Details of the second edition of the Quiksilver and Roxy Radar have been released. The search for the next big grom in the sports of skiing and snowboarding is on and youngsters will battle it out for a chance to participate in a special event at the Winter X Games in Tignes, meet some of Quiksilver’s pros like  Snowboard World Champion Mathieu Crepel and Ski World Champion Candide Thovex and above all win a years contract with the brand…

Are you or someone you know aged between eight and fourteen? If so, the first stage involves presenting a selection of skills via video and pictures so remember that this is a freestyle competition, it’s time to pull all of those tricks out of the bag. Around one hundred entries will be chosen to go through to stage two, the Happy Riding Days, which will be spread across fourteen European resorts. Check out the calendar here. Be sure to get your entries in by 16^th January here.

The Happy Riding Days part of the comp is where the groms come head to head and battle it out live in front of the judges. A video of each competitor will then be posted online where the public will be able to decide who they want to win together with input from the Quiksilver team! The winning riders from the Happy Riding Days will then compete in the Ultimate Jam Session at the X Games…no pressure there then!

All eighteen finalists will be treated as part of the Quiksilver/Roxy family at the Winter X Games and will be able to watch the world’s greatest snowboarders and skiers compete. That’s a win in itself!

Get practising!

Competition · Skiing · Snowboarding · X Games

Cool!

Unless you’ve been hibernating for the past couple of weeks then, due to the fact the country has almost come to a stand still, we’re sure you’re aware that it’s been snowing in the UK! In fact it’s been snowing across Europe and pretty much all of the Alps have been getting much more than just a dusting. But although it’s still Baltic here (so wrap up warm in your base layers), unfortunately French resorts have been hit with heavy rainfall which has all but destroyed the early snow cover which came from the skies and the snow cannons that had been able to run for some time because of the cold temps. This is all set to change at the weekend when temperatures drop and snow is due to start falling again in France.

Cooler!

Scottish ski resorts have got off to a great start with the Nevis range having opened last weekend, two weeks earlier than scheduled with their earliest opening of the season for thirteen years. Even Charles and Camilla have been snapped near Balmoral for their official Christmas card on their cross-country skis, albeit in their tweed…We can help with a North Face or Billabong jacket but not with the tweed I’m afraid… It’s still snowing, the resorts are in great shape, the question is can you get to them? Many major roads have become inaccessible in the last forty-eight hours and maintenance work that had been planned to be carried out in some resorts has been put on hold for the time being. Nevertheless, it’s been gradually building up for the last month and the base up in Fort William is particularly good for this time of the year.

So it appears that you’ve got more chance of a good days riding in the UK at the moment. Heres to more of the white stuff!

Skiing · Snowboarding · Winter 2010

A follow up to the news that the European X Games are now an annual feature in the French resort of Tignes, here are the top ten best bits of last years American version of the competition in Aspen featuring the victories of DC rider Halldor Helgason, X Games rookie Bobby Brown on the awesome Salomon Suspects and of course Burton’s Shaun White and his near life ending crash in the Superpipe competition which he went on to win with one of the best runs in a pipe, ever! Check it out!

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Skiing · Snowboarding · Winter 2010 · X Games

Kevin Rolland is all smiles after making history at last years event

After an awesome European debut in Tignes last year, the Winter X Games are returning to Europe and to the Espace Killy. The games came to Europe for the first time last March and attracted loads of big names in the skiing, snowboarding and snowmobiling world and with them they brought an uber impressive spectacle of tricks and style. The Men’s Ski Superpipe Final was unbelievable, skiers throwing down all sorts of huge tricks including two double flips and double cork 1260 mute grab from Frenchman Kevin Rolland who is from La Plagne just down the road. Rolland was the first skier ever to throw this in competition at Winter X Games 14 in Aspen which had taken place earlier than the European edition. His best friend and fellow local Frenchman Xavier Bertoni took second with Scott sponsored Canadian Justin Dorey in third place. Internationally renowned names such as Salomon’s Simon Dumont and the brothers Jossi and Byron Wells also featured as did Travis Rice in the Snowboard Slopestyle event.

Jenny Jones with her gold!

Women’s snowboarding at last year’s event was dominated by Billabong sponsored British rider Jenny Jones who won her third X Games Gold in the Slopestyle competition. She is the first British rider to win gold at an X Games competition after winning her first in Aspen back in 2009. She said after her winning run in Tignes, “It feels amazing to win so close to home, and there were so many fans from the UK out there. It was great to show my fans that the British can ride.”

This year’s event will be taking place between 16^th and 18^th March 2011 and is expected to be bigger and better than last year!

Billabong · Competition · Ski · Skiing · Snowboarding

Going on a winter holiday? Not a skier or a snowboarder? Maybe you’re going away with the family on a winter holiday but you don’t fancy sliding down the mountain on skis or a snowboard. Here are our pick of things to do in resort whilst everyone else is.

