myself and my conscience. Yes, I want year round snow availability. But do I agree with pouring hundreds of tonnes of salt on glaciers in the summer, just to condition them for riding? I don’t think I do. In a world with melting glaciers, I don’t really think we need to be pouring hundreds of tonnes of salt on the ones that happen to be within ski domains, just for our summer riding, and let’s not even discuss the effects of all the salty run-off entering the mountain streams, rivers and lakes!
Yes, I want to watch films that push boundaries, yes I want to see some amazing off-piste footage, seeing someone dropping off a knife edge ridge and riding a steep powder field in Alaska will certainly get me excited! Rad! However, how did that rider get there? Heli, probably, fuel used = lots. Do I want to see someone pushing all the toys (boats, helis, planes) at their disposal to the limit and burning barrels of fuel just for the sake of riding a patchy line in a dodgy couloir in Patagonia...probably not actually. I’d rather see a sick line ridden in someone’s home resort, filmed by an amateur, making a grassroots snow film, that shows us how we can do it mean and green. This is not a time of excess, this is a time where we should be scaling back on our extravagances and I’m not talking about the economy, I’m talking environmentally. As riders it’s in our interest to demand for our mountains to be green, for our role models to lead the way and educate, and for us to take an interest. Resorts that are powered by renewable hydroelectric or wind power should be applauded. Resorts that make an effort to reduce, re-use and recycle should be the norm. Resorts that have strict rules about certain off-piste areas shouldn’t be seen as ‘the fun police’ trying to stop us having a good time, we should respect the fact that they value the nature and wildlife on that mountain. After all, the wildlife lives on that mountain 24-7-365, and we only borrow for it a few months every year, so let’s respect their home and let’s support the resorts that do so.
Everything from clothes made from bamboo, waxes that are not polluting to the environment and equipment made using renewable energy and ethically sourced renewable materials. We need to be green in our everyday lives and have faith that every little ‘treehugger’ action we carry out, will have a positive comeback for us, our children and future generations. I’m here in resort, for the winter season. I’ve turned my heating down and I’ll be recycling all my beer bottles at the end of every week. I’ll be watching what happens and in my own way, fighting the good fight, educating, talking and trying to inspire the odd person to take action, or at the very least be accountable for their actions. If nothing else, be accountable for your actions and once in a while project your thoughts into the future, Jeremy Jones has and that’s why he set up POW, http:// protectourwinters.org/. He wants to keep riding and so do I. What about you?
Words by Trine Bregstiene
We as riders should be making demands of the resorts that we visit to be more environmentally minded, because in the end of the day, we want snow, we want to ride, we want the snow industry to carry on. We also need to support those companies that are looking for a cleaner, greener of participating in the snow industry.
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Rider: Ross Welch Photograph: Richard Clark
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From Humble Yorkshire Origins People tend to underestimate the impact of sport at University. Most have the impression that all students do is join a club and occasionally compete but that the most important thing is to see how much tequila you can drink whilst doing a handstand. Whilst this is obviously very important, university sport brings more to students than liver failure. Talent can appear and be improved just about anywhere. In the world of university snow sports the main competitors tend to come from large sports orientated universities like Loughborough, Cardiff and Southampton.
The Scottish universities also show enormous amounts of talent on their teams. However, even some of the smaller universities show that they can step up to the competition. My university snow sports club at York, named YUsnow is one of the smaller universities. We tend to have about 10 extremely dedicated racers and freestylers that train as often as possible. The majority of members tend to join purely for our famous Easter trip to the Alps. You wouldn’t think any of the members to have a large amount of success would you? However, we have seen some elite skills coming through the team in the past 3 or 4 years. Two notable members are Marlies Neuner and Tom Farrow. Neither of them had ever raced before but both have been snowboarding since the age of 12. They are now both in Team GB for snowboard cross. Amazing what 3 years can do. They both came to York at the same time and got stuck into the competitive snowboard scene. Tom competed in not just racing but in some freestyle events as well. Marlies captained the team for a year and in her time in YUsnow brought home many gold medals in events such as snowboard cross and the slalom in the British University Snowsports Championships (BUSC). Tom brought York his fair share of podium spots as well as a member of the snowboard team and in individual events. How did they get onto the British team? They attended the trials, rode as fast as hell and got a call weeks later that they had made the team. They are now involved in training in Europe every couple of weeks working on their fitness and their technique.
