New Flat

Well slowly but surely I'm getting things sorted at the new flat. Bed, Table, computer & new broadband installed.
No seats yet although I've been lent a futon. Now I can watch telly, sleep and surf the net. Everything a guy needs!
Still need gas and electricity meters changed. All in good time.
Probably do flat warming duties once things are a bit more comfortable (heat & chairs).
Now all I have to worry about is paying the bills and whether the River Cart bursts its banks. Fingers crossed it doesn't!

Glasgow Xscape, Tuesday 14th November 2006

My second venture on to man-made indoor snow, this time at the new Glasgow Braehead Xscape. £21 for an hour of snowboarding is very steep, unlike the slope. Although it wasn't overly busy, only one lift was running. This slowed uptake and means less runs.
It's hard to tell yourself to slow down and make the most of the short slope. If you're used to the full mountain it is easy to find yourself flying down hill at full speed. This is a bit of a waste as the slope is more suited to practicing your flat land skills - mental note for next time.
Base was quite hard with sluff on top. Some type of ramp was hauled out at night but was little more than an artificia bump on the slope. Altogether good fun. Price keeps numbers away (maybe a good thing). Good for a warm up to the season unfortunately the views are missing. What do you expect for a big fridge in the middle of Glasgow?

NEW ORDER, Glasgow Carling Academy, 19/10/06

For me this was the first time since 1989 I'd seen the icons that are New Order. Fanatical about them then, I wondered would they still have it all these years later. I love their latest albums so I had no reason to doubt - they still have it.
It was a slightly quiet start from the crowd's point of view, opening with Crystal, but it wasn't long before the audience warmed up. Regret and Temptation really got everyone going and a sprinkling of Joy Division went down really well. They gave a great rendition of JD's 'These Days' and 'Love Will Tear Us Apart' sent shivers up my spine.
Stephen on drums hasn't changed a bit, pounding away like a human drum machine, new guy Phil adds a nice touch with his guitar, Bernard's voice has improved no end and seems to enjoy himself more, even if he's looking a bit portly. But its Hooky who owns the stage, strutting from side to side lapping up the audience approval of his soaring bass.
The venue was great and the mix of tunes was ideal starting with recent guitar based numbers and the second half made up of older dancy tunes and as mentioned a good dose of Joy Division throughout.
It's good to see them making the most of their music history. Joy Division should be heard today not locked away as a recorded archive. I didn't think I would have said this before, but after jumping to 'These Days' and being lifted by 'Love Will Tear Us Apart', I've changed my mind.
Joy Division / New Order still have it.

Bidean nam Bian

16th September 2006
Weather looked promising as we left the Loch Lomond area and it held up too! Turning in to a fresh blue sky day.
It was a bit blowy at the car park in Glencoe but it was bright and looked promising.
At 10am Niels, Bob, Jonathan, Louise and myself headed up toward the Hidden Valley. Dropping in to the gorge at the start of the walk we entered the shadows. It was a cool and pleasant walk up between the first 2 of the 3 Sisters.
Climbing over boulders and streams we entered into the valley basin an hour or so in to the walk. This natural amphitheater was truly impressive and crossing to the North side we entered back into the sun for the path that leading to the head of the valley. After stopping for a snack Jon headed back down with Louise who had had enough.
Niels, Bob and myself continued toward Stob Coire Sgreamhach. The gradient increased dramatically and the going became extremely tough on the loose scree and soil. Niels steadily increased his lead up this face. I was struggling. Must get out more.
With Bob in front of me, loose stones and rock would occasionally fly past. At this point it must be said that it was less of a walk and more of a scramble. The saddle was just beyond a narrow chute, once this was negotiated the vista ahead was breathtaking. Blue sky and not a drop of wind. Then I realised just how knackered I was. We took a breather then headed along the ridge toward the peak of Bidean nam Bian, stopping for lunch about half way.
A slow and steady ridge walk saw me eventually catch up where once again we could take in the view. This gave Bob another chance to loudly exclaim regarding the spectacle - "Boring!".
Another brief rest and we head down Stob Coire nan Lochan and took a rather precarious goat path down back toward the Hidden Valley. This was really sketchy and hard going on tired legs.
Once we had negotiated boulder fields on the descent we decided to open the bottle of red we had relieved Jon & Louis of earlier. We felt it rather foolhardy to try higher up. Wine drunk we headed back to the valley basin down the steep valley wall. I must say it was a relief to get back on the footpath, even with cramping thigh muscles (note to self-must exercise!) We retraced our steps down through the valley back to where we started, although for me at a rather slower pace than before. We finally were reunited at the car around 5.45. A long walk!
Very knackered we headed to Oban where an Indian restaurant had been booked and a night in the pub was ahead. Needles to say, I sailed through that exercise.

