WSG Reviews Live!
Posted by on Wednesday, February 03, 2010
I've gotta say I'm pretty excited :) I received an email from Steve Dowle last night, letting me know that the Portes Du Soleil reviews I wrote for the worldsnowboardguide last season are live. It took a good deal of effort, but I think the end result is pretty good. I think it was a large task for Steve to get it all sorted out online, too.
Here's a link to the Portes Du Soleil overview.
Within the Portes Du Soleil area, there are 12 individual reviews, including resorts like Avoriaz, Chatel, Les Crosets, Les Gets, Morzine and Torgon.
I'm happy with how the pictures turned out. I didn't get any great action shots or anything like that, but I tried to get images that show what things are like: towns, terrain, parks etc. And I think, perhaps, the pictures round off the words quite nicely. I haven't read too many of the individual reviews yet; probably because I've already spotted a couple of grammatical errors :)
Here's the post I wrote about the experience of writing all those reviews...
If anyone does read some of it, let me know what you think. I'd certainly take feedback, especially as it might be something I do again in the future.
Labels: wsg
What Was It Like Writing A Review For The WSG?
Posted by on Sunday, November 29, 2009
Last season, January 2009, I was commisioned to write a review for the WorldSnowboardGuide. But this wasn't an ordinary review; the task was to cover the entire Portes Du Soleil - that's 12 individual resorts! Given the scale of the undertaking, I took a while to think about it before accepting. In the end, now that it's finished, I'd say it was a mixed blessing. Here's why...
The good stuff.
I like writing about snowboarding and I like reviewing stuff. That's what this blog is all about. So, writing for the WSG is a good match. And writing for someone else kinda ups the anti a little. It's important to get it right. An attractive part of writing resort reviews is that (you hope) people can really benefit from them; picking a resort can be a big decision, so choosing one that's right for an individual or group is key. So writing for the wsg is both fun and rewarding.
And writing for the wsg feels good! I'm not sure if that's vain? Actually, it probably is. It's not a huge publication for sure, but it's a book, something tangible that you can carry around. People buy it. Ever since snowboarding I've had a couple of copies that I regularly consult for resort information. Contributing to it feels good.
And other people can relate to it. For example, I got to meet the head of the park team at Avoriaz. He took us for a couple of runs through the Stash, explaining all kinds of things as we went. Avoriaz is a resort that I have a lot of respect for; meeting Jean was definitely a bonus. When I left a copy of the book in the Avoriaz office he seemed really pleased. So yeah, being associated with something like the wsg in this way, provides opportunities and generally feels good.
The mixed blessing part.
It was a lot to do. I only had two weeks to cover stuff, but the crucial point here is that it was my only snowboardng trip of last season. I prepared - doing a bunch of work before I went, and a large portion of the work was done when I got home - a fairly sizable write-up. But there was still a lot to do while I was there.
And it was this compromise that was the biggest hit. It was all snowboarding, and that's fun for sure. But a lot of what I did was planned out. I didn't have enough time to naturally explore all the areas and just "get a feel" for them. Instead, I went in search of specific ideas and facts. It was like visiting, rather than just snowboarding.
A bit like a job.
I'd be quite happy, more than happy, if something like this was my job. But in this case, it wasn't my job. It was a holiday from my real job. It was just a little too much.
Would I do it again?
I think yes, but under different circumstances. If it's a short trip, one resort, not twelve, would be a better for me. That would help with the balance between work and play. I'd feel more comfortable with my ability to do a review justice without compromising my own snowboarding.
At the end of the day, this isn't my job. I don't really get paid for it. There are some perks, but not enough to swap a snowboarding holiday for a holiday plus work. I don't get enough time in the mountains to make that trade. I need time to just snowboard; no reviews.
So there it is. I certainly don't regret doing it. There were a lot of great things about this challenge, and this type of review was/is definitely something I want to dip my toes into. I've enjoyed it and learned from it - with one of the lessons being that these circumstances weren't ideal.
Labels: wsg
Finished!
Posted by on Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Well, I've finally finished the review(s) I've been writing for the World Snowboard Guide. All in all, it's been a pretty big undertaking. The Portes du Soleil. Twelve resorts. It's taken me some time.
Actually it's probably taken longer than it should have, although I think I've finished within what was an acceptable time frame. It's been the case that there have been periods when I've been simply unable to give it any time; other things that need doing. One of the consequences has been less time to write stuff for this site; each time I've sat down I've been plugging away at the reviews...
I'm going to post up my thoughts on the whole process, because I've had quite a few over this year. For now though, it's done, I'm glad to have had the opportunity to do it, and I'm looking forward to having some more time to post to my blog. I can put all the piste maps and my notebook away now. And I should say thanks to Mal, for proof reading a good chunk of the work. Cheers mate.
On an unrelated point - I think this is my 400th post. Ooooh.
Labels: wsg
Blog: From Behind The World Snowboard Guide
Posted by on Thursday, April 16, 2009
I've been a reader of the wsg for a good few years now, and more recently, I've written a few reviews of my own, covering some UK slopes. In doing so, I've been dealing with Steve Dowle, the wsg's head guy. Apart from coordinating effort for each review, it's been good keeping in touch with someone who's created something like the World Snowboard Guide. Organising, writing and maintaining such a comprehensive guide must be a lot of work. It's impressive.
