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I went to France last Thursday night for a weekend of SnowBoarding with my friend Nick, who’s staying in Bourg St Maurice. Friday morning was great, the snow wasn’t fresh, but was in good condition and we blasted around clocking up nearly 30 miles.

But in the afternoon, halfway down the Arc 1950 Boardercross run, I had my first big slam in 18 years, caught the back edge of my board at hi speed and bang! 4 Fractured ribs and lots of brusing.

So, a bit of time off work is in order, and a good excuse to do lots of reading ahead. Pass me another pain killer…

I’ve just come back from another great 4 days riding the glacier in Tignes. This trip is becoming a yearly event between me and a few friends and this years ruled as much as the last.

We had the best weather, and the snow although not awesome, was as good as expected considering it was 22deg at the top. About 10.00am you get for me the absolute best conditions as the snow is hard enough to play and soft enough not to hurt yourself (oops, tempting fate). We even hired Downhill Bikes this year and gave them a blast from the top ( we had helmets but the armour hadn’t arrived ) which made it a exciting. These bikes ( Big Hits ) have 8 inches of front/rear travel and just sucked up the bumps.

I’ve stuck all the photos up on Flickr as has Martyn. Go view them and make yoursekf feel very jealous.

Just to make everyone jealous, I’m of snowboarding for a week in La Plagne, France. They have just had a dump of snow so it should be great riding. The snow is due to fall until the middle of next week. I’m going try and post some photos when I’m out there because I’m sad like that. Laters.

Updated 30.01.2005 I have uploaded the photos of the holiday now. Click the image above or view them here.

I read that Motorola’s accessories division will soon unveil a line of winter clothing with built in controls for cell phones and portable music players. Motorola has joined up with snowboard company Burton to develop Bluetooth-enabled jackets, helmets and hats.

The jacket features a device on the sleeve that uses Bluetooth to make and receive calls, as well as change songs on a music player. Removable speakers are built into the hood for easy listening while riding the slopes. Pricing has not yet been announced, but the clothing is expected to hit store shelves in the second half of 2005.

After Burton’s Ipod jacket with remote built into the arm, I look forward to seeing the end result.

For over 15 years, Craig Kelly has left an indelible mark on the sport of snowboarding. Craig’s career recently evolved into backcountry guiding where he was based primarily in British Columbia. Over the weekend, Craig was guiding a group of skiers and riders in the Revelstoke area of British Columbia. The group was caught in an avalanche. Tragically, Craig Kelly and six others did not survive. Craig’s contribution to the sport of snowboarding will go unsurpassed–he was crowned World Champion four times and was the three-time U.S. Open Champion. The mountains are where Craig was the happiest, and he always approached the backcountry with great caution and respect.He will be sadly missed.

The snowboarding world suffered another tragic loss this weekend with the death of Jeff Anderson.

Jeff leaves us at a high point in his career. He established himself with his exceptional park and backcountry skills, but was most recognized as one of the most progressive rail riders and personalities in snowboarding. Jeff’s immersion in the urban street scene and his creative, optimistic, individualistic approach helped take the sport in a new direction. He was instrumental in the growth and development of rail jams, and was integrally involved in the design of the custom-built jib features for the Rail Jam at this year’s US Open.

Read the full story at Burton

This site I found a while ago. The site contains a compilation of 1984 webcams in ski resorts from 33 countries around the world, including over 1200 in Europe. Very handy when booking that last minute deal. Also if you want a forcast of whats falling see http://www.snow-forecast.com/ for the best forecasts.

A talented painter and designer based out of NYC, Rostarr approaches his artwork in a very cerebral, calculated manner. Every brush stroke has a purpose, and this is definitely the case with the design he created for Gravis. “It’s called ‘Vibrant Thunder,’” Rostarr proclaims.I live in the UK. If anyone knows any where I can get one here, please let me know.