RUDECHALETS

Burton Hi5 at Castleford video just in...

2011-11-10T17:13:00.000+01:00

Burton High 5 2011: Castleford from gonzilla.tv on Vimeo.

Burton Hi5 Comp back out on the road...

2011-11-01T15:47:00.000+01:00

News in from Burton HQ..

BURTON Hi 5 Tour 2011

So after a short break the 2011 tour is back this Friday for a 4 week run. Starting at the Sno!Zone Castleford and ending at The Snow Centre Hemel Hempstead. 4 Fridays of what should be the most creative parks seen in the Domes this year! What a way to kick start your winter.

If you didn’t make the last two check out the action from first stops Tamworth and Braehead;

Tamworth:

http://vimeo.com/29781636

Braehead:

http://vimeo.com/30160595

See you on the slope.

HI 5!!!

The most important book launch this year..

2011-10-03T15:14:00.004+02:00

Many of you will remember Bob who worked for us a few seasons back.. well.. due to the phenomenal success of his first book he is about to launch his second - The Baggage.. If you want to drop by and say hello and pick up your signed copy then please see the awesome poster below for details..

Burton Hi5 in Scotland

2011-09-29T10:55:00.003+02:00

The Burton Hi5 comp moves to Braehead, Scotland this weekend.

Registration opens at 6pm.. so if you live in Lands End and plan on cycling you might want to leave now.. all that remains is to wish all entrants the best of luck..

In Snow We Trust

A dusting of snow in Avoriaz..

2011-09-19T10:50:00.003+02:00

It's not much but its definitetly worth getting excited about... taken from the Avoriaz webcam this am.. IN A HUGE SEASON WE TRUST.

It's that time of year..

2011-09-17T11:33:00.003+02:00

The summer clothes have been packed away.. the winter gear is back in the wardrobe and Morzine has taken on a truly autumnal feel.. the buzz about town is all about a massive winter following Americas last year.. if JP is believed we will probably need snorkels.. but first its the rude party on the peaks of Hemel.. bring on the err.. hmm.. err.. Hemel pow!! :-/

Oh.. and Rudegirls get a mention downunder.. http://www.theage.com.au/travel/blogs/snow-it-all/snow-lovers-look-north-whats-on-offer-this-season-20110913-1k7fj.html

... and finally, if you can't make the party you can still donate a £1 or £2 to Snowcamps via www.justgiving.co.uk/rudeville

Sabrina in Argentina..

2011-08-27T17:19:00.002+02:00

Back to back seasons is the life of a pro snowboarder.. so this summer Sabrina - Rudechalets team rider has been out in Argentina perfecting her tricks and style.. here is Sabs latest update about her travels and some of her most recent shots..

After discovering Buenos Aires, Iguazu and Puerto Madryn we were back on road for the south of Argentina. Everything changes totally; temperatures, vegetation, and atmosphere.

We are at the low season now so there aren’t a lot of people and as the volcano has been erupting for few weeks now it's quieter than usual - NOBODY. That's not cool for Argentina tourism but I have to say I really enjoy the feeling of being alone here.

We arrived in El Calafate which is definitely a unique place in the world. The village is next to the biggest lake in Argentina called Lago Argentino. Our youth hostel stands on a hill and offers us a magical view of the lake at all times throughout the day, but mornings and evenings project the most incredible light, completely indescribable.

We've been to Los Glacieres National Park (located in an area known as Austral Andes, in the south west of Santa Cruz on the border with Chile). It was soooo cold, around -15 °C. Equatorial temperatures definitely change. The sun was coming up and we took a boat that brought us down to the Glacier Perito Moreno. It was totally impressive to be in front of an ice cliff of more than 100 meters high right there in front of us. The noise of the ice moving and cracking was just massive. We were in total awe of the spectacle.

The day after, we went with the sun to the Parc of El Chalten. We were a bit surprised to arrive in a ghost town. It looked like something from the Scooby Doo cartoons or a cowboy western with nobody around and no noise! We finally found the way up the mountain in 10cm of fresh snow. We were in front of Mount Fitz Roy and Cerro Torre, two of the most renowned mountains in the world alpinist enthusiasts.

The more we walked between strange trees, the more we had the impression of being in the film Sleepy Hollow. When we returned to the village, in wet frozen shoes, we had the chance to meet the ONLY man in this place and were so lucky to learn that he was the boss of the only restaurant of the village usually closed at this time. BUT he opened it again for us, cooked a good soup and we shared exchanges about life next to a super cool heater. Argentinean people are really great and ‘solidaire’ all the time.

Here it comes towards the end of our travels in Argentina. We shred Esquel for a month and rent a house. On the first day of riding we were a bit sad ‘because there wasn't a lot of snow but it came! How lucky we were all the time during our travels! I said the same to my friend and she said that it's probably due to karma! As I'm very fond of ‘My Name Is Earl’, I also do a lot for my karma and it definitely seems to work! Do good things for your karma and it’s gonna bring you back good things! BOOMERANG!

So already in middle of our stay in Esquel, time goes so fast. I really enjoyed our stay here; people are wonderful, the snow is amazing, beers are good, the park is super well done, food is incredible….Really, I found my paradise on earth and I can't stay one more minute behind my computer!

Burton Demo at Hemel..

2011-08-23T18:56:00.001+02:00

Our friends at Burton are hosting a demo evening on the 26th August at Hemel.. head along to try out the latest and greatest.. 7pm - 10pm..

IN SNOW WE TRUST.

The last 2 weeks...

2011-08-19T17:24:00.005+02:00

The last two weeks have been crazy.. H and Rocksta arrived in in Vegas on the 6th August where I was waiting for their arrival.. sneaky sneaky.. we spent the next day visiting the bright lights and big city.. Rocco particularly liked NY - NY.. before heading back to Cedar City and on to the final leg of the cycle.. in order to make it to SF for the 17th we had to cycle everyday.. which seemed ok until we hit Nevada.. basically you cycle over a range down into a long windy flat section and back over a range.. repeat about 30 times with very little scenery change and the job is done.. arghhhh... I think it was Nevada that I experienced my worst day having taken a wrong turn that cost us 15 miles.. not a huge amount but this was followed by a head on wind which dropped our speed to 6mph.. and continued over the final 40miles.. if I had a towel I may have thrown it.. anyway.. Nevada is an 'interesting' state which was mined heavily for Gold and Silver in the 1800's.. although I am not sure where the gold was invested or the towns went after that.. certainly not where we passed through.. crossing the Californian state line was a huge relief that was short lived as Carson Pass was waiting around the corner.. this took us over 4 hours to climb but what an awesome climb it was.. the scenery was incredible.. I have to go snowboarding at Kirkwood at somepoint which is a resort perched nr the top.. so downwards and onwards we went.. on through Davis.. "widely known as the world capital of cycling" ..???????? ..then Sacramento or 'Sac' if you are local and then to the Valejo ferry and then our final 6 miles to the Golden gate Bridge.. a little fact.. the golden gate bridge was going to be grey but the locals liked the red undercoat so much that they asked to keep it.. so we finally arrived at 17:45 on the 17th August having ridden across 9 states and over 3785 miles.. does anyone want to buy a touring bike with all the gear..?

Oh.. and I almost forgot to mention..but.. unfortunately.. well.. err.. hmm.. the girls beat us with a 136 miler.. ouch!

Cycling through Nevada..

.. and repeat..

The loneliest rode in America didn't seem that lonely..

Arriving on the ferry...

Finally at the Golden Gate Bridge.. woooohoooo!!!!

It was going to be hard to beat but...

2011-08-06T02:47:00.004+02:00

In my last post I said Colorado was going to be hard to beat.. but let me tell you Utah has exceeded all expectations and blown it to pieces.. we have cycled through some of the most incredible scenery I have ever seen.. I have to come back and snowboard and mountain bike here at some point! As far as I can ascertain Utah only has one downfall.. although it is reasonably big.. i.e. access to cold beer and when you do find it, it has been watered down.. but hey that's not the end of the world.. hmm or is it..?? This week we have been working hard to get to Cedar City in time for H and Rocco's arrival.. they will be touching down in Vegas at 2:30 tomorrow.. fortunately we pulled out the big guns and put in our longest distance so far of 130.8 miles.. I am being accurate as we have a bit of a competition going with the two girls - Britney & Lorraine - who have managed 121 miles.. they have vowed to beat us.. fortunately we have a possible 150 miler before arriving in San Francisco although I am hoping we don't have to do this as I would like to be awake for my birthday.. oh.. didn't I mention my birthday is soon!! I also clocked up my top speed of 42.58 mph.. it gave me major jelly leg.. Gary wasn't that impressed as he still finishes about 10 minutes ahead of me on any of the big downhills.. he is fearless (crazy?).. oh and the super big news of the week is that we have now cycled 3000 miles.. very soon we will be in Nevada with only 700 ish miles left to ride..

