A little time at last!

Well it's been a busy January, this is the first time off I've had and I'm back on it again tomorrow, no rest for the wicked, I must have been bad in a past life! Or maybe good as I do get to pretty much search out and ride perfect powder everyday!!

January has been amazing, I've already had some of my best days. A first heli drop of the season up on the Trient Plateau led to a lot of breaking trail and an awesome descent down Glacier Midi des Grandes with noone else on the whole mountain. Last week I scored another untracked score with a first ascent after the new snow of the Grandes Autannes. the Snow was like silk from top to bottom and there being only 3 of us we just couldn't track it all out (try as we might).

The courses have been great, lots of technique courses, lots of Backcountry and Off piste courses, great groups and great riding!

I see that these blog things need to be updated frequently and so you need to have plenty of free time.

I'm working on developing myself some blog time but its pretty hard to fit everything in so bare with me!

Here's a run through of the typical McNab day.

I wake up at around 6:30am or I'm woken up by one of my daughters at around this time. Last season I trained on my bouldering wall from 6 until 7am but the girls (Loren 1-1/2 and Manon 4-1/2) are early risers and so I've had to cut that out this winter.

Mornings consist of eating, checking conditions and planning kit and options.

By 8:30am I'm out the door dropping Manon off at school and on my way to meet the groups at the Chrys-tal hotel here in Les Houches.

By 9am we're off and the day begins.

We ride all day, either technique in one of Chamonix's resorts or head off into the Backcountry depending which courses we have running. We're basically out there to ride the best spots and conditions we can find, that is our number 1 goal whatever it takes.

At about 4:30 we're normally off the hill and heading for a drink somewhere, shopping for kit with clients or on the way to the hotel for video analysis or an avalanche lecture or something after already planning the next days activities.

I normally get home at 6pm after a full non stop day on the hill and walk straight into my role of Dad playing with my 2 daughters, dancing, marble maze, buidling dens etc. until they head to bed at around 7:30pm.

3 nights a week I eat out with the groups, Thursday we eat out in Chamonix, Friday is final night of the course so I eat with the clients at the hotle and go out for a quick drink with them. Saturday I meet the new groups and eat in the hotel again and it all starts again!!

This leaves me with 4 evenings at home when I get to relax a little and also get stuck into some personal training.

I'm a bit of a train-aholic and am at the moment stengthening my legs up for next summers road cycling season as well as getting back on my bouldering wall after a 3 month layoff due to tendonitis.

I'm doing loads of squats, leg extensions and upper body stuff 3 nights a week with some turbo training sessions on the bike in between.

This leaves me a few minutes spare to relax with my wife Ruth and update the news page on the McNab snowsports web site, hence not so much time so far for the blog!

I get Saturdays off until meeting the clients in the evening and go Skiing with my eldest daughter Manon on Satruday afternoon.

She skis great and I love this time spent on the hill with her.

We also have a family outing with our crazy dog Jake at some point on Saturday and again I try to get into my gym/garage for a quick training session. (I come from the no pain no gain era of training so I'm not totaled after a session i feel like i did nothing and feel cheated).

Its going to be a long old season but so far its been great and I've had some amazing days!

I have courses running every week now until mid May when I'll be in Norway for our Voyager expedition to the Lyngen Alps after of course our annual Heli boarding trip to kamchatka in April.

Anyway, I'm trying to fit some blog time in so keep checking back from time to time and don't give up on me just yet!

I'm looking forwards to getting stuck into some of snowboardings real issues like why is it the only sport (that I can think of anyway) were the majority of participants stand in such a Bio-mechanicaly incorrect stance and for some reason think they are doing it right???????? Just NO, stop it!!!!

Kit aswell, we need to chat about this too at some point, such as what's with all the new gadget board designs to help you not catch your edge and carve with out trying.

No, No, No, you can't catch your edge cos the design makes it impossible for you to use them, your bread knife edge is great as long as you can carve properly in which case you probably get free kit from someone and probably don't really need it (try skidding a bread knife sideways across a piece of bread to see how ineffective it isif you skid your turns) and as for a pre bent board to help you carve with the middle of the board!!

Learn to ride properly for f***s sake, board camber is there for a reason or it was last time I looked, is it not so that there is some resistance to the board bending to much and also to make the side cut work??

I ride on the bit of the board infront of my front foot and the bit behind my back foot, and pass through the bit in the middle as quickly as possible anyway!

I'm either starting a turn or finishing one, don't know what you're doing but that's how it is to me!

Backpacks!!! Now why do folk that obviously don't ride Backcountry design backcountry snowboard packs????? Why, why why!!!!

Enough of a rant for now but I'll be back.

laters,

Neil.