The Past and the Future! what's in store for 2012!!

Well what a Winter!

Whilst most people seemed to be moaning and complaining about the lack of snow in the Alps last season, I seemed to be riding mostly untracked fresh lines most of the winter!

Admittedly it had its difficult moments, and I did, without a doubt, have to work a little harder than normal to find the good snow, but for the most part, find it I did and at the end of the season I can once again look back on another great winter of super progressive riding, excellent high mountain and backcountry adventure and seriously some of the best snow and lines I have ever ridden, notably with exceptional new lines in the ‘Val Ferret’, on ‘Mont Fortain’

and 'Mont Nix' in Courmayeur.

From the ‘Col du Tour Noire’ and ‘Col d’ Argentiere’ and obviously whilst on ‘expedition location’ on the remote East coast of Greenland with this seasons ‘McNab Splitboard expedition’ to explore hike and ride the fantastic Liverpool Land, Peninsula.

The biggest development for the winter 2011 was with out a doubt the introduction of my new Splitboard courses and a well-timed team up with Jeremy Jones’s new brand ‘Jones Snowboards’.

Having tried and failed to adapt to the compromise of Splitboarding on a couple of occasions in the past it would seem that the future has finally arrived and Splitboard technology has finally caught up and caught on!

After 15 years of lugging my board around on my back whilst snowshoeing into the Backcountry I can finally say that I am a true convert of Splitboarding and I’m very excited about the opportunities, possibilities and developments that this mode of Backcountry access can now bring about.

Already this past winter I have reached new heights, explored new areas and ridden new descents that, with out a Splitboard, would be nigh on impossible to accomplish within the time scale of a normal days riding!

Even here in my home mountain range of Chamonix were I have climbed, ridden and toured extensively, for the past 15 years, Splitboarding has opened up the mountains to me, inspiring within me a new sense of adventure and exploration, expanding my playground once again and opening up a whole heap of new areas and new possibilities.

As such, included in the winter calendar for 2012 you will not be surprised to find, along with all our regular ‘Technical clinics’, ‘Off Piste clinics’ and ‘Backcountry courses’ an extensive and progressive range of ‘Splitboard BC courses’.

Course profile for Winter 2012.

As usual, I shall begin the season with a technical progression, ‘exploring the ‘Science behind perfect Snowboard technique’ and introducing the ‘McNab Pressure control System’ with a pre season ‘Technical clinic’ in mid December on the glacier in Tignes, thus offering those with the need, the perfect start to their winter riding progression.

I’ll follow this with another ‘Technical clinic’ here in Chamonix after the festive season ‘Holiday’ rush has died down before progressing onto my first ‘Off Piste Technical clinic’ of the winter.

With a deepening winter snow-base mid January will see the progression continue with the first of my regular ‘BC Intro’ courses, opening up the world of Backcountry Freeriding to those with the need for the ‘steep and deep’ whilst riding their own ‘freeride set up’.

I’ll finish January off with the first of my tried and tested, ‘BC Splitboard intro’ courses of the 2012 season which will open the floodgates to a busy season of further ‘Technical progression’ and ‘Backcountry Freeride Exploration’.

Included in my winter ‘BC program’ you will find a whole range of courses designed for those looking to explore the incredible world of Backcountry Freeriding both with Splitboards and without.

For those that wish to explore the World of the Backcountry by regular means and ride their own set-ups on the way down, I have as always my infamous ‘BC Intro’ and popular ‘BC Freeride’ courses, focused on introducing and exploring the greatest BC Freeride terrain that Chamonix has to offer!

For those interested in trying a Splitboard for the first time you will find my tried and tested ‘BC Splitboard Intro course’.

For those already adept and converted to in the ‘Fine Art of Splitboarding’ the ‘BC Splitboard Freeride course’ will take you further and higher in search of the fresh and untracked steep and deep.

As usual and by popular demand I’ll be running my high level ‘Advanced BC’ course again, my lowest ratio (1:3) fastest moving and most demanding BC Freeride course which includes the option of Splitboard access were necessary.

The highly popular ‘BC Splitboard Touring course’ will again venture to new locations and with overnight stays in Mountain refuges creating fantastic multi-day touring opportunities.

After the success of ‘Greenland’ last season my ‘Expedition’ for this winter will return to the ‘Lyngen Fjords’ of Northern Norway, a region I’ve been longing to return to since first venturing there in 2009. With boat access, these mountains that rise straight out of the deep dark waters of the cold fjord provide some of the most picturesque and interesting terrain that I’ve ever ridden and a wilderness that is perfectly suited to the ‘Fine Art of Splitboarding’.