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Neither of them came to university with the impression that they would now be on the national team for the sport they both love. Needless to say, taking part in so many BUSC events gave them incredible experience in snowboarding and it has now paid off. Marlies, whilst training on the team, has applied to do a Masters degree in sports psychology as part of a “plan B.� Tom has thrown himself into training but is struggling for sponsorship at the moment due to the costly training that the team all needs to take part in. Another member of YUsnow that cannot be ignored is a former elite member of the England Ski Team, Dave Tee. Dave now coaches the Welsh junior team as well as several university teams whilst still at university. He also managed to bring the standard of skiing in York to a new level by making the podium in BUSC events and continues to improve the race team through his expert coaching and as president of YUsnow.
produce positive results for many students. BUSC plays a key role in the development of us students. Without these events we could not compete to the standard that pushes students to the level of elite athletes. What these members of YUsnow have achieved speaks wonders of their individual talents and of the opportunities university snow sports provides
Words by Laura Seward Images supplied by Laura Seward Photographs by Steve McKenna BUSC media
The training facilities at university may not be a high standard but they have shown to 49
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Rider: Katie Ormerod Photograph: Charlie Eddington 51
Photograph: Mathew Shaw
YAD MOSS When the snow hits England hard where do we go? The options aren’t vast, most head to the local hill for some sledging, maybe with the hope of building a small kicker, others go in search of super smooth street rails for some urban fun.
months, volunteers spend their free time clearing away rocks, building fences and fixing lifts in time for the snow. They may not be Morzine or Whistler but they are on our doorstep and you don’t have to pay for excess baggage to get there!
But a real snow resort with a working lift? Isn’t that just something the Scots are blessed with? Actually no, England has a very small handful, however all located in the north, not too far from each other.
Sarah Jackson shares her experiances of skiing and helping out at Yad Moss:
As expected the snowfall and coverage can be unpredictable (they are English hills, not Scottish mountains) and they’re nowhere near as groomed or as immense as ‘real snow resorts’ across the globe, but isn’t that all part of the charm. There’s a lot of hard work and community spirit that goes into making these resorts a great place to ride during the winter 52
I’ve been going up to Yad Moss as long as I can remember; I started to ski at age 3 and both my Mum and Dad were instructors and founding members of Carlisle ski club, who run Yad Moss. It was always guess work as to whether or not it would be worth going up to yad moss even if the tow would be running, you could arrive and end up skiing on hoar frost, or a patch of snow about 100 yards long, this after a steep uphill walk of about 200m to the bottom the
tow. Back then, 20 people queuing for the lift was a busy day. Initially Yad Moss consisted of 1 rope tow, later a second was added that finished a little above where the Poma tow ends today. If we were lucky enough for there to be a decent amount snow, whoever arrived early helped to dig out the rope for the tow. Using the toilet was an act of desperation, as being located in a hut the water in it was often frozen, as was the toilet paper. The seasons here are very unpredictable as has been the development of the resort. Today’s Poma lift was installed in 1988 after several years of good snowfall, however the good snow didn’t stick around for long and we were doomed to a 10-year dry patch. After another brief come back the snow blessed us with extra funding for a new clubroom including two warm, unfrozen toilets! All the hard work at Yad Moss is done by club volunteers and work parties over the summer periods. I spent many times as a child hamming together snow fences and painting shed roofs. Nowadays work parties at Yad Moss are carried out on most weeks including some weekdays as well as weekends. Although they may be cancelled in poor weather and most of the work parties are opportunistic and arranged at short notice when the weather looks good. Although there are regular ones on some fixed dates, which will be the second Sunday of each month.
