The urge to travel is a funny thing. It can be there from birth, inherited from worldly parents. It can emerge after years of paying bills and sitting in traffic. Or we can simply be inspired by someone we meet. A week after Mt Washington closed for the season, myself and Andrea borrowed a car and drove to the west coast of Vancouver Island, to a small surfing town called Ucluelet. We knew nothing of the area other than the beaches were great for surfing, so we rented some wet suits and spent the next few days drinking the Pacific Ocean. [View Full Entry]

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So after 97 days officially on the snow, the season has come to a slushy end. And it's absolutely flown by. In the past few weeks we've had the Mt Washington Invitational, a one off event where invited riders and skiers from around the region hit a huge purpose built jump as the sun set. We've had the obligatory dressing up days - "Tight and Bright"; "Moustache and Jeans" (no doubt those pics are on Facebook somewhere. Oh joy.) We've been Cross country skiing, taking in the beauty of Strathcona National Park. And we've pinched ourselves each day, amazed that we [View Full Entry]

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So! At last! Here I am on an island in the Pacific Ocean doing the unthinkable! Over a year ago now I turned my back on my nice comfortable life in Bristol because I was driven by an uncontrollable urge to pursue a life in the mountains. And now here I am, a red Snowboard Instructors jacket hanging up in my locker, and a steady flow of Dollars going into a Canadian bank account every fortnight. And it is everything I imagined it would be, and more. But I'm getting ahead of myself here... Back in January 2008 I left the [View Full Entry]

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So after nearly six weeks of living off chocolate danishes, bananas and Subway rolls it's time to start heading home. I left the rest of the posse at the hitching spot in Wanaka as they headed up to the Snowpark to ride with the Japanese pro team. It had snowed the night before and as I dragged my bags into town to catch my bus to Christchurch airport, the clouds disappeared and the sun came out. Lucky, lucky buggers. The flight from Christchurch to Auckland went smoothly - no weather problems this time, and eleven hours later the plane lands in [View Full Entry]

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Hey broo. Hey broo. Ha's it going?. Sweet iz broo. Hey broo, you want some chups? Chups? Yeah chups. You want some chups broo? Ah yeah, sweet iz broo. I love chups ey. Here yu go broo. Sweet iz broo. Yeah, sweet iz broo. Three weeks in NZ and as you can see I am now fluent in the native tongue. It seems as long as I end every sentence with "ey" and call everyone my "broo" I'll be fine. Anyway. Wanaka! At last! We finally arrive at our new house and Tim and I are greeted by a sheepish Lawrence... [View Full Entry]

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There are advantages and disadvantages to blagging a VIP pass to a high profile event. On the opening night of the Queenstown Festival my official photographer (er, Tim) and I were invited to the Festival Launch Party. All the official sponsors were present, suited and booted, and they all seemed to know each other. They politely shook each others' hands, introduced their glamorous wives / girlfriends, and delicately took individual canopays from a dolly bird's tray. And then there was us. We arrived at the purpose built pavilion in our smartest jeans, hoodies and trainers ('cos that's [View Full Entry]

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Queenstown. The self proclaimed adrenalin capital of the world, a party town for the adventurer. If you have the money (and you really do need the money) you can ride a jet boat through a canyon, be catapulted across a valley, do a seven second bungy jump, skydive 15,000 feet from a plane, and play crazy golf. The very idea of a bungy jump did not appeal to me, but on arriving in Queenstown it had already been organised. I was met by three guys I'd met in Canada; Tim, Lawrence and Jack. And it being Jacky Boy's birthday an' all, [View Full Entry]

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Oh my God, that's a long friggin' way! I arrived in Auckland at 5.30 in the morning, nearly fourteen hours after I left LA and had no idea what day it was. With my eyes sealed shut with crust I managed to catch my connecting flight to Christchurch at 8.30, but after an hour or so of circling in the air we turned around and went back to Auckland because of bad weather. So, in my zombie-like state I collected my bags, wheeled them back over to the domestic terminal, re-booked for another flight, and exactly the same thing happened again. [View Full Entry]

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Seven weeks at home and I was getting itchy feet. I'd spent quality time with the family, reminded my niece and nephew what I look like, politely nodded as my friends jealously abused me, but I just didn't feel settled. Three months in the mountains made coming home to the claustrophobia of England all the more uncomfortable. My time in Canada had only increased my craving for the outdoor lifestyle that comes with snowboarding, so after a few weeks freelance design to top up the funds, I packed up the snowboard again and set off for the winter of New Zealand. [View Full Entry]

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"I'm lovin' the terrain here at Lake Louise," I say. "Yeah me too," agrees Tom. "These wide open motorway groomers make a nice change from the steep and deep of Fernie". "And the views from this side of the mountain are superb!" exclaims Tim. We all agree, Lake Louise's nicknames of Rock Louise and Lake Lousy seem somewhat unfounded and we decide to head higher up the mountain. "Where too next? I ask, sliding to a stop. "Well," says Tim, "we've seen quite a lot of this side of the mountain. Why don't we try over there?" Tim points to the [View Full Entry]

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