Finally, we will finish the winter with a ‘Splitboard Mont Blanc’ course, using Splitboards to climb and ride from the summit of Mont Blanc at 4810m.

If successful this will be our 5^th time riding off the summit of Mont Blanc, this is a very physically demanding course but the rewards are obvious to all!

This should bring us to a fitting conclusion for the 2012 winter season here in Europe but I’m also looking into the option of running a Southern hemisphere, ‘South America voyage of discovery’ to Chile, September 2012 so anyone interested in this type of trip should let Ruth know so I can start to build a plan of action.

Hope you find the 2012 preview as exciting as I do and I look forward to riding with you one day soon!

Greenland Splitboarding expedition 2011 (part 2)

McNab Snowboarding Greenland Splitboard Greenland Expedition continued....

Day 8: 29th April, 2011.

As evening falls on the 28th we start to get the first tell tale signs of an approaching storm as a cloud haze softens the midnight sun and further up the Glacier we can see the first signs of strong winds whipping the snow of the high peaks above.

As is forcast, the wind gets up during the night and another big storm blows in, our tents are buffeted by the wind and snow all night.

By morning the winds have dropped and the day is still and silent.

After the storm, the cross ridge of Alistair and Marks tent is just visible behind Matteo!

Large quanitites of snow have fallen over night and the small 2 man tent occupied by Alistair and Mark is almost completely buried and we have to dig them out!

Dave gets to work digging out the tent, we have to clear about half a meter of snow out from around the camp!

The weather isn't bad but the visibility isn't good as a low cloud hangs over the Glacier so the day become a recovery day for most, whilst Simon, Matteo and Mike decide to get to work on building a large communal Snow cave.

In the afternoon I run a Crevasse rescue session just beyond the camp and the weather begins to clear.

By the evening the midnight sun is back in business and as we sit and eat cheese and biscuits in our new extension 'sun lounge', complete with one of the best views I've ever seen, the mountains look amazing, cast in a golden glow and freshly cloaked in deep crystal light snow!

The 'Evening light faces' now look amazing and my one regret of the trip is not driving everyone out for a midnight assault of the 'Midnight Sun couloir' which was definitely beckoning.

Day 9: 30th April, 2011.

The light is a little flat in the morning but the sun is shining through the haze as we set off breaking a new trail back up the 'Morning Glory peak' to ride another new line from the summit.

We seem to be getting quicker every time we come up here and with no complications due to altitude, we now have the hike down to about an hour and a half.

Moody skies as we arrive at the summit and prepare for another big descent!

The weather is looking a bit moody with storm clouds out to sea so we don't hang around too long at the top and on arrival immediately get ready to ride.

There are some very nice looking chutes that descend from the top of the 'Morning glory peak' one of which is perfect at about 50 degrees and about 6 meters wide with parallel rock walls running throughout its length for about 200m before it opens out into a huge bowl, the walls to the left are very exposed but again there are some amazing future lines to be ridden here.

We're looking for something a little longer though and I've scouted out a super line from below, a huge steep chute about 20m wide, 45 degrees in and around 30 to 40 for about 300m.

It's a little windblown and icy at the top which makes it feel more exposed and a bit steeper and this is the first descent of the trip were I stop halfway to make sure things are ok as everyone rides in.

The light is a little flat still but the storm seems to be holding off and once we're all safely over the entry the snow improves and we're back in the steep and deep stuff that we're used to.

Simon charges towards the bottom of shooters couloir!

It's a great descent which we call 'Shooters wall' that brings us all the way down onto the Glacier with an easy descent back to camp.

The weather improves over the afternoon and we chill in camp enjoying the sun which is now burning through and a small team of us make plans for an 'evening raid' up the 'midnight sun' side of the Glacier.

Around 5:30pm we set off across the glacier and the evening sun lights up the perfect walls above us.

Breaking trail to the 'evening sun' side of the Glacier, our camp is right over the far side under the far peak.

It's about a 2 hour hike with some serious trail breaking on steep terrain in very deep snow but by around 7:30 we're standing at the top of the amazing looking 'Midnight Sun couloir' which I've been looking at everyday since we arrived.

It's beautiful, about 30 to 35 degrees, 20 to 30 meters wide and about 600m long and full of sparkling, deep, cold, fresh, never touched, crystal snow.

We can clearly see the camp out across the flat glacier as we negotiate the entry from the ridge and drop in. It's quite steep at the top but the snow is amazing and I go to full speed and charge down into the open couloir below.

