Men's ski podium. Photo: Dom Daher

So, the Freeride season has officially kicked off. The Freeride World Tour got off to a great start in Chamonix over the weekend as did the Red Bull Line Catcher 2011 where K2 skier Sean Pettit stole the show. Although there has been limited snowfall in the French and Italian Alps so far this season, temperatures dropped but there was excellent visibility for the first stage of the tour.

Billabong's Anne-Flore Marxer shows off her cheque! Photo: J.Bernard

At the Dakine sponsored Freeride World Tour, France dominated the podiums of the male ski and snowboard competitions and the rookie to the tour Swiss/French Billabong rider Anne Flore Marxer came in first in the womens snowboard round. Being in Chamonix it was extra special for the Frenchmen Aurélien Ducroz and Adrien Coirier who were first and second in the men’s ski event and also Xavier De Le Rue, Douds Charlet (from Chamonix) and Aurélien Routens who were placed first, second and third in the men’s snowboard event.

There are a lot more stages to the tour with the next stop for male skiers and snowboarders in St. Moritz in Switzerland on 30^th January. It then moves over to the USA and then into Russia where the snow should undoubtedly be better. We will be following closely.

Competition · Skiing · Snowboarding · Winter 2011

Jamie Anderson collecting her prize at the O'Neill Slopestyle Evolution in Davos, Switzerland.

Billabong’s Jamie Anderson (USA) won the 6Star TTR O’Neill Evolution Women’s Slopestyle title with a backside 540 mute to a switch frontside boardslide-to-backside boardslide. Now sitting in the World No. 3 position, Jamie was super excited and had this to say about her win, ” I am so ecstatic! I won the O’Neill Evolution!” said Jamie. ” The level of riding was awesome. I was scared! On the last run I was thinking I really need to land this run now. Congrats Jamie!

Davos · Jamie Anderson · Slopestyle · TTR

Billabong snowboarder Scotty Lago has pretty much put himself out of the Winter X Games 15 by coming up short on his third attempt of a backcountry switch double backside rodeo 1080. The incident happened whilst out filming with Travis Rice and Mark Landvik for Rice’s film for 2011, the sequel to his 2008 film ‘That’s It, That’s All’. Together the three had taken a week to build the huge kicker which sent them fifty foot up, the aim being for Rice to pull off a never seen before trick for the film.

It sounds like Lago smashed himself pretty bad, he fractured his jaw, chipped a bone in his chin, broke several teeth and cut his chin and tongue. The cuts required stitches and his jaw has been wired shut. Ouch! Regardless of this he managed to ride his skidoo twenty mountainous miles back to the town of Jackson, Wyoming before getting properly treated!

He was quoted as saying that he will ‘probably’ not be able to compete at the X Games as he ‘will be drinking through a straw for the next four weeks’. He was expected to do Billabong proud at the competition, being the only person to enter three separate snowboard events – SuperPipe, Slopestyle, and Big Air.

Here’s to a speedy recovery!

Billabong · Snowboarding · X Games

Winter X Games Real Snow competition is a new concept and competition added to this year’s Winter X Games in Aspen to be held at the end of this month. Snowboard videos have had such a huge influence on the development of all aspects of snowboarding over the last few years and have built a real culture around the sport since the first real revolutionary snowboard film, Apocalypse Snow.

Now US TV channel ESPN have joined together with the Winter X Games organizers to incorporate the two and during the competition the eight chosen athletes sections will be aired to millions of action sports fans across the world, showcasing rider and brand profiles. Additionally, all eight athletes will compete in the Snowboard Street competition live on Saturday night in Aspen at Winter X Games 15. Apart from the obvious expose there is $50,000 for first place and of course gold, silver and bronze X Games medals.

ThirtyTwo rider JP Walker is one of the chosen eight and at the age of 34, he is still rippin’ it, pushing the boundaries in his beloved sport. We love the vision this guy has to spot trick potential. Check out the segment from in the 2010 film People Creative’s Cheers below. Talking of ThirtyTwo go to our competitions tab on Facebook or the Two Seasons home page and ‘like’ us for the chance to win a limited edition 15th anniversary snowboard designed by Craig Metzger.

Other riders taking part in Real Snow are the legendery Jeremy Jones, Seth Huot, Joe Sexton, Nic Sauve, Louis-Felix Paradis, Dan Brisse and Simon Chamberlain. To see all riders parts go to the XGames YouTube channel and to play your part in the vote go to http://bit.ly/i4nfEt

embedded by Embedded Video

YouTube Direkt

Snowboarding · Snowboards · X Games

Two Seasons are the only stockists of Imperivm snowboards in the UK. The brand has quite a big following in Europe, it was born in Les Arcs, France but is lesser known here. The company has an interesting history and an ever growing team of pro riders both in snowboarding and now skating. Both snowboards and skateboards from Imperivm have strong graphics which are inspired by street artists, tattoo artists and history.