So far..

Favourite scenery - Utah
Favourite beer - Fat Tyre
Favourite cycling along tune - Black
Favourite fast food - Arbys
Favourite energy bar - Carrot Cliff Bar

Gary heading westbound..

Hmm.. a canyon..

err.. a rock..

Riding through Red Canyon on a superb cycle lane..

Colorado Rocks..

2011-07-31T04:03:00.003+02:00

It is going to be hard to beat the awesomeness of Colorado.. the scenery from Peublo all the way through to Utah has been off the scale.. along the route we have climbed Monarch Pass 11,312ft, Dallas Divide 8,790ft, Lizard Head Pass 10,222ft.. the highlight of this section has to be our day off in Telluride once a haven for Butch Cassidy and the first place where he robbed a bank.. in the 80's it became a ski resort and since then has grown to become a haven for famous celebrities including Tom Cruise who has purchased himself a winter getaway there.. the size of Buckingham Palace.. so after a long and tiring climb up to the resort the first place we 'fell' into was the Sheraton Hotel which we promptly found out was home to the oldest bar in town and where Butch Cassidy once drank.. beer anyone..? well it would be rude not to! We later met up with Britney & Lorraine.. a couple of crazy American girls who we have been cycling on and off with over the last few weeks and who seem to like beer more than Gary and me.. hmm..?? anyway they promptly joined us in celebrating the history of Butch Cassidy with a Fat Tyre.. the following day I enjoyed the most expensive milkshake in the world, the most expensive coffee and almost the most expensive massage.. once the lady told me the price I crossed my fingers in the hope they didn't have a slot available.. she didn't.. phew.. whilst mooching around I also picked up a copy of the local paper which lists chalets for sale.. I didn't find one under $5m and most were between $8 - $15m.. man I wish Tom Cruise would buy in Morzine.. after Telluride we headed over the final pass and on towards Utah which is where I am now.. as we rode into Utah I think I may have annoyed Gaz with a constant rendition of Utah Saints U-U-U-Utah Saints and lines from Point Break.. hey we have been on the road along time!!

Thunderbolts of lightening very very frightening...

2011-07-24T02:02:00.004+02:00

What a week! What a road! What a storm! This week we have spent over 3.5 days on the same road - the 96.. it just went on and on and on and on.. mostly in a straight line with the very occasional curve.. it also has a slight slope.. not that you really notice as you roll along but it took us from 2500ft to 4600ft.. anyway.. we headed out this week with the intention of smashing the miles until our next nemesis turned up.. the wind.. until then we hadn't encountered the legendary Kansas wind and frankly the stories I had heard I didn't believe eg. "it can bring your speed down to 4km / hr" .. it wasn't quite that bad.. but it dropped our speed from 15km to 9km / hr and became a constant iritant in my left ear.. fortunately it didn't last longer than 2 days otherwise I may have considered throwing my bike in a bin in a mad rage.. because of the wind and the sun our mileage fluctuated dramatically.. so much so that we had to pull out a 95 miler and a 116 miler to keep us on track and to get us to Pueblo, Colorado for our day off.. hmm.. there is a problem with long days in the saddle.. its called saddle soreness! So we finally made it through Kansas which is a beautiful state with a lot of fields and a lot of cattle.. one ranch we passed had 1 million live stock.. and I was advised that this was a small branch of a Texas based company and that nearly all the crops grown in the area are for feeding the cattle.. crazy! Anyway.. we entered Colorado with cooler weather and low winds so we went for the stretch and rode 116 miles.. with about 10 miles to go an electrical storm erupted some distance to our left.. lightening strikes were illuminating the sky almost every minute.. at this point I wasn't overly concerned but within minutes it all changed.. the wind almost blew me off my bike and debris (anything that wasn't firmly fixed to the ground) started flying around at high speed and in all directions.. I don't think I have ever experienced a storm like it.. infact I half expected to see a tin man, a lion and a scarecrow at any moment.. fortunately I am here to write this blog so we obviously made it.. needless to say that night we went to a bar to celebrate being alive! Today we took our first day off the bikes for two weeks so last night we headed to the Texas Roadhouse Grill where they serve "Legendary" margheritas.. which I decided to question.. the response.. "well we have recently opened a branch in Dubai, Egypt" .. ?? I stopped myself and just ordered a beer and a steak! Today I have lived the American dream i.e. I watched Captain America in 3D, ate at Dennys and went shopping at the mall (for Rocco).. tomorrow we start to climb the Rockies.. :-)

Miles ridden = about 2200
Beers drunk this week = alot more than normal and in particular Fat Tyre
States left to go through = 4
Grateful to be alive = Yes very!

Yeehah.. here comes Colorado..

Just before we hit the storm..

The bar where we thanked the cycle gods for sparing us..

Riding along the 96..

It has been a hot and hilly week..

2011-07-14T23:47:00.006+02:00

This week can be summed up as hot and hilly.. we have finally finished cycling through the Ozarks - the oldest mountain range in America.. hmm.. hills I reckon.. anyway they roll and roll and roll and roll from one side of Missouri to the other.. the cycling and the scenery has been great but the roads have been narrow and the drivers not so happy to see us.. I quote.. Old Man climbing out of Truck - "Any of you guys fallen off today and hurt yourselves" Me - "No thank goodness" Old man now out of cab - "That's a shame the way you cyclists ride" Me - "What did you say..?" Old man climbing back into truck "Get a job!" ..?? .. anyway.. the temperatures have been soaring this week and everyone I speak to seems to quote a higher temperature than the previous one.. at this rate it will be 300F by the time we reach Colorado.. so with the temperature increase we have dropped down on the mileage, increased our Gatorade intake and watched a lot more HBO in our air conditioned motel room.. we are now in Kansas the flatest place you could imagine where we can see for miles and miles in all directions.. the waving factor has increased significantly since we crossed the state line so I am looking forward to heading on through.. I am also hoping that we can increase our daily mileage.. especially as we met one guy who reckons he cycled 150 miles in one day whilst in Kansas.. "Hey Man.. it's easy when you got the wind behind you" .. and if you have tree trunks for legs.. which I don't!! I also popped in to a local sports store to get out of the sun for a bit.. it was actually a gun store with a collection of dead animals to rival any museum..

States cycled through = 4
Highest temperature = 105.. 110.. 115..
Punctures = 2 plus a broken valve
Old gits met = 1

Oh and Happy Birthday to Danalog.

Pics.. me at the Kansas state line.. a lot of stuffed animals.. cycling through Kansas..

Heat records are being broken..

2011-07-13T23:51:00.003+02:00

Hmm.. we have been told a few things over the last couple of lunch stops.. the most alarming and why I am almost passing out by midday is that a number of heat records have been broken in Missouri over the last week.. I can't explain what its like cycling in 105F because at somepoint my mind and body started to shut down.. secondly we have been riding along what is widely known as hurricane alley.. so if the dogs don't get us the sun will and if the sun doesn't get us a hurricane will.. I am sure there was nothing about this on the Cycling Association of Americas website when I signed up to do it.. I will drop them a line to let them know.. I should probably also mention the snakes..

PS. Happy Birthday to my sister who has just turned uh hum... er .. older!

America's #1 pastime..

2011-07-11T01:06:00.002+02:00

Over the last 3 weeks I have discovered that America's #1 pasttime is not baseball or American football or shopping or drinking or eating... it is infact mowing the lawn, however big or small.. on a sit down tractor mower!!

One week, 3 states..

2011-07-08T19:52:00.003+02:00

It has been an awesome week of riding which has taken us from the Western edge of Kentucky to the Eastern edge of Missouri via Illinois.. along the way we have seen the birth place of Abraham Lincoln.. I never knew he was the first US President to be assassinated.. hmm should have paid more attention in history class.. we have crossed the Ohio river at a point where it is 0.5 miles wide and 20ft deep.. we have been through the birth place of Popeye - Chester Missouri.. ugh, ugh, ugh, ugh.. and we have crossed a very high Mississipi River to end up at Al's place in Farmington, Missouri.. possibly the best hostel I have ever stayed in.. accommodation this week has been a mixed bag.. we have slept on the front porch of a grocery store (and were invited to attend the local Church about 30 times), on the floor of a firestation, in a national park and a couple of B & B's.. I have also sampled my first DQ burger.. which I have given a Chris burger rating of 4.. dissapointing!.. on this scale Johnny Rockets would be a 9.5.. the big news sweeping the nation is the visit of Prince William and Kate.. obviously our very good friends.. the release of Casey Anthony and the end of the News of the World.. tomorrow we head into the Ozarks.. a roller coaster of hills that go on until we get to Kansas.. and Dorothy..