It's one of those runs that you just never want to end, the snow is perfect, the light is amazing and the angle just right. By half way I can feel a slight lactic build up in my thighs as I power into some deep carves throwing thick waves of snow high into the still cold air.

Straight lining out of the bottom of the 'Midnight sun couloir'.

I can now see the bottom and the couloir opens out and I'm now charging down a huge face, so much space and perfect snow, I'm spoilt for choice and almost don't know where to ride so power a few more powder carves and straight line the rest with my hands pointing to the sky in celebration of another one of the best runs of my life in the bag!

Alan gets his line dialed down the Midnight sun couloir!

I stand almost in shock on the glacier at the bottom as one by one the guys come down with the same delirious/shocked expressions on their faces.

Everyone is buzzing as we hike back across the Glacier, knowing that we must ride this line again before the trip is through!

Tired legs this evening but Dave is cooking 'Steaks' so all good!!!

Day 10: 31st April, 2011.

More snow overnight, just enough to fill in our tracks from the previous day, great for the riding but it means some serious trail breaking again!

It's a little cloudy in the morning again but looks like it will clear so we wait it out and plan an afternoon raid to ride the 'Midnight sun couloir' again which has filled in and looks perfect once again.

Hiking across the ice cap above the 'Evening sun walls' to gain access to one of the many amazing lines to be found there.

The guys that didn't come out the evening before are keen and so as the sun burns through we set off back across the glacier following the vague remnants of yesterdays trail with Dave wading through out in front.

Once again, this time with the full contingent, we find ourselves standing above this amazing couloir, cast in the golden glow of the evening sun as one by one we drop in and charge down towards the glacier below.

I take the last drop this time and I stand for a moment taking in the atmosphere of our situation, untouched peaks stretch out to every horizon, the air is crisp and still as the sun simply rotates above us.

Our camp, our home from home awaits, a tiny speck across the other side of the vast glacier below, with one access trail that leads out from it lost under the wall beneath my feet, the only sign of movement.

Down below I can see the guys ripping it up, powder hangs in the air from their turns and I can hear their whoops as they charge down towards the final slopes before straightlining out on to the Glacier.

When everyone is down and the air is silent I once again drop in!

Although I'm the 9th rider into the couloir finding a fresh untouched line is not a problem and as before, I soon begin to feel the burn of lactic in my thighs as I power deep carves into the deep fresh snow before charging out to join the guys, big grins on all our faces as we each relive the run in our minds.

Dave and Al cook up some pork chops and with the heat from the stoves warming us and drying our kit, we settle down to another big card session in the mess tent.

The end of another perfect day!

Last riding day tomorrow as on Tuesday we have to pack up the camp and ship out!

Day 11. 1st May, 2011.

Well you couldn't have scripted this any better! Today we wake up to perfect weather, blue skies, no clouds and the air is still and crisp.

We've got work to do today, some big lines to ride and its the last day so we're up and off by mid morning, again heading over to the South side of the Glacier to ride the 'evening sun walls' where the snow is perfect.

Mike following the track towards the upper Ice cap above the 'evening sun walls', one of the couloirs we rode is visible up and diagonally right of where mike stands.

Our track from the previous evening is still in great condition and the going the ascent is quick, even though I've instructed everyone to take it easy and not push themselves going up this morning as we're going to be running laps up and down these walls today!

We're warmed up to this now, a smooth running machine, changes from boards to splits and back again are quick and silent.

We arrive at the top and everyone does their thing, jackets go on, drinks and food are passed around and boards are prepared.

We're warmed up to the riding now as well and I've definitely saved the best till last and today we're going to push it up to the next level for sure!

As the guys change to riding mode I quickly head scout out a couple of lines down the wall below, 2 lines that I have checked out from the bottom as we hiked up and from the camp with my binoculars.

I'm pleased to see we're in the right spot and below me lie to amazing looking chutes that join about half way down the face.

The right hand chute is only accessible through a straight line opening and an ollie over some rocks at full speed, after which it looks amazing!

The left hand chute is more open and mellow so I give the guys the option of which line they fancy.

Soon everyone is ready and in position.

There's nervous silence in the air as I line myself up above the right hand chute, I can feel my body buzzing, itching to make the drop.

It looks amazing, I play the line through my mind; drop, straight, ollie, straight, carve right, carve left, through some rocks and then the face opens out and charge to the valley!

Ok, guys, all good?

One last check that everyone knows what they're doing.

I slide onto the steep ace above the chute, one last pause and check, ollie 90 and drop!

