Archive for May 21st, 2008

I’ve just picked this up off the news and think it will be a company worth watching. You might well have read it already, in which case I apologise, but if not you might be interested in investigating them further…

Kite business launches shop for extreme ground sports

By Abi Nicholas (Contact)
The Post and Courier
Monday, May 19, 2008

“Air Company, a full-service kite shop serving the local kiteboarding and sport kiting scene, has spread its wings, launching a new shop called Earth devoted to extreme ground sports.

The basic thinking behind the expansion: “When there is no air to catch, you can always ride the Earth,” said Adam Von Ins, the founder of both companies, in a statement.

From skateboards to longboards, ground boards, mountain boards, Freebords and Flexdex, Earth carries anything and everything you can skate, kick or plant.

As with Air, which specializes in kitesurfing, kiteboarding, stunt kiting, buggying, kite flying and kite repair, Earth is an eco-friendly venture.

“Our goal is to promote low environmental impact, green extreme sports,” Von Ins said.

At the same time, Air and Earth promote health and well-being, allowing participants to exercise by interacting with natural elements instead of exhausting them.

To accommodate the expansion, Air and Earth will begin operating Wednesday under one two-story roof in The Shoppes at Seaside Farms in Mount Pleasant, Charleston.”

Way to go Air Company – we all have to do our bit. And how very satisfying if ‘our bit’ helps in the long run.

Surfing skills certainly help if you are thinking of starting snowboarding. As does skateboarding. It’s a question of balance and if you start with the advantage of understanding your balance it won’t take you long to conquer snowboarding.

The snow season is beginning to hot-up down there in the southern hemisphere – hot-up did I say? Perhaps i should say ‘cool down’. The Aus resorts open in 16 days, though in some places they are already churning out artificial snow so that the slopes are ready – apparently cut prices on passes are being offered in some resorts for the first few days…

Another great pre-season snowfall has covered Mt Hotham over the weekend, with around 20cm falling in the village. The cloud has cleared this morning leaving bright blue skies, and spectacular alpine views with snow down to about 1000m.

Heavenly Valley, Hotham

1. Falls Creek High in the Australian Alps in North East Victoria.
2. Mt Buffalo Ski Resort
   A small personal resort, ideal for learning to ski or improve your skiing ability. 320km north of
   Melbourne.
3. Mt Hotham
   Victoria’s highest alpine resort. 350km from Melbourne.
4. Mt. Buller
   Australia’s premier mountain resort, located 3 hours from Melbourne. Includes trail maps and ski report.
5. Perisher Blue
   Australia’s largest ski area covering 1,250 hectares.
6. Selwyn Snowfields
   Wide open groomed terrain near Cabramurra, Australia.
7. Thredbo
   The highest skiing and longest runs in Australia. 5.5 to 6.5 hours from Sydney or Melbourne.
8. Thredbo Ski Resort
   In the heart of Kosciusko National Park, 31 kilometres from Jindabyne, Australia.

New Zealand generally opens around June to October, but this varies considerably, as you can imagine, from one ski area to another. It is one of the most popular places for skiing and snowboarding in the southern hemisphere. Browsing around a forum earlier it seems that the Aussi slopes are more tame than New Zealand – although I stand to be corrected on this moot point as I have never skied in Australia or new Zealand.

The most extreme location I have ever skied in

The furthest South I have ever skied is the Atlas Mountains, Morocco. not a place one would normally associate with skiing, but it was so off the beaten track we just had to try it! It was an unforgettable experience!

The road up was terrifying – a narrow crumbled tarred strip clinging precariously to the edge of the mountain abounding in blind corners and gut wrenching drops. The amount of times we met a lorry hurtling down, clinging obstinately to the middle of the road, forcing us into the mountain – happily not over the edge – were too numerous to keep count of.

We were wrecks by the time we got to the ‘resort’. And ‘resort’ is a bit of a misnomer. There was one shack at the bottom of the slopes where you could hire the kit. The skis weren’t quite wooden planks but they were jolly close to that. The sticks had massive buckets on the end. The bindings wrapped round our legs it seemed a thousand times, and, being early April, the snow was heavy and slushy and there was only one piste open. This didn’t deter a determined group of guys at the bottom shouting “guide, guide, tu veux un guide” !!!

I digress…

New Zealand is one of the most popular places for skiing and snowboarding in the southern hemisphere. It varies considerably from one ski area to another. Snow-making machines assist nature when necessary – as they do in every ski resort in the world – when necessary.

South Island has some of the best commercial ski fields in New Zealand – Coronet Peak & The Remarkables in Queenstown, Cardrona & Treble Cone in Wanaka and Mt Hutt in Methven.

North Island has one of largest ski areas – Whakapapa on Mt Ruapehu in Tongariro National Park. Whakapapa has 30 groomed runs and 23 lifts. Around the other side of Mt Ruapehu is the Turoa ski area and is the country’s second largest ski area.

		Coronet Peak Ski Field Queenstowns Coronet Peak is the South Islands most popular ski area and with good reason. Diverse terrain, fantastic views and a cosmopolitan ambience create a superb winter experience for every level of snow sport enthusiast.
		The Remarkables Ski Field Queenstowns true alpine ski area. The emphasis is definitely on joining in and having fun, whether beginner, intermediate or looking for serious adrenaline.
		Mt Hutt Ski Field Nestled high inside the eastern rim of the Southern Alps is Mt Hutt ski area, which receives some of the deepest, lightest, driest powder in Australasia.

With summer fast approaching and the great outdoors beckoning I thought to bring you some varying news worthy items from the world of mountain biking.

First up is news of the Internal Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA) world summit which is going to be held in Park City, Utah and is scheduled for June 18th-21st, the summit will be organised around three themes:
1. Building a Mountain Biking Community
2. Managing Mountain Biking
3. Mountain Biking’s Value Proposition

and will host a world-class schedule of events including 30 educational seminars from top-notch experts, and guided riding opportunities on sweet singletrack. Headliners include Trek president John Burke; legendary Australian trailmeister Glen Jacobs; Dafydd Davis, pioneer of the United Kingdom’s first purpose-built mountain bike trails at Coed y Brenin, Wales; and Vancouver’s Jay Hoots, urban bike park architect of great renown.

Get their if you can.

And secondly I wanted to bring you news of the Ohio Mountain Bike Association’s all-new trail guide that contains information on just about every mountain bike trail in Ohio. Information included in the trail guide includes trail conditions, location, description, and more! It uses Wiki technology so anyone can add their comments and recommendations to the site. All you have to do is sign in with the same username and password you use on the OMBA forum to get started.

Wicked stuff!