Miles = need to work it out
Punctures = 1
Burgers = Lost count
Popeye postcards purchased = 1

Pictures.. the Mississipi crossing.. me and Popeye.. crossing the Ohio river.. me as Brutas..

The All American Diner..

2011-07-05T01:01:00.004+02:00

Yesterday we rode 70 miles in 96 deg heat with a 80% humidity rating.. this makes it feel over 100 degs.. I felt like I could have been lightly seasoned and served as Sundays roast... so by 2pm we were desperate to get some respite.. which was when, out of nowhere we found our favourite authentic all American diner (so far).. of course the menu was stacked with Burger choices but I opted for the special and was not dissapointed! FYI.. the guy in green on the righthandside spent about 20 mins standing over our table talking to us whilst also spraying bits of food .. fortunately for me it all went in Garys direction.. oh and one other thing a couple of lads who we rode with for a bit last week have had to quit.. one of them had a high speed collision with a deer.. fortunately he is cool.. but his bike isn't!

We love Western Kentucky..

2011-07-01T21:27:00.004+02:00

Entering the town of Berea (the town slap bang in the middle of Kentucky) was like crossing a magical line into a world of happy friendly people, the most stunning scenery we have seen so far and most importantly.. easy going dogs.. although I did have an altercation with one called Romeo who got 'Halted' 3 times before he stopped coming at me.. yesterday turned out to be a great days cycling through rolling farm land.. we managed a total of 96 miles before arriving in Bardstown.. the self proclaimed world capital of Bourbon.. I forgot to mention earlier that we also went through the self proclaimed world capital of redbuds.. a place called Honaker in Virginia.. anyway.. today is our day off so last night we went to the Talbott Tavern which is supposed to be the oldest stage coach stop in America.. it is now a perveyor of fine bourbon which I didn't fancy so I met them half way.. i.e. a beer which is finished with a stint in a bourbon barrel.. this makes for a very tasty beverage.. it also makes it very strong.. 8.2%.. which after cycling 96 miles in the sun knocks you sideways.. which might be why I bought a country and western cd from the singer performing in the bar last night..

Miles ridden = 847
Burgers eaten = 7 (includes 2 Arby's)
Dog bites = 0
Bad tan line = YES
Hangovers = 1
Country & Western CD's purchased = 1

Pictures below top.. riding to Bardstown.. middle.. college town of Berea.. bottom.. a sign with the year I was born..

East Kentucky.. what can i tell you..

2011-06-30T00:52:00.004+02:00

We have just cycled approximately 200 miles through the East of Kentucky.. and it has been an experience.. most of this section is lined with 1) trailer parks sporting flags such as "its not just a red neck thing" 2) dogs on chains but many loose and vicious 3) piles of rubbish & rusting trucks 4) men with no teeth spitting tobacco & shouting abuse.. 5) a million churches all with their own tag.. my personal favourite.. "Come on in, we have prayer conditioning".. 6) road signs full of bullet holes.. however.. the scenery along the route has been beautiful.. but I didn't stop to take many photos for fear of dog attack.. I lost count of how many dogs chased us and how many I hit with Halt! Gary could probably race Cavendish the speed he took off everytime a dog barked! I spent most of this section in a constant state of panic!!

That said.. we stayed at some cool places and met a few friendly people.. which seem to be in short supply in Eastern Kentucky.. we also got to try moonshine.. ouch.. and learnt that Nascar was born out of moonshine running.. and that a huge part of Kentucky is dry.. i.e. no beer.. yep.. thats what I said.. no beer which leads me on to why there are so many dogs.. because they are used to keep people off the land where 'they' are growing marijuana.. we were also told that as a back-up growers tie rattle snakes to poles in amongst the weed.. and that should we get bitten by a rattlesnake on route we would most likely die.. but if we did miraculously make it to hospital in time we would be faced with a $17000 medical bill.. oh and the Dr's would only give you the antidote if you bought the snake with you just incase they gave you the wrong one.. so it means that after being bitten you would need to kill the snake.. and finally.. since this particular person telling us all this has lived in East Kentucky, 9 people have gone missing related to the drug trade and their bodies have never been found.. I didn't sleep so well that night..

Photos to follow..

A cruisy day to Damascus..

2011-06-25T22:00:00.003+02:00

Our first day off flew by in a whirlwind of pepper spray hunting -> Arbys eating -> Cracker Barrel Scoffing and Bud Lite drinking.. we also met a couple of interesting Americans.. one of which told us to write to the Queen as 'she may invite us around to tea to hear about our ride'.. I kid you not.. I thought people made this stuff up.. and the other who told us that she and her husband had seen the whole of England from the back seat of a black cab at 3am.. we think she meant London.. hmm.. anyway.. today we awoke to a cool sunny day, the first in 7 so we enjoyed a cruisy ride to a place called Damascus.. which is a centre for outdoor enthusiasts wanting to make the most of the Appalachian mountains.. there are mountain bikers and hikers everywhere.. a mini Morzine in summer..

Picture is of me at the Damascus Hostel where we are staying tonight..

Burgers = 3 (one Arbys) .. plus I think I am going to have one tonight at Quincys..
Miles = 490
Dog bites = 0
Ticks = ? I think Gary may have one..

One week and counting..

2011-06-24T15:12:00.004+02:00

When I first decided to ride across the US I had visions of me hanging by a pool early afternoon with my kindle in one hand and a beer in the other after a cruisy 70 mile ride.. how wrong could I have been.. I have been massively caught out by how much difference the extra weight makes to our average speed.. I have therefore decided to re-categorise the trip as a 'testing experience'.. and yesterday pretty much encapsulates that.. we rode 101 miles half of which was through torrential rain.. we set off from Dalesville at 7.00am and arrived in Wytheville around 6.45pm.. the great news is that we are 15 miles ahead of schedule and we are now holed up in an air conditioned Travel Lodge with HBO, WiFi and within walking distance to a range of burger bars!! Over the last week we have met a lot of cyclists doing the same trip (or West to East) and the one thing they all said is to buy a pepper spray to repel the wild dogs in Kentucky.. one guy we met yesterday was bitten by the Sheriffs dog who told him he should have had one.. how does that work..?? Anyway, needless to say we are going in search of two pepper sprays today and I am not crossing in to Kentucky until I have one! So Y'All have a great day and I will catch you soon.

Total miles: 432.94
Total burgers: 2
Total dog bites: 0

Yesterdays route below..

Have we bitten off more than we can chew..

2011-06-21T22:49:00.004+02:00

In the last 4 days we have ridden from Yorktown to Lexington.. a total of 453km.. and we are bushed!! Its not the distance, but the extra weight of the panniers.. as soon as you hit an incline of even the smallest gradient it feels like you are going backwards.. I feel like Rocky training for his fight with Ivan Drago (with a lot less muscle).. the weather so far has either been monster storms or excessive heat and humidity.. I am not sure which is better.. probably a mix of both.. the cycle routes have been stunning with very little traffic.. today we cycled across the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia.. it is an awesome route with spectacular views and barely any traffic.. (if you like that sort of thing).. right I am off to Dennys to eat everything on the menu!

Pictures below.. Start in Yorktown -> Day 2 somewhere in Virginia -> Day 4 on the Blue Ridge Mountains

We have arrived..

2011-06-17T15:43:00.005+02:00

We got to the Yorktown Motor Lodge last night at 22:30 local time after an effortless journey courtesy of Virgin airlines and Budget car rental.. Today we are putting our bikes together and packing our kit ready for an early departure tomorrow morning. Gary may be sometime judging by his lack of ability to tell the difference between an allen key and screwdriver and the fact that he seems to have left most of his screws at home.. ;-)

Miles travelled by bike = 0
Burgers eaten = 1

In Cycling We Trust

The Garmin Competition results are out!

2011-05-26T14:01:00.002+02:00

The Garmin competition results are out on SCUK and Rudeville has a winner..