Photograph: Mathew Shaw
The monthly dates do not replace the many additional work parties that will be necessary to get all jobs done. These will continue to be arranged as weather permits. If you wish to be notified of work parties please get in touch via the contact form on www.yadmoss.co.uk All the hard work that goes into Yad Moss really pays off when we have a good snowfall. There’s not many places in England where you can Ski real hills, the basic amenities and reliance on mother nature make it ever more pleasurable. It Photograph: Mathew Shaw feels like you’ve really earned it and there’s a real sense of community spirit. Season tickets are available each year at just under £50, but are SOLD OUT for this year. Day tickets will be available mid week, although there will only be a limited number available on weekends and in holiday periods, they can be purchased over the website. CHECK availability on the website before travelling - www.yadmoss.co.uk
Photograph: Damian Cray
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Photograph: Wallace Wainhouse
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Fulham to Fernie Part Ii Tis The Season The alarm sounds in its usual terse and tedious manner, a callous daily reminder that it’s 6.15am and time for work. Bleary-eyed and slightly dehydrated from last night’s beers I roll from my bed and into the shower; relying on the hot, wet goodness to make me feel slightly more human. I put on my work clothes and trudge to the bus stop. A deer trots across the road but this doesn’t really register. The bus pulls in and I show my pass, sit in my usual seat and just about manage a grunt of acknowledgement to my fellow regular passengers. It’s still dark and the streetlights waltz past the window in a manner that’s far too jovial for such an ungodly hour. My mind scrambles for some semblance of a “To-Do List” for the day ahead. The bus pulls up at my stop. I alight and all of a sudden the weariness is washed away. Thoughts of being back in bed are banished by the brisk breeze that piques my cheeks. The squeaky crunch of fresh snow beneath my feet is soothing and serene and as the first rays of sunlight trickle over the ridge, the vast, vacant and almost sheet white grandeur of Lizard Bowl opens up in front of me. I ’m here. I’ve made it. I’m in Fernie. Life is good and I am STOKED. And while I may still be “going to work” it’s hard to reconcile that managing a team of 12 uber-vibrant, snow-loving ticket scanners; spending our days dancing at the ticket mazes, shredding together on our lunch breaks and claiming “supervisor’s rights” of first chair each morning constitutes as such! Twelve hours darting between briefings, tele-conferences and a never ending stream of emails this is not. Bliss, it most certainly is. Three months have passed since I first unloaded my mid-twenties crisis on to the pages of WhiteNoize and what a three months they’ve been. I’m no longer watching the Art Of Flight trailer on an obsessive basis because as you all well know, it has been released (and if you presume that I now watch the film itself on a far-too-frequent basis then all I can really say is… well… guilty as charged!). My sunny sandwich on the steps of St Paul’s has been replaced by a divine bagel, filled with a cholesterol-tastic combo of egg, bacon and cheese in
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the expected Canadian proportions and most importantly I’ve stopped the compulsive daydreamjibbing. Why? Because I am finally jibbing myself. Badly and with a few painful consequences but goddammit I am here and I am doing it. What’s strange, however, is that the hill has only been open for a week and doesn’t even have the rail park set up yet. The sessions have all been in people’s gardens; which has, quite frankly, blown my mind. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not so naïve as to think that one can only jib in a purpose built park but I certainly thought that I could only jib in a purpose built park. Never did I imagine that “going round a mate’s for some beers” of an evening would involve shovelling snow for drop-ins and kickers and building our own boxes. Let alone that we’d build them from wood that was left over from the recent Disney filming that took place in town.