Amazing! the acceleration in incredible, Ollie the rocks, into the narrows, the snow is getting deeper and better so I can afford the speed to build, cut right, try to scub a little speed and get a look below, carve left, slide the tail out of the turn a little, pop and drop through between a couple of rocks and then charge out into the open and carve the massive face below.

Mike charging out of the bottom of the 'Midnight sun face'.

The mellow left hand variant of the 'Midnight sun wall' the right hand chute joins this one through the gap up and diagonally left of the rider (from where the tracks come).

Alan and Mark ride the Midnight sun wall!

Amazing, is the only word I can use to describe this feeling and I can see it mirrored on the faces of the guys as each and everyone of them cuts a fresh line down the steep 'Midnight sun wall', each has their own story to tell, their own memory to take away and their previous limits destroyed!

This, however is just the warm up and so after a quick change, we're on our way back up to the Ice cap above for run number 2.

On our way across to the top of the 'Midnight sun face!' the face we called 'Shooters' is visible at the back far, far left!

The climb doesn't feel so far this time as we don't have to cross the Glacier first and so we're quickly back at the top and searching out the top of a steep and narrow couloir that we have been checking out from camp.

To be honest, when I pointed out these lines to the guys at the beginning of the trip, I didn't think we'd get to ride them, and most of the guys thought I was joking!

But here we are finally standing at the entrance to one of the big 'King lines' of the area.

The entrance to the 'Couloir of the Kings' is steep and narrow but I'm pleased to see that we won't need to mess around with a rope and can sideslip in the first 10 meters or so.

Either side, the vertical rock walls stretch upwards giving the upper part a deep shaded exposed and steep feel.

It looks amazing and I can hardly contain my excitement as I drop in for a quick look.

I stop about 10 meters in and wait for the team.

Below me the couloir is deep, steep and narrow but I can see it mellows a little and widens before dropping again.

The rest is out of sight, but if my memory is correct it's pretty straight, dog legs to the right a little then straight again and then opens into another huge face.

I check everyone knows the drill and is feeling good.

As always, Mike is right behind me, so far he has pretty much matched my every line turn for turn. Simon, is grinning right behind Mike, he's been charging everything full tilt and getting in some amazing lines too.

I have Al in here to, he's my spotter for if anything moves or if something doesn't go to plan, but so far the snowpack seems to be super stable (as it's not really effected by the massive temperature fluctuations that we get in the Alps).

Dev and Alistair are hovering up on the ridge with Mark, Matteo and Dave, all with excited/nervous looking grins on their faces.

I quickly check we're all good to go, we leave a standard 30 seconds or couple of 100 meters between each other when dropping in and we're all ready.

Again, I drop into the fall line and straight line through the narrows, my speed is increasing fast as I check left, then right altering my line to set up for the next steep narrow section.

There's a point at which for a fleeting milli second I think I might be too fast to make it through the dog leg but now fully commitment I mike some quick adjustments and carve straight down the middle of it and I'm through to the open slopes below.

Big open turns around small rocky outcrops and a straight line out onto the Glacier, another first descent and another new best descent in the bag.

'Couloir of the kings' on the 'evening sun' side of the glacier. Mike is on his way down the open face after a technical (fore shortened in this shot) upper passage.

Alan takes a nice variant out wide to get his own line!

The guys each get their own line as the face opens and soon everyone is back on the flat glacier buzzing with adrenalin.

Heading back to camp for a short break, 'Couloir of the kings' is behind and the 'Little Alaska face' is to the right of it!

We now head back to camp for lunch and a chill before the grand finale and a date with the amazing looking lines on the steep spine riddled 'Little Alaska face' about 400m to the lower side of the line we've just come out of.

The day continues to get better and better, the skies are cloudless and in the polution free air the sunlight is brilliantly crisp and clear.

The Sun lounge sees some action as we try to get through the last of the cheese and biscuits and re hydrate with teas and soups.

The 'little Alaska face' gets the sunlight late in the evening and so its not until around 6 that we set back off across the Glacier.

A few of the guys have opted out of this one and will hike across towards the bottom to watch and take photos once we're in position.

A fore shortened view of the 'Little Alaska face' pick a line, any line, everyone's a winner!

The face is a little more complicated than our previous descents with cliff bands and chutes all over the place, so its a matter of picking out a few prominent features from which to guide your way in.

I'm looking at a spine that rolls into a face which then leads between some rocks and drops into a chute which continues all the way to the bottom. It looks amazing and even from the hike across some 3 or 4 Km away you can tell the snow is perfect!