Cut and paste the following link into your browser to get the full SP..

http://www.snowboardclub.co.uk/news-10608.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+co%2FtaAA+%28Snowboard+Club+UK+News%29&utm_content=Twitter

Mont Ventoux Sportive

2011-05-24T08:54:00.002+02:00

Last weekend myself and a mate headed down to Mont Ventoux for the Sport Communication Cyclo Sportive.. initially I had signed up for the 144km race.. I quickly realised that this was a schoolboy error of all proportions as firstly I am currently not fit enough to race 144km and secondly the midday temperatures are currently hovering around 37 deg.. so I entered the 'Seniors' 90km race.. hmmm... the focus of the race is the Mont Ventoux climb which is synonymous with Tom Simpson who died on the climb during the 1967 Tour de France.. that was slightly worrying.. so in preperation I loaded my drinks with carb supplements and my pockets with energy bars.. anyway.. the race went by in a flash.. I managed to finish in 4hrs 28mins having covered 90km and 2500 vertical ascent.. stoked.. but then I bumped into the guy staying next to us at the campsite who finished the 144km race in 4hrs 25mins.. note to self.. don't ask anyone their result unless you know you have beaten them.. ;-)

Cycle Across America..

2011-05-12T12:23:00.000+02:00

For many years myself and my great mate Gary have promised ourselves a cycle ride across America; East Coast to West Coast. After years of good reasons to not do it we felt compelled to do it the year we both turn 40 and put and end to failed drunken promises and raise some money for worthy causes.

The ride starts in Yorktown, Virginia and finishes some 3,785.5 miles later in San Francisco, California. We will start riding on 18th June 2011 and hope to be in San Francisco about 17th August. The route roughly follows a straight line on the map between the 2 taking us through the states of Virginia, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Utah, Nevada and California.

We are raising money for Maggies Centres. This is a great Charity providing support for people affected by Cancer. If you want to donate just head over to http://www.justgiving.com/GaryandChrisCycleAmerica..

In Cycling We Trust! (Until the Snow turns up any)

Fancy a marathon...?

2011-05-09T19:46:00.002+02:00

If you are a crazy marathon runner this will probably be of interest..

MARATHON DU MONT BLANC Friday 24 June – Sunday 26 June

4 races: 42km, 23km, 10km and mini-cross for kids. 4000 participants

www.chamonixsport.com

PS. Our friends Claire & Dave now hold the married couples fastest combined time for the London Marathon.. awesome!!

IN RUNNING WE TRUST..?

Snowbombing party time...

2011-04-08T09:23:00.004+02:00

H and Becs are over in Mayrhofen for Snowbombing.. hmm.. how did they wangle that..? The Prodigy are headlining tonight so the party is going to go off!! Also, crazily they bumped in to two very good friends of Prince William yesterday, who had just finished a snow polo match on the Hintertux Glacier... oh and big thank you to Ginger Spice for the loan of her dresses..

IN SNOWBOMBING WE TRUST.

On top of the world.. well Mont Blanc..

2011-04-04T10:55:00.003+02:00

Ruth and Ben have been making the most of the glorious weather in Chamonix by heading out on the infamous Vallee Blanche.. if you haven't been down the Vallee before you should add it to your list of must do's..

IN MONT BLANC WE TRUST.

Chris Kightly on ITV News

2011-03-27T14:26:00.000+02:00

Rudechalets rider Chris Kightly has managed to get himself on ITV..

Central Regional News (ITV Central Tonight) - ITV Local

As the snow fell..

2011-03-20T13:50:00.003+01:00

As the snow fell the ANALOG Design Unlikely features competition went off.. The winning design combined rails a stair set and hip which made for some interesting riding.. hmm.. but I don't think it was quite as good as the rude mini rail.. ;-) .. and no I didn't enter..

AG Amateur event Saturday 19th in Avoriaz..

2011-03-15T20:20:00.001+01:00

Sab is smashing it in the pipe..

2011-03-14T16:58:00.003+01:00

Latest news in from Rudechalets rider Sabrina Kusar..

"I won the Volcom Peanuts butter jam in Morzine yesterday, There was 16 girls which is amazing for a jib contest and the level was pretty good. It was soo fun and I'm now invited to the final in Laax ..."

Photo Courtesy of Jori Milan Buijze

Mayrhofen rocks!

2011-03-07T17:46:00.002+01:00

We have just got back from Mayrhofen and what an awesome trip it was.. in particular the Penken Park was 'boss'.. ok.. I only hit the small jumps but Dave was good to go on the big ones.. I put it down to too many Ziphers..

IN SNOW WE TRUST.

We are Innsbruck..

2011-02-27T09:05:00.003+01:00

... we are in Innsbruck on our way to Mayrhofen and it is dumping like crazy.. last night was the start of the Flasching Festival.. a week long festival of skiing & snowboarding, fancy dress and partying.. Austrian apres ski to the max..

IN SNOW WE TRUST.

Rudechalets is visited by FHM

2011-02-23T09:11:00.001+01:00

One crazy dude and his friend turned up from FHM to give our XBOX Kinects a run for their money.. read on to find out what they got up to.. crazy!!

http://www.fhm.com/upgrade/entertainment/can-you-teach-yourself-to-ski-79899

IN SNOW WE TRUST.

Mark Ward and the Granimator App..

2011-02-18T17:16:00.002+01:00

Not only has Mark been busy working with rudechalets he has also been working with the world famous ustwo to produce a signature artist pack for their amazing Granimator iPad app. Granimator is a sound based wallpaper creator app for the iPad that offers users a fully immersive touch and sound experience. Draw, tap, pinch, drag and interact with the ridiculous amount of distorted elements he created to make your own insane compositions and soundscapes using the iPad’s multi-touch function. Share the wallpaper by sending it to an iPhone, or with friends on Twitter, Flickr, Facebook or on Granimator.com. To top it off, while your creating your masterpiece, your ears will be serenaded by the sweet sounds and SFX of ‘Embarrassment to Sound’.

Did you know..

2011-02-17T17:08:00.002+01:00

75% of the Portes du Soleil is open.. we are in the top ten resorts for the depth of piste base and 30cm is due next week.. I am waxing my board whilst I type this..

IN SNOW WE TRUST.

Rudeville Videos..

2011-02-05T15:55:00.002+01:00

Si has been working relentlessly to get the rudeville facebook page updated with the latest videos.. this is great in one sense but it also means he is getting closer to uploading the Chamonix footage.. oh dear!

IN SNOW WE TRUST

It was an epic day in Chamonix..

2011-02-03T19:58:00.004+01:00

What happens when you take 16 staff and friends to Chamonix for a rudechalets away day..? hmm.. if only I could remember!!

Breakfast at Elevation.. riding on the Grand Montet.. partying at Chambre Neuf.. and then it all became very hazy..

IN THE RUDECREW WE TRUST

Oh the life of a sponsored snowboarder..

2011-01-27T12:34:00.002+01:00

Andy Webb, rudechalets team rider dropped me a quick note as follows..

"I’m now out in Tahoe, living in Tahoe Donner, just up the road from Truckee. Got a season pass for Northstar, Sierra, Heavenly and a night pass for Boreal"

Sounds tough! ;-)

IN SNOW WE TRUST.

The NUG..

2011-01-17T22:41:00.003+01:00

I have just got back from the La Clusaz board test where I have been checking out some of next seasons kit.. and I was blown away by the NUG (which is also available this season..) ..this was the first time I have ridden one and I couldn't believe how it rode for a 148.. yes a 148.. the edge grip was incredible.. ok I couldn't keep up with JP but who can.. this is definitely a board to consider if you want a fun late season board.. I for sure will be getting one!

In The NUG WE TRUST

Captain America Visited Rudeville..

2011-01-15T13:23:00.004+01:00

The Mayor of Rudeville was delighted to host Captain America and his friends over New Year.. and he wishes him well in saving the planet..

In Captain America We Trust.

It's been a while..

2011-01-12T22:02:00.006+01:00

.. but it was worth the wait.. 2 days of snow means only one thing.. fresh pow needs shredding.. and did we shred.. until our legs fell off.. Bec's sneaked in the best line of the day, John experienced his best pow line ever, Tom did his biggest rag doll ever and me Dave and Billy enjoyed a perfect 383 burger for our efforts.. it doesn't get much better..

Pictures taken just before we dropped into the Crozat Bowl.. we got a fresh line all the way to the lower trees..

Beef Goulash in Torgon..