Tony Wilson at The Arches

Saturday night saw Norm, Bob and myself watching Digital (Joy Division/New Order cover band) and the legend that is Mr Anthony H Wilson (DJ-ing) at The Arches in Glasgow. Earlier support band sounded good and loud but I can't remember what they were called. Rumours abounded that Tony was playing his DJ set in 20 minutes, this proved to be untrue and we found ourselves stoating about inside the empty venue in which he was due to play. This meant we missed Digital coming on. We soon realised the growing crowd was congregating around something and eventually we too shuffled through to the other 'arch'.
Now! I've always been dubious about so-called 'tribute/cover' bands. But my inquisitive nature, and having never seen J D in the flesh meant I had to see them. I knew I'd be critical but I did actually enjoy bouncing around to J D tracks I'd never heard played live. The singer was a bit weak, not sounding particularly like Ian Curtis or Bernard Albrecht (as he probably thought of himself) & the Bass/Peter Hook guy was a real tosser by the look of things. The music itself was fun though.
After Digital, the DJ set by Tony Wilson started. Mostly full of ageing Factory-philes like myself. As was kind of expected he pretty much stuck to a greatest hits of the Haçienda days, although not exclusively Factory by any means. He even played some Stone Roses!
Norm didn't quite enjoy the old geezer playing his own record collection on stage and left early. Bob and myself however stuck it out till the end - 3 a.m.
Bob did manage to add a great name to his list of camera-phone piccies of him with celebrities. I got in there too for a little memento. I'm not sure if it tops Leo Sayer but definitely a keeper. As soon as we work out how to get the pics off the phone, we'll have them here.
On the listings promoting the event it said revellers could win a Peter Saville designed badge. Posters at the event however informed us that they were not ready on time. No doubt a deliberate nod to the notoriously tardy graphic designer from the start.

Edinburgh Festival

OK Bob, you want more, I got more, eh actually kind of short on stories and everyone's too chicken to sign in and add comments.
We did have a pleasant day at the festival watching ourselves get drunk in a pub mostly then having a laugh with comedians Gavin, I mean Andrew Maxwell (v.funny) and someone Watson . . . I presume! (v.v. funny) Keep an eye out for this funny Welshman.

Scottish Cup Final, 13th May

What a day! First of all a big thanks to GW for the hospitality and fitba.
11am start in Rutherglen (nearer 11.30am) but pretty early since most were nursing hangovers. Free drink in the church halls (with its own bar!) saw plenty a lager. On the way I placed £5 on Gretna to beat Hearts, needless to say it failed.
Gretna put up a great show. Going to penalties after extra time, it wasn't till the last gasp, when Hearts eventually got the better of the minnows.
Still a good evening was had by all as can be seen by Pob lookalike (Pictured). Even though we now had to pay for beer, we kept going till the last.

Glencoe, Monday 1st May, 2006

Conditions a bit more variable today. So much so Coe actually received a couple of feet of snow the night before! This is also the first time I've ridden Coe in May (previously Nevis Rage was the only location boasting this fact). What had been a brown lower half of the hill had been transformed back into white. Unfortunately the lower half was still largely un-ridable. The top however, even with poor visibility had great fluffy conditions. There was a hint of crust under the fresh stuff. Great fun on the last day of the season.

This has been one of the best seasons I have ever experienced in Scotland. Glencoe in particular, being my preferred destination on all but one trip this season. The ski area did themselves proud keeping all lifts running throughout. I remember years in the past where you could spend quite a while hanging from a T-bar or chairlift.

All Scotland's areas are now officially closed for the season, even though Coe in particular could probably have usable snow right into June. Maybe a hiking trip could see us getting more real snow time yet.
I say 'real' because rather ironically Scotland's first indoor snowslope at Xscape near Glasgow has now opened during the best season for a long time. How this will be received, we'll wait and see.

Glencoe, Friday 29th April, 2006

An accident, closing the A82 forced us to take a diversion via Inverary adding half an hour on to journey time. However it was a cracking day and the scenery made it easier.
Once at Coe we had a great time on soft spring snow. Sun was streaming and temperatures were hot. However the upper snowpack is holding well. Lower down, Mugs Alley is broken and the lower Plateau Poma is not running.

A great day with some fun jumps just below the Haggis Trap and of the T-bar track. Spring Run was fun as ever in conditions like these.

Glencoe, Sunday 23rd April

Glencoe is still going. After a storm-bound Saturday the weather eased slightly for Niels and and I to head for Coe. All lifts were open providing access to spring snow conditions on all runs. Spring run was best, Flypaper fun. Thrombosis had a nice gully exit to jump and the run down Etive Glades and the Wall was a real thigh burner.

Weather was pretty good, warm and light winds. Passing cloud, but a majority of sun.
Epected to warm up but maybe the snow could last another week or so. Here's hoping.

Glencoe, Monday 17th April

Easter Monday! It's been a while since Coe could boast at being open at this time of year. But the news was not all good. Today was forecast 15-30mph winds I thought since it hadn't lived up to this the last few times, I'd risk going up. I sat in the car as it rocked side to side in the wind. Eventually I braved the Access Lift to find fresh snow coming down (horizontal actually). The snow actually is improving, a little soft at the bottom of the Plateau, but still increasing on upper mountain.

Looks like more wind next weekend, I may try Friday. But I'd really like to see Coe get into May, and the way things are looking it could do it. So long as the thaw predicted next Sat isn't too severe.