The hike goes quickly with the track already in and also as we know its the last time we'll be hiking this winter and so take it on as a bit of a challenge.

Soon, we're all in place and changed back to riding mode above the face. I've scouted out a couple of lines for everyone to have a go at, the snow looks perfect and the face is steep and perfectly featured with lips, crests, chutes and drops, (enough to keep you coming back to just this one face for a whole week of filming!)

I've scouted out my line, it looks fantastic, round some rocks to the spine, drop right down a narrowing roll off triangular face that leads through some rock into the narrow couloir that leads to the glacier. I obviously can't see it all from the top, but I know its there and feel the buzz building as I get ready to drop in.

Carving into the couloir that leads down the 'Little Alaska face' and setting up to carve the windlip below and right! this line was so much fun to ride!

The snow isn't as deep as it looks for the first few turns so I have to adjust my speed quickly, but as I come around the rock tower near the top of the face and onto the spine its steep and deep, a few tunrs down the triangular face that rolls off a little more than expected and there are the 2 rock outcrops that I'm looking for guarding the entrance to the couloir I need to follow.

Coming down into the final exit chute on the 'Little Alaska face', amazing snow, a definite line to remember!

A bit of a windlip on the left draws me into a big deep tail slide along the lip, a carve out right to lay out on the toe edge and drop and charge our the bottom, I ollie off a slight roller to land full power into the powder below, when bang! the powder below has a rock under it right where I land and I'm down in a cloud of whiteness.

I don't need to look at my board to know that I didn't get away with that one as I stand and straight line the last few hundred meters to the bottom.

Last run of the winter, last turn turn of the trip, so if anything not such bad timing but as I suspected my board is destroyed, or half of it is anyway. (One of the good things about these splitboard might be that you can just get a new half board!)

Up until that final turn however, this has to have been my best run of the trip, a great line, great snow down through some great terrain and playful features!

It might even the best line I've ever ridden! But then I seem to be saying that more and more these days (so that can't be a bad thing!)

I turn and watch the guys hammering down their lines!

As usual Mike is right on my track, Simon is exploring off to the side and takes a nice chute to finish. Al is right down the middle and Dev can be heard hooting all the way!

On the way back across to the camp I stop and let the guys go on until they disappear from view and I'm all alone in the middle of the Glacier surrounded by mountains, the unbelievable silence and the golden light of the midnight sun.

I take some time to contemplate and relax, my season is finally over for another year but what a finish!

This has been by far my best trip yet, I've ridden the best lines I've ever ridden and as I cast my gaze upon the untouched terrain that surrounds me its obvious to see that there will be many more trips to come!

Dave has cooked up the last of the steaks for the evening meal and surprises us all with a chocolate moose desert!

The end to another fantastic day!

Day 11. 2nd April, 2011.

Another sunny day which makes camp break down quick and simple.

By midday we are ready to go and as with everything on this trip things are running to perfection as just as we finish packing the tents away we hear the sound of the approaching skidoo's coming up the glacier below.

By 2pm we're back at the Constable airstrip where we are booked to spend the night but are quickly informed that an unscheduled flight will come in and fly out empty later in the day so if we want to leave this evening we can.

Seeing as there is absolutely nothing here at Constable point and we'll get an extra night out in Rykejavik in Iceland we each quickly take turns to grab a quick wash and change of clothes before jumping on our own private plane.

As we fly out we get a perfect view of the mountain range that has been our home for the past 2 weeks and the amazing looking valleys that surround it.

It's been the perfect trip, perfect conditions, amazing snow, a great team and some of the best lines I've ever ridden for sure!!!!

I'd like to finish with a big thankyou to Matt and Dagmar from Pirhuk for logistics, Dave Grant for his whit, trail breaking, camp and cooking skills, Alan Fielding for his sporting card play and also for his help as 2nd in command and finally to all the guys on the team who made this trip such a pleasure to guide, so Alistair, Mark, Matteo, Dev, Simon, and Mike! I look forward to riding, exploring and sharing distant adventures with you all at some point in the not to distant future!

Right! Now I have to sort out next winters Calendar!

Next years dates will be online mid June...

You can expect all the regular courses, Tech clinics, Off Piste Clinics, Classis Backcountry Intro and BC Freeride, plus in the Backcountry courses there'll be a 'new' Splitboard Intro course and Splitboard Freeride course. Also a new destination for the Splitboard touring course and a whole new April trip to Splitboard in the northern fjords of Norway.

Splitboard Mont Blanc and Greenland could be back on line and I'm also looking at a possible September South America trip to Chile for 2012!