2010-12-29T19:09:00.003+01:00

If you think you have had Beef Goulash.. think again.. because today we made it over to Torgon to taste the best goulash this side of the Alps.. add to that glorious sunshine and perfectly groomed runs (early in the day) and you have yourself a great day on the mountain..
What do you think Dylan..?
In SNOW, Sunshine and Goulash WE TRUST

The most awesome cake in the world ever..

2010-12-19T20:17:00.002+01:00

This was made by Sooz M who is clearly a legendary cake maker.. Before you say it Hannah.. it's the most awesome cake not cupcake ;-)

Tons of fresh in Morzine..

2010-12-17T08:10:00.002+01:00

Its going to be pow-tastic on the mountain today!

IN SNOW WE TRUST.

Rudechalets in the Manchester Evening News..

2010-12-15T22:05:00.003+01:00

OK.. so you have snow in the UK as well..

2010-12-03T09:32:00.001+01:00

Inbetween painting it seems Mark Ward has been out enjoying the recent snowfall in the UK.. nice move..

Please can we borrow the golden shovels..?

2010-12-01T12:45:00.001+01:00

I kid you not.. it is insane here at the moment.. the snow fall has been unrelenting.. vehicles are stranded everywhere due to the epic amounts of pow.. we can barely get to the front door.. so please can we borrow a couple of the golden shovels from the High 5 comp..

IN INSANE SNOW WE TRUST.

The Burton High 5 Golden Shovel Winners..

2010-11-29T19:01:00.001+01:00

Hot in from BURTON HQ..

5 rails, 1500 miles, over 400 competitors and 6 amazing events! The Burton High5 has finally
come to a close after an epic tour visiting every slope in the UK and bringing with it 5
obstacles for the local shaping teams to install as best they can. The mission was to find the
countries most creative and pro-active indoor park crew and to give the UK’s snowboarders a
competition they can finally get excited about.

After each event every rider would fill out their ballot slip and hand it in to cast their vote on
what they thought of the competition. Then once the whole tour had come to a close the
votes were counted the winning slope will be awarded the Golden Shovel Award.
So a huge congratulations has to go to SNO!zone, Milton Keynes for triumphing over the
competition and hosting the most popular event of the whole tour. Their creative use of street
lights and wooden Burton logo bonk, combined with a perfect flowing course with urban
inspired run-ins made it the riders favourite of all the 6 events.

The final overall standing looked like this:
1st SNO!zone Milton Keynes
2nd SNO!zone Castleford
3rd SNO!zone Braehead
4th The Snow Centre, Hemel Hempstead
5th The Snowdome, Tamworth
6th Chill Factore, Manchester

The shaping team at SNO!zone, Milton Keynes comprises of Neil Campbell, Tom Bodington
and Jack Falconer who spent months planning the event and a week constructing the
course. With plenty of late nights and a good few pints of sweat worked up shovelling into the
early hours the boys certainly deserved the win and their prize of a trip to Avoriaz, France
with RUDE Chalets. They’ve also won a treat for the locals, as they will be keeping hold of
three of the lovely Burton rails. The Donkey Kink, Down-Flat-Down and Whitelines Wallride
will now live in Milton Keynes and are going to be regular features at their freestyle nights for
the foreseeable future.

So that’s it for this years High5 Tour. Stay tuned for further events from Burton Snowboards
and enjoy the snow!

Staff training is under way..

2010-11-29T11:31:00.002+01:00

Staff training is under way starting with Dans lessons on the much needed snow chains..

This is what we have been waiting for..

2010-11-26T08:43:00.001+01:00

Yeeeeeeeeeeehah!!

IN SNOW WE TRUST.

The last video of the Burton High 5 Tour...

2010-11-25T13:45:00.004+01:00

Out hiking on the Arare

2010-11-24T21:13:00.003+01:00

A few days ago Bec's, Happy Dave and Rich hiked the Arare to catch some early season pow.. if only they had waited a few days that would have heard the resort is opening early.. yeehah!

Snowbombing tour in Morzine..

2010-11-24T10:18:00.002+01:00

Hey party people.. this is just in from Justin.. ha ha..

We are proud to announce that the Snowbombing Mission Tour will be returning to Morzine after last years success.

This season the tour comes to Morzine on Tuesday 18th January 2011.

The Event:

The day kicks off at the new apres ski bar, Le Tremplin (at the bottom of the Pleney lift) with a live DJ Session from the Snowbombing DJs on the terrace!

The party will continue into the evening with a pre party at the Cavern Bar.

The main event will be held at the Opera nightclub in Morzine. BBC Radio 1 DJ MistaJam will be headlining the biggest ever dance event in Morzine, with the best in House, Hip Hop, Funky, Dubstep, Grime, Drum & Bass, Dancehall and everything in between.

Tickets will be on sale from the beginning of December.

Tickets for the main event at the Opera nightclub are only 15 euros. These can be purchased directly from the Cavern Bar.

This will be a sell out event so make sure you reserve / buy your tickets well in advance.

Please see links below for more details of the DJ's -

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00mkb4p

www.urbanknights.com

XBOX Kinect at rudechalets..

2010-11-23T21:53:00.001+01:00

Our fantastic friends at XBOX 360 ® are upping the après ski ante by kitting out every rudechalet™ with their magical controller free entertainment experience Kinect™ for XBOX 360 ®. The controller free gaming will be with us just in time for the start of the winter season. We are super excited here at the rudechalets™ HQ, as there is no doubt that Kinect™ for XBOX 360 ® is set to transform our après ski fun time! Awesome!

IN KINECT WE TRUST.

The pow is here..

2010-11-23T09:25:00.003+01:00

The snow is in for the rest of the week.. its forecast for at least 1m.. photos taken in Morzine town which means its going off in Avoriaz.. yeeeehah.

IN SNOW WE TRUST.

Our Mark Ward Collaboration T's have arrived..

2010-11-16T22:35:00.000+01:00

Our Mark Ward | Rudechalets Collaboration T's have arrived.. commissioned by rudechalets; art by Mark Ward; hand printed by Stu at Lovenskate; blanks provided by the mighty AG.. the final T is a magical piece of immense snowboard love.. but the love is not infinite.. infact it is limited to 50 T's (now 49 as I have got one).. it is without doubt they will be rarer than a sighting of a dodo in Rudeville.. if you want to purchase one watch this space.. news on the signed prints to follow soonish..

IN ART WE TRUST.

Busy getting ready for the season..

2010-11-16T19:15:00.004+01:00

We are busy getting ready for the season... But first we must clear the drive!!

In Snow We Trust.

Today is a bluebird..

2010-11-11T13:17:00.001+01:00

Tons of snow fell last night and more is to follow.. I am not one to start rumours but at this rate the resort will be open early.. and as 'they' say.. the early bird catches the pow!

In Snow We Trust

Have you been watching the Avoriaz webcam..

2010-11-09T11:44:00.002+01:00

Ooh la la.. it is dumping.. http://livecam.avoriaz.com/

In Snow We Trust.

It's going to be a white Christmas..

2010-11-08T13:12:00.003+01:00

I see no ships.. but I do see snow down to Morzine.. roll on the Burton test weekend!

In Snow we Trust.

Facebook.com/rudeville

2010-11-06T13:22:00.002+01:00

Hey Facebook people we have now sorted it so that you can go directly to our Rudeville facebook page - facebook.com/rudeville ..sweet..

Also.. the word on the grapevine is that JP has been wetting himself for the last few days.. upon arrival in Innsbruck he was handed a new Nike football kit with his name on the back.. and has been ripping up the glacier with Gigi.. be warned.. if you head into Slopestyle this season you will probably hear all about it.. you will probably hear all about it.. you will probably hear all about it..
you will probably hear all about it.. ha ha..

In Snow We Trust

Rudeville Facebook Page..

2010-11-05T09:09:00.002+01:00

With the launch of the the guide to Rudeville last year.. the Map of Rudeville this year.. plus all the Rudeville parties.. plus the Mayor of Rudeville visiting the London Ski Show AND the London Freeze.. we felt it was about time we launched a Rudeville Facebook Page.. so I have.. its launched.. it needs me to keep it updated.. so I will.. plus Si our guide this season will also be adding his spin..

In Facebook we Trust...?

Next Burton High 5 is at Chill Factor...

2010-11-04T21:05:00.003+01:00

Burton has never hosted an event at Chill Factor so excitement is building for what is tipped to be one of the best comps of the Tour so far. Bring on the butters to backside 270 I say.. ;-)

The London Freeze went off..

2010-11-01T19:26:00.002+01:00

What an awesome 3 days of riding and music.. the riding standard was exceptional and the UK was up there with the best of them.. an incredible result for Jamie Nichols coming in 6th place overall..