I’m used to sitting in a London sized dwelling, sans-garden (never mind one with a micro-park in it) counting down the long, long months until the next annual Alps trip. But it’s happening, it’s actually happening. This is my life and while it still feels a little ethereal, it also feels pretty bloody ace. There was also a decent amount of hiking done when the snow was falling but the lifts weren’t turning. To trudge through 2 feet of fresh, on a 45% gradient for 30 minutes just to lay a fresh track for what would be a one minute ride may seem like madness to the rest of the world (unless your name is Jeremy Jones, in which case “thank you, sir, for checking out a copy of WhiteNoize”) to we, the snow-crazed community, this is the only logical thing to do. Like the powder-junkie branch of the UN, our crew hails from all corners of the world: Canada, Australia, New Zealand, France, Ireland, England and even someone from some place called Croydon. And while multiculturalism is nothing new, I can certainly say I’ve never had such a diverse but tight-knit group of friends all with the same single minded ambition: Shredding that pow. The other interesting thing about the crew (aside from the fact I have started using the word “crew” instead of “group of friends” – which isn’t being try-hard, by the way, it just feels right) is that we are all of a reasonably similar standard but just like Animal Farm, some standards are more reasonable than others. I don’t know whether it’s the innate competi-
tiveness offered by the Aussie contingent, or the fact that Jay, the 5’5” humble Canadian steezed out a 540 nose-grab on his second hit of the kicker we’d built, but I am going to have to step-it up this season. My previously admitted pleasure from being able to sketch out a back 1 has somewhat pallored and I’m relishing the chance to really push myself amongst a group of more accomplished riders. I remember watching a video with Haldor Helgasson over the summer in which he says “Yeah, it’s getting really hard to step it up these days” and while at the time I thought it must be incredible to be at that level of ability, it must also be frustrating. Some of the greatest joy comes from achieving things which we haven’t before and I can guarantee that should I land a 3 (I’m not committing to front or back just yet!) the entire mountain will hear my cries of joy! I sure as hell have been landing them in my mind, I now need to translate that from dream to reality, and from head to feet. Dizzee Rascal said “If you believe you can achieve” and let me tell you I believe. Despite the romantic notions which I have disclosed above about how fantastic this change in life is, there are also some similarities, in which I enjoy taking solace: Just as in London, my fun here comes not so much from what I’m doing but the people I’m doing it with and I am stoked to be part of such an eager and exciting crew. Getting up for work is always a bitch, even when you’re looking forward to the day ahead. After a long day, there’s nothing better than catching up with your buddies over a beer – the view of an entire mountain just adds to the catharsis. And maybe it’s the five years I spent living in Newcastle but there is no greater food group than chips, cheese and gravy – even if you give it a fancy name like “Poutine”. So once again, that’s it from me. I’m off to decide which items of old kit I am going to throw in to the bonfire at the Mogul Smoker on Saturday. We’re still waiting for the epic pow dumps that Fernie is famous for so any sacrifice I can make to appease the gods, I will. I’ll be leaving the snowboards at home though, I love them far too much to watch them go up in smoke. Or do I… Truly, there’s no business like snow business.
Words by Nick Tuckwood Photograph: Nick Tuckwood
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Get Some Green We’ve picked some of the cleanest, greanest, meanest products out there so you can shred with a smug smile knowing your helping to save the world and looking rad!
Vans Veil Holden The Laurent Jacket
Fabricated with Recycled Micro Ox‚ a military inspired hard-working oxford weave. 100% recycled poly with an “eco-friendlier” solvent-free lamination delivers a 10‚000 mm waterproofness and 5‚000 g/m2 breathability rating and a 80/20 PFOA-free DWR which drastically limits the harmful emissions caused by traditional DWR applications. Includes Holden S Café, a recycled coffee bean lining. Holden Laurent Jacket - £239.00 www.ss20.com
Vans also have an eco initiative in their range in the form of their alliance with POW (Protect Our Winters). Built using eco materials and practices, with proceeds from the Veil and Cirro being contributed to the POW foundation to ensure the raising of awareness about protecting the environment in order to preserve the sport we know and love. Vans Veil - £125 www.vans.co.uk
Burton - Green Mountain Project The Green Mountain represents the ever growing eco initiative from Burton, aiming to decrease the effect Burton production has on the environment. Formed originally as a separate collection, GMP now runs through the hardware and software range, offering environmentally conscious variations of many of their most popular products. Made using natural colour dyes, PET recycled plastics and constructed using energy efficient practices, everything is considered, evaluated and challenged. Burton Custom Flying V - £455 Burton Mission - £165 www.burton.com
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K2 Eco Pop
LESS WASTE, MORE SHRED! Taking home every industry award it was entered into in 2010 the 2011-2012 Eco Pop Snowboard continues to build momentum. K2’s exclusive Hybrilight construction features a thin, constant thickness sidewall designed for maximum performance and minimal material usage. The result is a lighter, more advanced snowboard with significantly less waste produced in manufacturing. Better on hill and greener for the hill.
