Glencoe, Friday 23 March 2007

Took the Friday off work and headed up on my own to Glencoe. A beautiful day from the outset and a lovely drive up the A82. Although Coe has not had much snow the Main Basin was full and enough was there to warrant the best part of a day up there.
Temperatures were quite warm, but the night before had been clear and the snow pack was very firm. The runs had great visibility and both Flypaper and Spring Run were both open although they involved a walk at the bottom back to the Cliffy.
Views from the top were incredible with an inversion cloud banks at the back of the mountain rolled by revealing the tops of neighbouring hills.
Since I was on my own and I needed to get back to Glasgow for a night out I threw in the towel about 2 but it had been worth it as this was my first and potentially my only snowboarding in Scotland this season. This had been due to my earlier Calf injury as well as poor snowfall.
Well I have a few more days to take off work in the following week so maybe I'll get another chance. I'm keen to try out the new Glencoe Snow Park should it get finished in time. Check the links page on Ruanaich.com for more detail.

Coe blown off

Well for the first time in ages we've come all the way to Coe and the weather has got the better of us. There is a ton of fresh and we cant get to it. Winds gusting too high, although I've seen worse.

Friday at Glencoe

The first live blog from the slopes. Motorway delays held us up, but we needn't worry. Lifts closed on arrival due to high winds. Lots of snow around and a bit misty as we wait out the storm. This must be what its like in Alaska! I should be so lucky!

Shred withdrawl

Going a bit stir crazy as I have the week off following the Austria trip. Missing snow & the social! Prospect of a few beers tonight, maybe snow tomorrow or weekend.
Shout if you fancy it.

Mayrhofen 2007

A week long trip to the Zillertal Valley. We stayed on the outskirts of Mayrhofen with short bus rides to the access lifts. Europe had a blight of snow and I was concerned, but the full area was open and we had little to worry about. The weather wasn't the best but that didn't stop us. I'm also glad to say my torn calf wasn't tested too much and riding felt fine.
Nightlife was typical with lots of Eurobeat thumping out of the Apres Ski clubs which is why we found ourselves gravitating toward the Gasthof Neupost, which we dubbed the "Swingers Bar" due to the rather amourous older folk who frequented the place. Average age was about 80, but they were all still up for it.
Good days riding was had even after a few very boozy nights (Except our afternoon at the Hintertux Glacier, where I think all of our performances were compromised). However the new alternative has to be our new style Vodka party which was the result of all bars being closed and trying to tell ourselves the water being distributed from my hydration pack is infact alcohol! This results in feeling great in the morning after having had a very enjoyable night!

The best wipe-out of the trip.
(Check out the following 2 clips, showing other angles)


Deirdre's phone clip of the same incident.


Bev's camera clip, revealing the truth.