The guys at Imperivm snowboards have kindly given us some skateboard decks to give away with all of this year’s Imperivm snowboards ordered online. We have a couple of different graphics, one matches the Desperado II snowboard as in the picture. All decks are high quality, strong 7ply Canadian woodcore and have a smooth finish. Not bad for a freebie but be quick, they won’t last long!

skateboard · Snowboarding · Snowboards · Winter 2010

The Owl by Criag Metzger

BIG NEWS: We have a very limited edition 15^th year Anniversary ThirtyTwo SNOWBOARD to GIVE AWAY, yes GIVE AWAY for FREE.

We want to get up to 5,000 Likes and the sooner we do that the better because then and only then will one lucky winner have a new snowboard to ride.  Don’t be shy, suggest our facebook page to everyone on your friends list but be quick or else there’ll be no snow left…

So who designed the board? Well it was Craig Metzger who is a Graphic Artist and has worked on projects for Nixon, Element, Nike 6.0, DC Shoes, Vans and Etnies. Metzger says of himself, ‘I’m a paint pusher, mouse jockey, brand strategist, outdoor enthusiast, rider of the stunt wood, steward of the mountains and student of the forest, husband, father, brother and son’. So now he has designed a snowboard too and you can win it. Please note it comes in one size only which is 155.

Give us a Like by clicking the button below, on the Two Seasons home page or on Facebook at facebook.com/twoseasons for a chance to win and while you’re at it follow us on twitter too @twoseasons. Don’t fret if you already like us, you will be entered too.

Competition · Snowboarding · Snowboards · Winter 2010

The Babble

Brrrrr! All this cold weather and snow is getting us excited about all things snowboarding. When it’s this cold it’s quite acceptable to wander the streets in your snowboard get-up complete with snowboard if you can find a suitable hill. Talking of snowboards…

Automaton (which actually means a self operating machine) was founded in 2004 in California and is a freestyle orientated snowboard only brand that is lesser known to the Great British public than the likes of Burton, Ride and the other snowboard brands that we stock here at Two Seasons. They are a small, niche yet very creative and successful brand who have been recognised for their efforts in Whitelines and Document Snowboard magazines, winning awards for previous season’s boards. Each year the brand follow a different campaign theme which is art influenced as founder Brendan Woo tells us, “Art equals creative expression, if you put five snowboarders in front of the same jump/jib/rail/cliff they’ll hit it in five different ways”. For 2010/11 the campaign is titled “Now With More Betterness”, doesn’t that say it all?

The Manimal in action in Mammoth

We are stocking two really awesome boards from Automaton this season. A both have a bit of a story behind them. The Manimal is a pure twin for pure shredding purposes, both ways. It’s wide, flexy and fun too! The graphic is part man part animal as the name might suggest and is designed by Californian graphic artist Alex Funderburk. The Babble is a bright and colourful stick of joy designed by Eve Duhamel from Berlin/Quebec, who has collaborated with the likes of Nikita where she collaborated for their 2010 Spring Summer collection. She has also designed graphics for skateboards, iPhone cases and even Christmas cards! The Babble is not quite a true twin tip, its 1cm longer at the nose than the tail, and it’s a freestyle board that can actually leave the park.

Basically, Automaton are a no nonsense company that don’t bother with expensive, complicated materials and techniques and they don’t bombard us with expensive hype and marketing, all that we get are excellent snowboards with excellent graphics and the best bit is that you can only buy them from us in the UK so we will be very surprised if you bump into someone on the mountain on the same board. Sweet!

Snowboarding · Snowboards · Winter 2010

Finnish rider Peetu Piiroinen

There has been a bit of a shuffle around with big names and sponsorship deals heading into the winter of 2010-11 what with JP Walker heading over to thirtytwo from Forum and Peetu Piiroinen going over to Nike 6.0 who have acquired the likes of Simon Dumont, Sammy Carlson and Jossi Wells from the world of skiing to promote their new range of excellent outerwear. The two time TTR World Title winner Peetu Piiroinen from Finland, may have joined Nike 6.0 but still thinks that his best bet for boards and bindings is Burton. They were his first sponsor back in 2001 and since then he has been winning comps left, right and centre for them and even an Olympic medal!

Snowboarding · Snowboards · Winter 2010

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