We already have a lot of interest for next years courses but will not be taking bookings until mid June.

I'll run the expeditions/courses that get the most interest so let us know what you want to do and I'll see what we can arrange.

(Any groups looking to design a bespoke trip suited to their needs should get in touch with an idea of dates and numbers before the calendar goes on line and I get fully booked for the winter).

Now for some serious cycling!!!

All is good,

Neil.

Greenland Expedition 2011 (part 1)

The East Coast of Greenland is a mystical place, a vast wilderness, one of the last to be found on our planet, a truly hostile place for human existance. The summers are cool, short and vibrant, the local Inuits take full advantage of the 24 hour daylight to fish and hunt as the winter ice briefly melts away from the coastline before once again the temperatures drop massively, the sea ice returns and 24 hour darkness falls and the winter storms roll in.

Best known for Ice cap crossings, Greenland is best known for hard and long pulk towing ski touring journeys. The Ice cap is extensive and featureless, home to very little at all and the perfect proving ground for the adventurous to pit their wits against the untamed forces of nature.

Unbeknown to most however, are the countless high peaks and deep glaciated valleys that surround Greenlands extensive coastline, an abundance of untouched steep faces, narrow couloirs, sharp spines and deep crystal powder await and for a few short weeks during April and May Greenland becomes a Freeriders idea of heaven!

After my first Snowboard expedition to Greenland back in 2008 I swore that I would return. A dog sled accessed Snowboard journey into the unknown, expedition life with a greater purpose than just climbing peaks, this was climbing peaks with the additional aim of riding down them, and with peaks stretching out as far as the eye could see in almost every direction, I could quickly see the potential offered by this incredible land.

2009 saw me run a fantastic trip to the Lyngen Fjord in Norway (a trip that I will run again as a splitboard trip next winter 2012). 2010 saw me run an exciting Snowboard trip to Kashmir but already the wheels were in motion for my next return to the frozen North.

A new destination to explore, a new mode of access (splitboards) and a whole load of new first descents to ride!

Liverpool land is a frozen mountainous peninsular located some 600km North of the Arctic circle. A small Inuit settlement of Scoresbysund is found to the south of the range and to the west the small airstrip of Constable point which, weather permitting, allows easy and direct access to the area from Iceland.

I first chose Liverpool land after seeing some amazing photo's of the mountains there, steep faces and couloirs, sharp ridges and peaks and what looked to be potentially amazing snow conditions. Access to the area also looked to be feasible and cost effective and so I picked an area and, set the dates and put it out there to see what interest I'd get.

Within a few weeks of it going on line the trip was already nearly fully booked and so I started to research the lay of the land, picking two potential areas for our camp and what looked like accessible, amazing riding terrain.

New to my winter calendar were my 'Chamonix Splitboard' courses which firstly enabled me to get used to the equipment and check out the potential and limitations, if any, and iron out any potential problems that I might be going to run into whilst out in the middle of knowhere, Greenland.

Secondly, running these courses, helped me perfect how to introduce the 'fine art of Splitboarding' to those who had, in many cases, never put on a pair of skis before!

We had some interesting times and some amazing days out and I could immediately see the massive potential that Splitboarding would open up both in and around the Chamonix massif, Greenland and further afield on future trips in years to come.

Towards the end of the season, before heading to Greenland, I had ridden my Splitboard for a total of 9 weeks and had explored a whole load of new areas, descents and tours that otherwise would have been, pretty much, inaccessible and so as the departure date for Greenland approached I now felt more than ready for the adventure to begin.

The spring season in Greenland had been plagued by high winds and bad weather from March through April, so we are releaved to see that our flight is from Iceland to Contable point is still on schedule. Fortunately for us, most of the bad weather has been further to the South and many of the seasons scheduled Ice Cap crossings have already been abandoned due to the massive Catabatic winds that can stream down off the inner Ice Cap.

Day 1: Constable point, Greenland, 23rd April, 2011.

Blue skies and clear views as we fly along the coastline of Greenland on approach to Constable point. Mountains fill the horizon as far as you can see and on every mountain the number of potentialy amazing descents is enough to make your head spin. the sea is frozen below and massive Icebergs stand out, locked in place until the Summer melts.

This is about the full extent of Constable point airstrip in perfect conditions.

We land early afternoon to clear skies, no wind and moderate temperatures, not quite what we had been expecting. It has been snowing on and off the past week and the snow quality looks amazing, but potentially, might cause some access problems if it is too deep!

We are booked to stay the night at the small airstrip, but with the perfect weather spell due to end overnight and bad weather forecast for the next day, it looks like immediate departure for the mountains might be on the cards!