Here is a video taken before it opened on the Friday.. high light for me had to be Roni Size..

If you didn't go this year.. book it in for next.. the kicker alone is worth seeing..

Burton High 5 Comp electrifies Castleford..

2010-10-27T13:57:00.001+02:00

The London Freeze is this weekend..

2010-10-26T21:04:00.003+02:00

Its Freeze time at Battersea Power Station this weekend.. kicking the extravaganza off will be Roni Size.. plus our very own sponsored Rudechalets team rider - Chris Kightly - will be booting off the big kicker.. so see you there for winter fun, beer and music!

IN SNOW WE TRUST.

Oooh la la.. there is pow in Avoriaz..

2010-10-17T10:24:00.003+02:00

Ho hum.. if I wasn't back in Blighty for the ski show I could have raced up there for a hike and a ride..

IN SNOW WE TRUST.

The 3rd leg of the Burton High 5 Tour..

2010-10-16T10:38:00.000+02:00

The start of last season..

2010-10-15T20:34:00.003+02:00

I was flicking through some snaps earlier and came across a couple of photos.. the first taken on the 30th November and the second on the 18th December.. and I got very excited about the start of the season.. bring on the pow..

IN SNOW WE TRUST.

Rude is good for your health..

2010-10-14T22:52:00.004+02:00

My mate Dan sent me this picture earlier today.. it seems that not only is Rude great (I would say that..) for a winter holiday... its also great for your health..

IN PUFFED RICE WE TRUST

More action from the Burton High 5 tour..

2010-10-12T10:37:00.001+02:00

Map of Rudeville is out...

2010-10-12T10:05:00.003+02:00

For the best and most fun guide to the awesome Portes du Soleil ski area you need to lay your hands on our map of Rudeville.. so if you don't manage to pick one up from Whitelines, The Reason or Fall Line Ski and Snowboard you can grab one from our stand at the London ski show..

IN SNOW WE TRUST.

The Ski Show is looming..

2010-10-07T11:05:00.002+02:00

The London Ski Show will be at Olympia from the 20th - 24th October and we will be there.. not square.. we will be in the board riders heaven with our Rudeville Stand plus we are sponsoring a feature which means I will be creating some new rails and boxes.. so drop on by to test them out.. and to pick up one of our awesome Rudeville Maps..

IN SNOW WE TRUST.

Burton High 5 Comp Video is awesome..

2010-10-06T20:54:00.003+02:00

The standard of UK riding is going off..

Thank you party people..

2010-10-04T10:54:00.004+02:00

...I am still recovering after finally getting to bed after the party at 05:45.. ouch!

So firstly thank you to everyone who made it over to 93 Feet East in the pouring rain.. :-)

A huge big up to Jay Stephenson for his set and to Aerial 7 for the roulette wheel prizes.. there will be some happy people sporting their new Chopper Headphones on the way to work today.. sweet..

Also.. to the band - End of the Century - who rolled out two great sets.. although there was definitely some tunes that I didn't have on my play list.. however all was forgiven when they finished with Rage's - Killing in the Name.. the mosh went off even without Jonny Freeride there..

And finally to all the people that helped us clear up at 04:00 am.. the reason you aren't named is I have no idea who was there!

... and here is one photo that pretty much sums up the night..

IN SNOW WE TRUST.

Have you checked out The Lift Line..

2010-09-30T20:17:00.002+02:00

Hot off the press from Burton HQ.. ok its not red hot.. I admit I have been a little slow in posting it on our blog.. that's because I have been busy choosing my outfit for the party.. ha ha.. check out the following and see you on Saturday..

Burton Snowboards Launches TheLiftline.tv

BURLINGTON, VT (September 27, 2010) Today, riders around the world can get in
The Liftline at www.theliftline.tv, the newest and most comprehensive source for Burton team news and video. The Liftline is a brand new online forum for snowboarders to connect with Burton pro riders on a whole other level, through a constant stream of new team video and editorial content.

“We thought about doing another movie, but it felt like a steady flow of fresh content might be a better way to go,” says Jake Burton, Founder and CEO of Burton Snowboards. “The intent of The Liftline is to keep riders current on what our team is up to on a continuous basis. I’m sure there will be a learning curve, but it feels like a solid direction.”

To cover all the best action and latest news from the Burton team, The Liftline features six different shows that will be updated as the happenings happen. Here’s a quick look at the shows featured on www.theliftline.tv

• Snow Porn: Traditional snowboard action footage
• The Big Picture: A behind-the-scenes look at team photo shoots
• Bangers & Mash: Bails, crashes, falls – what it really takes to get video parts
• Wild on B: Traditional DVD-extra style content
• Ad to Fakie: Burton commercials
• Time Travel: Real-time unedited clips

The Liftline will also feature unique editorial stories, random facts, competition results, interviews and giveaways throughout the season – all focused on the Burton team. In addition, feeds from Burton pro riders’ Twitter and Facebook pages along with RSS feeds from key snowboard news sites will also live here.

To get in the game, head to www.theliftline.tv and see for yourself. Welcome to
The Liftline.

Redbull at Lausanne..

2010-09-25T19:45:00.003+02:00

Those guys at Redbull get everywhere.. last weekend was the Free Lausanne Festival and low and behold the Redbull tour bus was there with a load of their bands.. this was Rocco's 2nd festival and as you can see he's.. erm.. more interested in something else..

There is snow in Avoriaz!!

2010-09-24T21:38:00.001+02:00

I thought you might like to know that earlier today snow fell in Avoriaz.. its official because I can see it from my window. :-)

IN SNOW WE TRUST

A short movie by Sab Kusar

2010-09-21T15:09:00.000+02:00

Sab Kusar mini edit 2010 from More Stance on Vimeo.

Tim and Vicki on their travels..

2010-09-20T16:45:00.003+02:00

Tim and Vicky worked for us last season in Chalet Joseph and if they weren't cooking, cleaning, skiing, snowboarding or partying they were hatching travel plans in search of enlightenment.. hmm... I thought working for rudechalets was enlightening enough.. anyway judging by the picture it doesn't look like Tim has found it yet.. and I am sure he had more steeze when he left the resort otherwise I wouldn't have given him that GRAVIS T-Shirt.. ;-) As you can see from the picture they are at the top of Maccu Picchu... and we have it on good authority .. i.e. the authority (Vicky) that they are having a great time.. oh to be travelling again.. have fun and be safe.. and we will miss you at the party..

IN GREAT STAFF WE TRUST.

Rudeville Party DJ is announced!!

2010-09-16T19:36:00.002+02:00

Hell yeah.. None other than Aerial 7 and Redbull DJ & MC -the mighty Jay Stephenson will be rocking the Rudeville party on 2nd October.. the Mayor of Rudeville is said to be "Utterly delighted" .. Big ups to A7 for sorting this out for us.. awesome!

IN JAY WE TRUST.

The Annual Rudeville Party

2010-09-15T16:21:00.002+02:00

It is approximately 2 weeks away from the annual RUDEVILLE party and judging by the response we have received it is going to be a big one.. Aerial 7 are sending along one of their beat pumping DJ's in support of a rocking covers band.. I have requested the Black Keys 'Next Girl' .. I have threatened to do a continous loop of Wonderwall if they don't play it.. and if you have been to any of our end of season parties you will know that this is bad, bad, bad! So if you want to come along and get revved up about the ski season drop me an email chris@rudechalets.com and I will add you and your friends to the guest list.. easy!

IN PARTIES WE TRUST.

Mont Ventoux..

2010-09-08T10:17:00.003+02:00

This week I was lucky enough to get a bit of spare time to go and ride Mont Ventoux.. :-) ... which is one of the longest road climbs in the Tour de France at 21.8km from the official start line in Bedoin.. in total it is approximately a 1600 m vertical acsent.. in short it was long, hot with a lot of flys..

The climb is famous as it is where Tom Simpson died of exhaustion onduring the 13th stage of the Tour de France in 1967. The post mortem found that he had taken amphetamines and alcohol, a diuretic combination which proved fatal when combined with the heat, the hard climb of the Ventoux and a stomach complaint.

The Burton High 5 Tour is only a month away...

2010-09-01T16:34:00.001+02:00

If you’ve not yet heard then pay attention as your not going to want to miss out on the freshest snowboard comp to ever hit the UK! The Burton High5 Tour is less than a month away and things are starting to look pretty exciting.