Thirty Two Suzy Stripes socks These socks feature 55% Rayon yarn derived from bamboo so even your toes can be kept warm and stylish whilst being green. Thirty Two Suzy Stripes www.boardersboards.co.uk
K2 Eco Pop - £390 www.freeride-snowboards.co.uk
Dragon Rogue Eco
Dragon wer the first to make goggles made from 100% renewable origins. The development of the ECO (Environmentally Conscious Optics) series, a product originally inspired by longtime Dragon team surfer Rob Machado, represents the ambitious, avant-garde, athleteinspired mindset that Dragon was founded upon. Dragon Rogue Eco - £105 www.ss20.com
Capita Green Machine DIY Beanies
Bored of seeing others wearing the same beanie as you? Design your own! Granies Inc allow you to choose from a range of styles and colours so you can design your own unique beanie! All beanies are hand knitted by their team of grannies using no electricty or machinary. The Merino wool used is top quality and sourced from animal friendly South Africa where the terrifying practice of mulesing is not carried out. www.granniesinc.co.uk
This eco bad boy is made with Reforestation Certified Sustainable DUAL Core, 95% Recycled Beeswax Modified Sintered Speed Base, 100% Recycled Sintered ABS Sidewalls, Special Blend – EVO TECH Fiberglass, Configuration. Capita Green machine - £490.00 www.capitasnowboarding.com
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Eco Friendly Trip Tips We’ve put together a few tips to help you become a little greener and reduce your impact on the environment. The little things really can make a difference!
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If you’ve been paying attention you will have noticed the previous page is all about green products! Loads of brands, big and small have produced products with a reduced impact on the environment. Whether they are made from eco-friendly materials, or the energy used in making the products is from a renewable source. There are many brands which have made the effort to reduce their impact on the environment; for example Volcom have an announced a colaboration with POW (Protect Our Winters) on a range of eco friendly technical clothing, Proceeds will go to POW who work to protect our winters by reducing climate change.
Take a trip to an eco friendly resort. Many resorts such as Saas Fee and Whistler have taken steps to reduce their environmental impact. For example in Saas Fee cars are banned, instead a free bus service runs around town. There are also several chalets and apartments who are committed to reducing energy use and recycling and have earned themselves a European Eco-Label. Davos in Switzerland is the first ski resort in the Alps to become an ‘Energy Town’ with as much as 35 per cent of its energy coming from renewable power sources such as hydro power.
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Instead of flying to the resort why not take a train or car share, both produce much less emissions than airplanes. Or purchase Carbon offsets with your ticket so you can neutralise your travel. Check out www.mountainrideshare.com if you fancy car sharing on your next trip to the mountains.
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If you want to take it a bit more extreme how about skipping the chairlifts? Hiking, Snowshoeing, Split Boarding, or telemarking up the hill might take a lot longer than the traditional chairlift but it will save you some emissions and some pounds, from the lift pass and your waist line! Plus the ride down will feel a lot sweeter with the feeling that you’ve actually earnt it!
Rider: Simon Stephans Photograph: Richard Clark
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Diary 26-29/01/12 - Snow-Camp Everest Challenge- Snow-Camp holds its third annual charity ski-a-thon in the alps. Snow-Camp
is an innovative youth charity that uses a unique combination of skiing, snowboarding and life-skills programmes to support innercity young people.
04/02/12 - Highlander Series - Glenshee - TTR points are up for grabs at this stop in the Scottish Freestyle Champs. www.snowsportscotland.org/
24-26/02/12 - MV Festival - Cairngorm Mountain -
Mountain & Vally Festival takes place in the Scottish Highlands and combines snow sports, live music and comedy acts over one weekend. www.mvfestival.com
04/02/12 - Highlander Series - Nevis Range - TTR points are up for grabs at this stop in the Scottish Freestyle Champs. www.snowsportscotland.org/
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04/02/12 - Highlander Series - Glencoe Ski Centre -
TTR points are up for grabs at this stop in the Scottish Freestyle Champs. www.snowsportscotland.org/
18-25/03/12 - The Brits -Laax - The Brits return to Laax for
another year of skiing, snowboarding , live music and DJ’s. Get in on the party for as little as £249! www.the-brits.com
31/03/12 - Scottish Freestyle Champs - Cairngorm -
TTR points are up for grabs at this stop in the Scottish Freestyle Champs. www.snowsportscotland.org/
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WhiteNoize For advertising contact: Editor@WhiteNoizemag.co.uk
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