As we await our skidoo's that will take us into the mountains, I immediately start to study the mountains with my binoculars and orientate myself to the map and satelite images that I have of the area and try to choose a possible location.

Mid afternoon we are loaded and ready to go and begin our journey out into the wilderness.

Leaving the flat sea ice of the Fjords to begin the journey into the mountains.

We are driven out by 3 local Inuit hunters, who excitedly point out a small herd of Musk Ox that we disturb as we enter the lower mountains en-route to our proposed base camps site high on the Hans Gletcher.

Very deep snow made the approach journey very interesting and our drivers did very well to get us on location.

The snow is soon waist deep and to gain access to the higher mountains our drivers have to go ahead alone to break a trail before ferrying us and our equipment up the Glacier one at a time.

I pick a location far into the mountains, near the left bank of the glacier, somewhere that looks sheltered from the wind and out of danger from avalanche, in case of further snowfall, whilst being ideally located for accessing some amazing looking terrain.

Once all the team are in place, the skidoos have disappeared and silence has returned we begin the hard task of building camp.

Our camp high on the Hans Gletcher.

Due to the deep snow, we have to dig our tents down in to deep pits rather than building block walls around them but soon we have a pretty good looking base camp and are ready to face the first of the bad weather that is due to come in overnight and settle down for our first night on in the mountains.

First impressions are that it all looks absolutely amazing!

Day 2: 24th April, 2011.

We wake up to Snow but not much wind and so after breakfast we decide to head out for a recce, this will give those who haven't splitboarded before the ideal practice time as we head out across the immense flat glacier heading towards the amazing looking North faces to be found over on the South side of the Glacier a couple of Kilometers away and soon to be named as the 'Evening sunlight ', 'Midnight sun' and Little Alaska' areas.

First exploration towards the South side of the Glacier in mixed weather!

After about an hour of trail breaking through gradually deepening snow the wind starts to get up and within minutes visibility is down to zero and the wind is strong enough to blow you over.

A hasty retreat back to camp as the weather closes in.

We haste a retreat to camp and settle in for the afternoon building re enforcement walls where necessary followed by the first of many team card games of 'shithead' in the communal mess tent.

Day 3: 25th April, 2011.

Fresh snow, faded sunlight and no wind!

Heading out for our first big day in the mountains.

After breakfast we head up the South facing slopes behind the camp to explore around the immediate vicinity of the camp. We head up towards one of the higher peaks of the area, 'Morning glory peak' as it becomes known.

Amazing views and snow conditions! Nearing the 'Morning glory peak', our camp is way down on the flat Glacier some 5 km behind.

As we skin up towards the summit we are amazed by the beauty of our surroundings, the quality of the snow and the potential of the terrain.

We make a simple descent starting off back the way we have climbed up before taking a variant that I have spotted straight down some rolling terrain with a steep exit couloir onto the glacier below.

My first turns in Greenland and easily some of the best snow of the season 2011!

The snow is amazing and for most these will be the best powder turns of the winter so far, myself included!

Alastair tries his Jones solution splitboard in real powder for the first time! Conclusion, 'Amazing!'

The descent is amazing and by the time we get back to camp everyone is buzzing about the offerings to come!

Simon and Alastair relax after our first big day, the 'Evening light walls' are in the background!

Day 4: 26th April, 2011

Day 4 dawns bright and clear, well not exactly dawns as its been sunny all night!

Amazing views as we hike up and over 'Morning glory peak' making very good time!

With blue skies and sparkling crystal light powder everywhere we set off back up our trail of the previous day knocking 30 minutes of our time up on to the summit of 'Morning glory peak'. From here, we carry on over the back towards a big face that we had checked out the day before.

Dropping into a first descent of the 'Northern light wall' the group look on as I drop the upper slopes, before it steepens up below!

A beautiful first descent down what we named, 'Northern light wall'. Big open sweeping turns leading down into steepening terrain with a cliff band below, cut out right above the rocks, sneak through between a couple and charge out into the Glacial bassin below.

Getting ready to cut out right to avoid the cliff band below! Beautiful snow and an amazing descent!

An unreal descent! One of the best lines I've ever ridden and as I look around this feeling is etched on the slope through the lines of the team following behind!

Simon charges the steeps on the 'Northern light wall'.

Mark cuts out right with cliffs over to the left. None of us thought the conditions would really be this good!

We're about 5km from camp which is an easy ride straight down the Hans Glacier.

The end of a perfect day, from left to right: Al, Dave, Alistair, Simon, Mark, Matteo, Mike and Dev!