1. Snowshoeing

A great way to see the mountains in more of a peaceful way, snowshoeing involves racket shaped shoe type devices that strap to your boots which enable you to walk with relative ease through deep snow. It’s not quite as easy as that, you are in the mountains and there is likely to be some up hill walking involved but it is far less strenuous than skiing or snowboarding. Take in the scenery, fresh mountain air and local wildlife on a guided tour, no lift pass needed and all the equipment will be supplied by your guide. All you will need is a good pair of  walking or snow boots and a warm jacket. You could try hooking up with the local Tourist Office or a ski hire shop such as Evolution 2 who provide guided activity itinerary.

2. Soak up the Spa

Nowadays there many spa and treatment facilities in most ski resorts with some people specifically taking a spa holiday rather than a ski holiday. How about treating yourself to the luxury of a hot tub, massage or a swim with a view? Even if you do normally enjoy the slopes but fancy taking a day off you can unwind and give those muscles a break for the afternoon. Instantly relax and unwind, some of the best spas in the world can be found in ski resorts such as the Remede Spa in Aspen, Colorado, The Givenchy Spa in Courchevel or in Richard Branson’s Virgin Touch Spa in Verbier, Switzerland which is included in the price when you rent the chalet for a week, from only £42,000! Bargain.

3. Ice Diving – brrr!

Ice Diving

Apparently the experience of ice diving in minus temperatures (obviously) is meant to be like nothing else. You may think that there can’t be much to see down there seen as though you must plunge through a hole cut through a metre or more of thick ice to get in. Ice diving is supposed to be magical if you can get over the fact that there is only one entry and exit point and the water is -20°! The light that is reflected through the ice is a beautiful sight as are the ice formations under the water and if you can cope with looking like a beached seal  with three thermal layers, a giant baby grow and a dry suit to keep the cold out then maybe you should give it a go! Inexperienced divers will go one on one with an instructor and will normally be attached to a cable so you don’t drift off into the icy unknown… Try it in Tignes, Morzine or Meribel.

4. Bobsleigh

The Olympic Bobsleigh track in La Plagne

Yes it is as exhilarating as it sounds, well you do reach speeds of up to 120kmph! Choose from a variety of different ways to get down from snuggling up with five other people or going it alone on the Mono-Bob… Where better to try bobsleighing than on an Olympic course in La Plagne, built for the 1992 Albertville Olympic Games. Since 1992 the track has been open every winter for bobsleighing, luge and skeleton. It is the only track in France. Clubs and teams from all over the world come here to train and take part in the various competitions throughout the season. It’s a great thrill and the G-Force experience is something else, only problem is that it only lasts one minute.

5. Apres-Ski

You don’t have to ski or snowboard all day to qualify for après-ski! It’s almost worth going on holiday to one of the busier ski resorts just for the nightlife. Austria as a country on a whole is renowned for it’s nightlife and general drinking and dancing on tables vibe. Whistler in Canada is often talked out as a good place for après and shopping too for that matter! A bit closer to home in the French Alps, Meribel has a great young scene but also a more upmarket side too,  the Rond Point in particular can get pretty messy especially on live band night. Val d’Isere is a must for those that don’t mind spending £20 (or a lot, lot more if you want) on one drink, £10 to put their coat in the cloakroom and for those that want exclusive VIP partying. Val Thorens, Morzine and Les Arcs are lively, cheaper options.

Ski · Skiing · Snowboarding · Winter 2010

New anon App for the iphone will mean you can pull tricks like this!

Specialist eyewear brand anon who are well known for their wicked goggles, have an iphone App which enables you to experience the first ever live lens visualizer at the touch of a button! Basically it’s a kind of try before you buy idea so you can test out a lens in the light wherever you and your iphone are. All the other anon info that you may need is on there including the tech stuff and news about the team riders. There is even a dealer locator on there so you can check where your nearest Two Seasons store is whilst on your travels!

Heres a quick rown down from anon on how the new App works, “Once a rider selects the anon Lens Visualizer, their iPhone will use the camera lens as a view finder to capture their actual surroundings. Then, riders can point the phone at whatever they want (say the chalet or the mountain) and see how it would look under six different anon lens tints. The tool allows riders to swipe from the darkest to lightest lens tint so they can see which colour lens they prefer for the day’s conditions.”

The new anon App is available to download now for free from itunes. Make your snowboarding experience even more enjoyable, it helps to be able to see where you’re going!

Skiing · Snowboarding · Winter 2010

Rocker in the Park

This winter at Two Seasons we have a wide range of ‘rocker’ skis and no doubt this will increase again in years to come, it’s basically where technology of ski and snowboard construction is heading as a whole. But what does it mean exactly?