5 shiny new rails have been built and will be making their way around the UK’s indoor snow slopes on a mission to amp up the autumn competition circuit. Each slope has total freedom to get creative and install the obstacles anyway they feel. They will also have to build a one off obstacle of their choice to complete a ‘6 hit’ slopestyle course with two lines, one intermediate and one pro (three features on each).

With a new judging format we are changing the traditional practice, qualifiers, and final routine instead opting for an open 2 hour judged session that will follow the 90 minute practice. From this a panel of three judges will score each rider on their creativity, amplitude of tricks, variety and general knarliness. Each judge’s scores will then be collated and 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners will be decided from each category.

The age categories are:

Kids 5 – 12 years
Youth 13 – 16 years
Senior 17+

The competition won’t just be out on the slope but behind the scenes, as each shaping team will battle to see which fridge wins the coveted Golden Shovel Award, a Burton snowboards unique package for 5 of the shapers and the chance to house three of the lovely new rails. This will all be down to the riders and what they thought of the set-up and will be based on the following criteria-

● Fun ● Creativity ● Experience ● Value ● Stoke

So if your looking for a new concept of snowboard comp that’s open to all ages and abilities make sure you get yourself along to one of the dates below. The emphasis on the evening events will be all about fun and will have something for everyone. In the meantime stay tuned for regular updates on all things High5.

SEPTEMBER 25TH, TAMWORTH SNOWDOME, 10pm – 1am, £33 Adults & £22 Juniors
OCTOBER 2ND, SNO!ZONE BRAEHEAD, 7pm – 11pm, £35
OCTOBER 8TH, THE SNOW CENTRE, HEMEL HEMPSTEAD, 7pm – 11pm, £35 2 hours & £45 4 hours
OCTOBER 16TH, SNO!ZONE CASTLEFORD, 7pm – 11pm, £35
NOVEMBER 5TH, CHILL FACTORE MANCHESTER, 7pm – 11pm, £35
NOVEMBER 13TH, SNO!ZONE MILTON KEYNES, 7pm – 11pm, £35

Nick Linacre wins a place on our park, pipe and jib tour..

2010-08-25T11:02:00.002+02:00

The second of two summer Burton Freestyle Camps took place at Tamworth
Snowdome last Tuesday and had a record turnout of people wanting to improve
their park riding. The UK Burton team including Matt Higson, Lil T and even local
hero Chris Kightley were on hand to offer hints and tips to riders that turned out
for the nights shredding.

With riders ranging from youngsters to more senior members of the UK scene the
night had a great atmosphere and was all about progression. Abilities ranged from
people wanting to get that first 180 to regulars at the Snowdome longing to land
that trick they’ve been trying all year.

The Burton crew had the new range of 2011 boards and binding for campers to try

and were on hand to answer any questions people had about choosing their
perfect set-up. Whammy Bars and the new Nug’s seemed to be the flavour of the
evening with everyone wanting to tryout the new technology.
Once the camp had finished everyone retreated to the bar to check out the
footage from the night and to get their hands on some lovely Burton, Anon and
Red goodies. The lovely people at RUDE Chalets (www.rudechalets.com) also
donated a week’s holiday for the person who progressed the most over the two
camps.

The Lucky winner was Nick Linacre who was also celebrating his 23rd birthday
that night. He’ll be heading out to Morzine and taking part in the RUDE Park, Pipe
and Jib Tour that’s held in the spring and allows riders to experience the freestyle
mecca that is the Portes du Soleil, France.

Stay tuned for details of future Burton Freestyle Camps at The Snowdome,
Tamworth.

Burton Demo Tour is heading your way..

2010-08-16T17:49:00.001+02:00

The Burton Demo Tour is kicking off and bringing with it a tent full of the lovely
new Burton 2011 product. The tour is travelling around the UK and visiting all the
major slopes this autumn so come along and take advantage of this great
opportunity to try before you buy.

The Burton crew and team riders will be on hand to offer advice on which kit is
most appropriate for your riding style and guide you in the right direction for your
perfect stick!

I have to say I am very much steering towards the new Sherlock.. especially after the BBC's fantastic mini series.. it must be a sign..

Check out the dates and see you there.

More info is available from www.burtondemotour.com

BURTON Freestyle Camps Rock!

2010-08-10T19:11:00.005+02:00

Here is the latest update from the Burton crew.. its sounds like it went off!! .. I suppose it would given all the Burton boards to ride plus there is a Rudechalets holiday is up for grabs!! Sweet!

BURTON FREESTYLE CAMPS TAMWORTH 03/08/10

The first of two summer Burton Freestyle Camps kicked off last Tuesday at
Tamworth Snowdome. With the chance of riding alongside the UK Burton
Team and the first opportunity this season to try out the new 2011 Burton
boards it was a great turn out. The focus of the evening was fun and all ages
and abilities showed up to improve their freestyle skills. Groups were divided
up at the start of the night ranging from riders taking their first tentative steps
on rails to seasoned shreds looking to fine tune their already impressive bag
of tricks.

The demo tent was buzzing all night and the Burton crew were setting up
boards as well as being on hand to offer advice on any queries people had
about purchasing a new stick!

After the action out on the slope everyone retreated to the bar to check out
the video footage and to get hold of some tasty Burton goodies. Prizes were
awarded for the most improved from each group and everyone went home
clutching some lovely Burton swag.

The next camp is on August 17th at the Snowdome in Tamworth and is set to
be even bigger and better. Burton riders are being shipped in from all over
Europe and Rude Chalets (www.rudechalets.com) will be giving away a
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Stuff test Voodoo Zobop prototype at rudechalets...

2010-07-27T21:53:00.001+02:00

Stuff Magazine head out to ride the Portes du Soleil tour and to test the new Voodoo Zobop..

Off-road test – Voodoo Zobop prototype

Mountain biking is great fun, but it's undeniably more enjoyable belting down hills than sweating up them, and having a bunch of ski lifts at your disposal is a major advantage. So when Halfords invited Stuff to join them in the French Alps to help with a spot of R&D work, my pedals were packed almost before I’d put the phone down.

Read the rest of the article here >> http://stuff.tv/blogs/sport/archive/2010/07/08/off-road-test-voodoo-zobop-prototype.aspx

The Mont Blanc Marathon...

2010-07-15T13:07:00.003+02:00

This is crazy.. some friends of ours based in Chamonix have started running mountain marathons.. check out the following race summary sent over by John and Caz.. the last comment is ".. if you fancy joining us.." I can confirm that it has fallen on deaf ears..

MARATHON DU MONT BLANC
0700hrs, Sunday 27 June 2010, Place du Triangle de l’amitie, CHAMONIX

There are 10 of us standing at the start of the Marathon du Mont Blanc amongst 2000 other trail runners. The mountain air is fresh and full of anticipation. The friendly banter eases nerves and we tell ourselves it’s about enjoying the day…but we know it’s going to be tough. ‘Nobody is in fancy dress…’ one team member points out.

The race snakes from Chamonix to Argentiere up the Col des Montets and down to Vallorcine over 18km. The first major assent of 941m over 6km is to the L’Aiguillette des Posettes which reaches 2201m. The views are absolutely breathtaking.
With an adventure-park ride descent of S bends and rocky terrain spectators in Le Tour at 28km lifted our spirits and encouraged us on. From 30km the only way is up. The climb is cheeky and relentless. It is only when you start noticing chair lifts, well known from the winter months that you realise how high you are. A soul destroying climb to Flegere at 1875m in the full heat of the day is followed by a playful 4km traverse across to Brevant.
Out of nowhere the loud speaker at the finish line can be heard in the distance. The course tests, teases and cajoles you along. Just when you think it is all over, there is one final, merciless climb of 200m to the finish at Planpraz at 2050m. Everyone in our team ran a strong race, crossed the finish line and in impressive times.

42.195km with 2511m of positive vertical ascent (the equivalent of running up Snowdon 2.5 times) and an elevation loss of 1490m, the Marathon du Mont Blanc is no ordinary marathon. It offers spectacular views, a humbling experience and teaches respect of the mountains. It is a brutal and amazing race. We loved every wonderful, painful, emotional minute of it…so much so that we’re planning on doing it again next year if you fancy joining us!

The Tour in Morzine Avoriaz...

2010-07-14T14:09:00.003+02:00

Well, that was an awesome three days - Tour De France in Morzine Avoriaz; World Cup Final; Bastille Day Celebrations.. but quickly.. back to the tour.. did you see the arrival stage with the Col du Ramaz followed by the climb to Avoriaz..? it was awesome.. unbelievable finish from Schleck.. my only problem with the tour is checking out all the bikes.. in particular I checked out Lances Trek.. hmm £7K.. and thats as far as it went..