A perfect day!

Day 6: 27th April, 2011.

A storm has come in during the night and we have more fresh snow. All our tracks from the previous days are covered over, the glacier and the peaks around us are virgin crisp again. Although there is obviously a lot of wind further up the glacier (we can see it blowing of the high peaks) down at camp the air is still.

We opt to hike and ride the slopes directly behind our camp, two short hikes that give us two very nice descents of around 300 to 400m vertical with a short hike back up the Glacier to camp.

The first run provides great snow and some real nice turns made a little tricky as the light is quite flat, well worth another tour though, the second run is equally good and finishes right at the camp.

Good weather is due for tomorrow though so we spend a lot of time eating, drinking and playing cards.

Al Fielding hard at work in the kitchen. The bag of snow to the right will provide water for drinks and food.

Winter Camp craft is all about keeping on top of things, keeping things dry, organized and keeping hydrated. Al and Dave (from Pirhuk logistics) were in charge of our chief chefs for the trip

Day 7: 28th April, 2011

Another perfect day, clear skies and crystal fresh snow!

Far from camp, some 8km away we head up towards two high peaks but drop into a big face on route as it looks to good to miss.

We break a new trail up the 'Morning glory' side and follow the high ridge around behind the 'Morning Glory peak' towards two more peaks hidden behind. Some of the hike is quite exposed above steep terrain and we get amazing views out onto the open sea Ice of the Danish Straights, of the valley behind us with the huge Pedderson Glacier and in the distance the ***** Ice cap.

Amazing views onto the Pedderson Glacier and the Ice cap in the distance.

There are amazing peaks and lines everywhere we look and I'm already making plans in my mind for further trips to explore and ride more of this amazing landscape.

On route to the peaks behind we traverse above one of the most amazing looking walls which is just to much to ignore and so we opt to abandon the mission and ride this face instead.

Dropping into another amazing first descent, the 'Wall of morning light'.

A beautiful wall, steep and open at the top, rolling into steeper rocky terrain with chutes, couloirs and windlips waiting below.

First descent, 'Wall of morning light'.

Having checked my line from the overlooking ridge I drop in at full speed, powering some smooth powder turns down towards a rock outcrop. The slope below is hidden from view but if I'm in the right place and this is the right rocky outcrop, below me there will be a steep narrow chute through to a steep face with a perfect windlip over on the left. I charge over the roller by the rocks, perfect! the chute is right there and I charge through cutting out left to carve the windlip before dropping straight towards the Glacier below.

Carving out of the windlip on the lower face.

Another Amazing first descent, 'the wall of Morning light' and again one of the best lines I have ever ridden!

Mike follows my line through the rocks in the middle of the face!

Dev charges the upper slopes of the 'Wall of morning light'.

Mike charging on the lower face!

I watch as the team charge the face each taking their own line and getting their own fresh turns and for sure there's some stoked looking riders coming out of the bottom!

We head back down to camp, about 8km away but easy going and chill for a while in the new sun lounge extension for cheese and biscuits topped with Marmite and Tabasco chilli pepper sauce, hmmm nice?

Eating lunch in the new sun lounge extension, the evening descent can be seen behind!

Kind of??

With 24 hour daylight we have now the option to go and explore the Southern side of the Glacier, the extensive North facing slopes there get beautiful evening and night time sun so we aptly name this side 'The Evening light face'.

Hiking across to the 'Evening light' faces. We zig zagged our way up the slope in the background to attain the upper Ice field above. Pretty hard going and further than it looks!

It's quite a long way across the Glacier to reach the hike up onto the small Icecap that sits above and gives access to all the lines on the 'Evening light face' which stretches along, overlooking the glacier, for a good few kilometers with amazing lines through out.

Looking over into the Grete Glacier, amazing looking faces and chutes everywhere and definitely the sight of a future trip.

'There can be only one!' but there does always seem to be at least one! Al flies his colours whilst the rest of us check out the lines behind him.

The hike up is hard going with deep and steep snow to break trail through, but once up there the views onto the Grete Glacier behind are amazing and again I make a note for a return trip!

It's now late, but the sun is obviously still shining so we drop into an easy access wide open face that we have been scouting out from camp.

Another amazing descent but unfortunately the light went a little flat just as we dropped in.

Another amazing descent in great snow but unfortunately the light went a little flat just in time for our descent. By the time we're back at camp the midnight sun is once again blazing down and we can admire our tracks in the distance before we settle into the mess tent for drink, food and more shithead!

End of part 1...more to follow soon!