Generally, rocker elevates the traditional contact points out of the snow. A completely cambered ski only touches the snow once the boot is in the binding creating an increased base area of the ski on the snow. A rocker ski, depending on how much rocker goodness is incorporated, will

Rocker in the powder

touch the snow underfoot whether your boot is in the binding or not. It is best to think of it this way when trying to figure out what will be the best rocker ski for you. If you place a ski on the snow and it spins in circles then it is pretty rockered. This would probably be a ski such as the K2 Hell Bent which has K2’s ‘Powder Rocker’ technology, purely designed for floatation in the deep stuff. The rocker part of the ski though, does not necessarily have to be so extreme or positioned in the centre of the ski like it is with the Hell Bent, it can be specifically positioned in the tip and tail like with the All-Terrain Rocker technology from K2 which has been used to improve ski performance for all of their piste based ski range. Many ski manufacturers have different twists and combinations of the basic technology that is fundamentally just the opposite of the traditional cambered ski.

Here we have our pick of skis for winter 10/11 that feature a rocker of some degree.

1. Number one has to be the K2 Hell Bents. These bad boys are massive, a big 130mm underfoot. K2’s Powder Rocker Technology is 50% camber and 50% rocker and designed for deep snow, the tip has the most elevation and the longest measurement of rocker and offers skiers a ‘surfy’ feel for increased soft-snow performance. The reason why the Hell Bent has any camber at all is so that it can still be controlled on piste when on the way home after a long day in the backcountry.
2. OMG! Made by the number one worldwide selling ski brand, the Atomic Bent Chetlers are another big ski for the big mountain. They are definitely not your average looking ski but they do look amazing. Fall-Line Skiing & Snowboarding magazine reckon that they are one of the best powder skis on the market and it was also one of the biggest sellers last season. Rocker camber technology in the tip and the tail stops you from going over the front or the back on big landings off those huge cliffs they’re going to make you drop!
3. The Atomic Access won Fall-Line Freeride Ski of the Year and it is rockered! There is a lot less rocker applied to this one than the two previous, with a touch in the nose giving it floatation. The Access is an excellent lively all-mountain ski which is pushed into the freeride category because of its width and rocker.
4. The Salomon Twenty Twelve has been much talked about in the run up to winter 10/11. A rocker at both ends = twice the fun. A fatter version of the Salomon Suspect, it seems to work well with those who like to ski both park and the backcountry and who set out not knowing where they will end up. The increased stability works off kickers and gives its rider the option to go anywhere on the mountain.
5. We’ve just managed to get our hands on the K2 Revival skis which are the factory teams comp ski of choice. These skis sound (and look) like FUN. They have a Jib Rocker which is a combo of camber and rocker so they are stable but also quite soft and nearly symmetrical. Classed as an advanced/expert ski these brightly coloured beauties are a weapon!

Ski · Skiing · Winter 2010

The pistes of the Grande Motte glacier during the winter

Things are off to a good start in the mountainous regions of Europe with heavy snow falls and cold temperatures over the last couple of weeks. Although freezing levels are still high compared to January time, the glaciers of Tignes and Les Deux Alpes are well equipped with the white stuff, the latter having had a metre already! Local skiers and snowboarders are making use of the few runs that are open in those resorts, getting in a bit more practise before the rest of us…

The glaciers at Hintertux and Stubai offer some of the best skiing. There were sixteen lifts operating at Stubai on Thursday 28th October and Hintertux have beaten Les Deux Alpes with 155cm of snow. In Switzerland and Italy some glaciers have almost two metres of snow, that’s a lot for this time of the year.

So things are looking promising for this coming winter season. Predictions show that there will be a relatively slow start as far as snow is concerned although it looks like things will pick up through January and into February. Better get your winter warmers sorted!

Ski · Skiing · Snowboarding · Snowboards · Winter 2010

The Atomic Access Freeride Ski of the Year

Fall Line Skiing & (now mysteriously) Snowboarding Magazines All-Mountain Ski of the Year has been named as the Atomic Nomad Blackeye Ti, a ski for the intermediate skier that likes all the mountain has to offer and is looking for a ski to do it all on, and get better at the same time! What more could you possibly want? Well, Two Seasons are not only stocking the Blackeye Ti but also another ski of the year in the Atomic Access which is the winner in the Freeride category. It’s another ski that goes everywhere on the mountain with a waist width of 100mm and new rocker technology. You have a difficult choice to make!

Ski · Skiing · Snowboarding · Winter 2010

Baaaacode!

Inspired by nature, Icebreaker use sustainable merino wool to make every single one of their delightfully comfortable thermal base layers. The fibres have been sourced from sheep in the Southern Alps of New Zealand where temperatures and terrain can be as harsh as any other mountainous region where we may ski or snowboard.

With Icebreaker products, you know where they’ve come from, literally. Over two million acres of ranch-land in New Zealand is used to ‘grow’ your garment. Merino sheep from around one hundred and forty farms produce around one and a half thousand tonnes of merino which is then transformed into three million garments across twenty four countries!

The best bit about all of this (apart from the fact that your Icebreaker thermal keeps you toasty warm) is that you can actually trace it right back to the very farm that it came from. Each garment comes with a unique BAACODE (see what they did there?) which you can then type into the search bar on the Icebreaker site to see where and how it has been developed and exactly where it’s come from. We think that’s cool!

Our new range of Icebreaker has just arrived and will be available soon…

Skiing · Snow fashion · Snowboarding · Winter 2010