Splitboard course this week!

Back on the splitboards this week after a great BC Intro course last week which saw us ride some amazing snow off Mont Nix (see last weeks blog) and get in a heli day with a drop on the Pin d'Arolla on Friday.

This was my first heli drop in a long time and although it was great, I did feel like a bit of a cheat!

Yeah right! for about 2 minutes!!

No seriously though, I have to say I much prefer to get out on the splitboard and get away from the classic spots and the Pin d'Arolla descent although good has become a classic and was pretty tracked.

Things are changing quickly out here. Year by year yesterdays secret spots are becoming todays classics and are getting tracked out quicker and quicker.

Anywhere that has easy access is the first to get it and unfortunately Heli access has become easy access!

There's still plenty out there but the best riding and the best lines are those that are hidden from the masses and take a bit more effort to get out to.

Anyway, this week I'm back on the splitboard and loving it. Yesterday we went over to Courmayeur (yes again!) where it had snowed, to do an intro session on the splitboards. With a massive queue for the Youla we decided to split the boards and get hiking. We hiked up for about an hour stuck the boards back together and rode freshies down into the woods below before splitting them again and hiking back out to the lifts. A great run with no one around on a very busy day.

We then managed to get a last lift up the Youla and rode the big steep couloir that splits the cliff face below it with great snow and fresh tracks from top to bottom.

Today with a mixed forecast and strong winds high up we toured up and over the Col des Autannes and had a surprisingly good run down to Trient with good snow all the way down in to the valley before the regular semi commando finish.

Looks like we might get some snow tomorrow, more over in Italy than here (no big surprise there, I think its a conspiracy to keep me funding the MB tunnel) so we'll head over there again with the splits and see what we get.

should be good!

And finally, we have had a cancellation on the Splitboard course running the 28th March to the 1st April so if anyone is interested give Ruth a call or email.

All is good!

Neil