Glencoe, Saturday 15 April, 2006

Glencoe is still holding on with a good cover of snow all over the hill. Wet conditions with spring snow, slightly less wet higher up where showeres are more wintery. Visibility above Mugs Alley was very poor but the snow was better.

Winds once again were not a problem, but this is probably why the clouds didn't move on and remained with us for the rest of the day.

All in all it's great to see Coe open till Easter. It looks like a few Atlantic lows shall be coming in mid week followed by colder weather toward the weekend, slowing the thaw. Can we make it to May? Better not push my luck!

Glencoe, Sunday 9th April

Again hopes were not high today, thought we'd make it a half day. When we did get up there we arrived in the middle of a typical white out and getting caught out by the huge drifts that had formed earlier. This only lasted half an hour though and low and behold the sun made an encore, which lasted the rest of the day.

Spring Run was awesome, full of pow, nice and steep. Main Basin was fun with jumps and the Canyon was excellent . We did the whole hill, several times.
This weekend has been the best I have seen in Scotland. What a recovery and it looks like the base may last beyond Easter.

Glencoe, Saturday 8th April

Forecast was possibly windy, but Coe were promising 4ft of snow. The trees were swaying at 6.30am but the sun was starting to show through. Loch Lomond side was lashing with rain, Crainlarich was dumping snow up till Rannoch Moor, but at the Ski area the sun came out and the the wind was not an issue.

Although not 4ft all over (some were over!) the powder was in plentiful supply. The conditions were the best I have seen in Scotland. What's more there were no queues. People are either ignorant and/or lazy at this time of year and do not realise it is by far the best time to shred. We also played the Kinder Challenge, who has the most complete chocolate egg at the end of the day. I won! Jon broke his doing up his bindings at the first lift.

Glencoe Forecast

Saturday 8th April. Expected to open with 4ft of fresh snow on a firm base. Make fresh tracks this weekend awesome boarding conditions.

http://ski.visitscotland.com/

Saturday 8th April BBQ at Coe

News from Coe. Does anyone fancy a trip up there at the weekend?

Open 7 days. WEDNESDAY 5TH APRIL. Fresh snow on an icy base on all slopes. Lower slopes narrow and thin in places. Continuing snowfall improving conditions SATURDAY BUDWEISER BBQ AT THE BASE CAFE FROM 3.30. .. GRAB A BURGER AND A BUD AND JOIN THE PARTY!!!!!!

Michael.

Glencoe, April 2, 2006

Similar conditions to previous entry. Although it was better than forcasts had predicted. Slightly colder surface snow which must have been frozen the night before. Softening lower down. Also seemed to have a light dusting of fresh snow.

Once again only really the top was worth any attention. When visibility was good, Fiona and myself thought Etive Glades was a great run, so much so we missed the return to top t-bar and ended up going down near Wall T-bar. Thrombosis was fun, avoiding top of mugs alley which was worn.

Glencoe, March 27, 2006

Good old Scottish 'White-mare' conditions. The top of the hill was enveloped in a Föhn due to the very warm conditions. Must have been around 10 degrees C. Lots of water rushing off all the hills due to warm temperatures. Lower runs were broken including mugs alley. Main Basin was holding together well, did not stray too far from that due to visibility.

Conditions did not look promising this Monday morning as Gareth and myself headed up to Coe. Drizzle in the carpark just became mist as we got higher. Soft spring conditions with lots of slow 'sucky' patches. The home run down the plateau, although thin was fast and good fun. This could be the last day of the season unless we get colder conditions.

Glencoe, March 19, 2006

A bit of cloud cover with some sunny spells. Slightly warmer with a touch of spring/slushy snow. Not too wet though. Still good coverage with all lifts running. Etive Glades and Happy Valley again proving to be the best runs. Crust gone and slow spring type conditions prevail. There was the odd snow flurry in the afternoon.

Jon and Fiona joined me on the slopes today. High altitude training and the previous weeks boarding help keep me going to the end of the day. Let's hope we don't lose the cover so we have a few more weeks of sliding.

Glencoe, March 17, 2006

Crisp blue sky, around freezing. Hard pack, crust and some soft stuff. Another great day at Glencoe. Good coverage with the Etive Glades and Happy valley providing great cruising runs.

Fiona and Deirdre up after texting me on arrival back from holiday. Decided not to go in and spend this Friday up at Coe. This was definitely the right move. Scotland had received a good dose of the white stuff, leaving the towns at a standstill earlier in the week.

Photos

Breckenridge, Colorado, USA.

March 8, 2006

One week in Colorado with 2-3 metre base covered with packed powder. Breezy up top and snowy spells, 2-3 inches each night. Perfect piste absolutely nothing to be said against the conditions. Bluebird on the last day with some epic riding, jumps and rails in the small park.

Breck, is a very nice resort, with a rider friendly hill. Nothing to push you really apart from the severe effects of altitude. Being left breathless after doing up your bindings isn't a good sign. 9.5 hour flight also leaves you a bit knackered.

Photos