This morning was the Bastille Day Race to Avoriaz.. unfortunately I did not manage to pull out the big guns.. I think my legs were done from this weeks outings (excuse, excuse..) so my time was disappointing.. however there is a re-run of the fun on the 8th August so I shall return with rested legs..

Some pics below of the tour..

Lake Geneva is..

2010-07-09T10:58:00.005+02:00

Lake Geneva or Lac Leman (if you are French) I have recently found out is the largest lake in Europe.. and yesterday Robin and I cycled around it.. it took us 6hrs 46mins cycle time to cover 177.8Km on the hottest day of the year.. hmm.. that was a slight schoolboy.. if the lake was drinkable I would have drunk it dry.. fortunately there were plenty of springs to fill up with along the way.. otherwise I would have been a shriveled raisin by the time we got to Montreaux.. the ride itself was fantastic due to a great route made up of mainly cycle lanes.. although we did get lost which will come as no surprise to anyone that knows me..

The tour is almost here...

2010-07-07T19:57:00.003+02:00

The campervans are arriving in droves.. the sun is shining.. the town is buzzing.. and there are more cyclists in Morzine than probably anywhere else on the planet.. This can only mean one thing.. the tour is on its way.. and to get in the spirit of things, tomorrow I am going to cycle around Lake Geneva with my friend Robin.. come on Wiggins..

My first CycloSportive..

2010-06-21T14:03:00.005+02:00

... so yesterday I entered my first long distance Cyclo Sportive.. the gun went at 08:00 and we we were off on what turned out to be an epic adventure.. and now that I have had time to reflect, I cannot remember when I was last this exhausted.. by the end I had cycled 160.26km and 3846m vertical ascent.. I made the Col du Joux Plane by 14:00 so I started to picture a sub 8hr finish.. until it all went horribly wrong.. by the time I reached the Joux Plans half way point I was struggling.. similar to the last time Lance cycled it ;-) ...so I hopped off.. ate some more food.. stretched-out.. then carried on.. but unfortunately at a very slow pace.. I finally crossed the finish line around 16:40.. H did not recognise me at first.. she thought I had aged by about 20 years.. it certainly felt like it.. my final time was 8hrs 29mins 30 secs which put me 113th out of 141 male master entries.. so I need to get fitter or perhaps a lighter bike.. ;-) Picture below is of me crossing the line.. kindly taken and forwarded by Lee.

Garmin Crowns its Alpine Champions..

2010-06-15T15:38:00.002+02:00

Those lovely people over at GARMIN have just sent me the winners of the awesome GARMIN challenge competition run through all the test centres.. unfortunately no one at rudechalets was fastest..(thats the one we want to win).. so I lay down the challenge now.. all rudechalets guests please ride or ski like the wind to ensure we win next season..

Garmin® Crowns its Alpine Champions
Garmin® celebrates a successful winter season and rewards the fastest, highest and furthest travelled

Garmin® the global leader in satellite navigation celebrates its first and successful winter season in snowsports by announcing the 3 champion skiers and snowboarders from the Alpine Garmin Test Centres that travelled the fastest, highest and furthest.

Throughout the Winter 09/10 season, over 5,000 guests swooshed through the doors of the Garmin Test Centre Chalets and snapped at the opportunity to trial the Foretrex 401 GPS devices, as sported last season by BBC Ski Sunday’s Graham Bell.

The practical wrist-worn device provided thousands of trialists with immediate speed, height and distance feedback, as well as extensive navigational capacity. More than simply enhancing the users’ slope-time, at the end of the day trialists uploaded their daily tracklogs to Garmin Snow Club for automatic entry into the season’s league table and chance to win a week’s winter holiday and Garmin devices. After 5 months, and well over 10,000 tracked miles, Garmin can reveal the Test Centre Champions for Winter 09/10:

How Fast? – Jonathon Brothers, 75.1mph – More Mountain Chalets, Morzine
*A week’s winter holiday for two at More Mountain, plus a Foretrex 401 device*

How High? – Andy Fisher, 10,585m (vertical descent) – Pleisure Holidays, Courchevel
*A Foretrex 401 and Dakota 20 device*

How Far? – Ben Lakin, 45.07miles – More Mountain Chalets, Morzine
*A Foretrex 401 device*

“In our first year of presenting the brand to the snowsports market, we have been overwhelmed with the response” said Chris Merrell, Garmin’s Marketing Manager. “We knew that the Foretrex 401 filled a gap in the market, but for demand to increase 10-fold on last year has taken even us by surprise. We now intend to push on into Winter 10/11 taking the learning’s gained from our excellent Test Centres and ambassadors Graham Bell and Ed Leigh to further increase the benefits that Garmin brings to snowsports.”

Both Garmin devices are available at all Snow + Rock and Ellis Brigham stores nationwide.

Foretrex® 401 – SRP £199.99
DakotaTM 20 – SRP £279.99

For a chance to win next season, book your stay at any of the Garmin Test Centres which can be viewed at www.garminsnowclub.co.uk. Good luck.

1. For more information on Garmin’s snowsports campaign or an opportunity to trial the Garmin devices, contact garmin@soulsports.co.uk or tel: 01273 687788.
2. Find more information about the Garmin Foretrex 401 & Dakota 20 online.
3. For more information on the Garmin Test Centres and the Snow Club visit www.garminsnowclub.co.uk.

About Garmin
The global leader in satellite navigation, Garmin Ltd. and its subsidiaries have designed, manufactured, marketed and sold navigation, communication and information devices and applications since 1989 – most of which are enabled by GPS technology. Garmin’s products serve automotive, mobile, wireless, outdoor recreation, marine, aviation, and OEM applications. Garmin Ltd. is incorporated in the Cayman Islands, and its principal subsidiaries are located in the United States, Taiwan and the United Kingdom. For more information visit Garmin's media centre at http://garmin.blogs.com/ukpr . Garmin is a registered trademark of Garmin Ltd. or its subsidiaries. All other brands, product names, company names, trademarks and service marks are the properties of their respective owners. All rights reserved.

Notice on forward-looking statements:
This release includes forward-looking statements regarding Garmin Ltd. and its business. All statements regarding the company’s future product introductions are forward-looking statements. Such statements are based on management's current expectations. The forward-looking events and circumstances discussed in this release may not occur and actual results could differ materially as a result of known and unknown risk factors and uncertainties affecting Garmin, including, but not limited to, the risk factors listed in the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 29, 2007 filed by Garmin with the Securities and Exchange Commission (Commission file number 000-31983). A copy of Garmin’s Form 10-K can be downloaded at www.garmin.com/aboutGarmin/invRelations/finReports.html. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made and Garmin undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.
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The trails are open in Morzine..

2010-06-13T22:31:00.004+02:00

The trails are open in Morzine.. well in fact they opened the Pleney lift last weekend and by all accounts the trails are in mint condition.. I'm unfortunately having to wait for my Yeti to come over from the UK so instead of trail riding I have been working on my fitness and I have entered a local Sportive.. 164km.. taking in a vast amount of Col's.. hmm I am not sure if I have bitten off more than I can chew.. I will let you know Sunday night or most likely Monday morning.. although on Monday morning I start another round of intensive French lessons.. I might be sleeping through the first one.. also its not long until the tour passes through i.e. under 1 month.. which explains why I saw a few of the teams out training on the Col de Ramaz the other day.. fast is not the word!

In biking we trust!

The Skate Park..

2010-06-02T21:29:00.005+02:00

My six year old nephew has been in Morzine for the last few days and has spent every waking moment nagging me to go to the skatepark.. I eventually complied.. so I dusted off my skateboard and put on my GRAVIS skate shoes and headed on down with him.. I managed a few runs around before nailing myself on the half pipe.. check out the video below of Harry pulling off a 180.. sweet.. and a snap of him working the half pipe..

It may be summer but there is new kit to swoon over..

2010-05-26T21:41:00.002+02:00

About this time every year I get to swoon over the latest and greatest snowboarding kit designed by the master craftsmen at BURTON.. all in anticipation of our BURTON test weekend in December.. and my oh my there are some treats in store... H is equally excited as she will be back out on the mountain having missed this season waiting for Rocco to arrive.. so thanks Ferg & Lizzie for sending out the brochure.. but I am now all in quandry as to which board to ride.. what a problem to face ;-)

IN SNOW WE TRUST