I'm interested in how things work in the snowboard industry. What's it like to set up a snowboard shop? What's it like to run a chalet? How about producing a guide book? Hopefully, I'll get a chance to chat about some of these things with Steve in the future. But in the meantime, he's just started a blog: From Behind The WorldSnowboardGuide.
To quote Steve, this is what the blog's about:
I really want to talk about what it is like to develop and run a website like the worldsnowboardguide, to independently produce and publish books, and still have to do normal work for a living.
I'll enjoy reading it...
Labels: wsg
Day 9, Wsg Exploration
Posted by on Monday, January 26, 2009
Ciara and Emma had booked themselves a full day lesson with Our Camp, so I decided to take the opportunity to borrow the car and go for a drive: my mission to visit the smaller towns in the Portes Du Soleil and snowboard from Chatel to La Chapelle d'Abondance. I wanted to check out the Smooth Park too.
My route was laid out for me - thanks to the us getting stranded incident on Day 6. The plan was to make the best of the conditions on hand, take a lot of photos, get a feel for the layout, try some of the quieter slopes and make it back before dark.
All in all it went pretty well. I covered a lot of ground. After taking some pictures of the smooth park (the light wasn't great), I dropped my bag with the liftie and took a few laps. I snowboarded from Chatel to Torgon and then down to La Chapelle d'Abondance, getting a good view of Lake Geneva on the way.
It's hard to know for sure based on one day only, but the slopes over that way seemed very quiet. I saw some really nice runs, and non-crowded off-piste potential too. I'm not gonna say more now because I need to write the review up in full when I get home...
On the way back I drove through Morzine and on towards Prodains, to meet up with Ciara, Emma and my dad - he'd done the camp day too. I met Gilly Seagrave from Our Camp, their coach for day. She seemed really nice, and by all accounts, the coaching was excellent. Awesome!
Right now I'm taking my first, real opportunity to connect to the Internet. Wow, 9 days in, I really miss having a connection in our accommodation. We're staying out for something to eat. Gilly reckons that the park in Les Gets is pretty good and I think the others have been there today too - so that's the plan for tomorrow...
Labels: morzine trip 2009, wsg
Day 6, Wsg Meeting
Posted by on Friday, January 23, 2009
We'd arranged to meet the representative from the Portes Du Soleil today, for lunch. The plan was to head over to Chatel using the slopes, have something to eat while discussing the wsg review, and then head back afterwards to meet up with the group.
When we woke we found it was raining down in Morzine. Never a good sign - but rain in the valley can mean snow up on the top - so I wasn't too bothered...
And that turned out to be the case. Once we got to the top of Avoriaz, it was snowing, and there was a healthy dose of some fresh piling up in places. We only had time to make one run down towards Lindarets before going further - but it was a good one. Ciara and I had left the chalet alone and I was starting to think that the others were missing out; the visibility wasn't great, but there are plenty of trees in that area that help to keep things clear, and that's where the stash is!
You can take a bus from Pre La Joux to Chatel. It goes through Linga before reaching Chatel, and in total takes between 10 and 15 minutes. That option makes reaching Chatel from Avoriaz a small deal. However, we'd decided to use the lifts to get as far a Linga, and take the bus from there. Probably not the best choice given the weather.
Once away from the trees is was a complete white-out. We took a long red from the top of Tete du Linga down to the base, which was probably really nice, but to be honest, it was hard to see anything. Once we were around half way down, the snow gave way to rain, heavy rain, and we were subsequently drenched!
It's worth pointing out that on the lift up to the top, des combes, I thought I'd spotted a good deal of cliffs and rocks that looked good for dropping...
We arrived in Chatel, wet, and later than we'd planned. With the weather and one or two stops, the journey over there probably took twice as long. We had lunch with Cosima, from the Portes Du Soleil press office, and chatted about the reivew. All went well.
As the weather was bad we decided to head straight back. Unfortunately we were caught out. After taking the bus back to Pre La Joux, we used the first of two lifts to take us back towards Avoriaz, only to find the second lift was closed due to high winds. This was around 3 o-clock, and it was closed for the day. Not good. Stuck at the bottom of Pre La Joux, we were faced with the prospect of a long taxi ride home. Ouch.
Lesson: don't stray too far on bad weather days.
Luckily for us, we had a car in the group, and they were willing to come collect us. The journey, 45 - 50 minutes, takes you along a fairly high pass running between Montriond and Abondance (roughly) - which I decided might come in hand later for parts of the reivew.
Ciara and I did our bit for the whole skier-snowboarder divide, and offered two skiers a ride back in the car, to save them getting a taxi. It meant one of us had to sit in the boot, so there was a small sacrifice involved. I'd like to say it was me that downgraded seats, but after a quick discussion, I gave in to Ciara's logic that she's the smallest, so it was easier for her to fit...
It turned out that the rest of the group were put off by the rain and took the whole day off. I still think they missed out. Avoriaz that morning had good snow. Oh well. The played Kings instead; by time we got back, they were all pretty wasted!
Labels: morzine trip 2009, wsg
All Set: Morzine And The Portes Du Soleil
Posted by on Saturday, January 17, 2009
I'm all set to leave for Morzine today. I'm writing this at around 11am; we don't fly until 17.45 this afternoon. Half of the group are already there. They set off by road yesterday evening, drove through the night and arrived in resort about half and hour ago. They should be on the hill by lunch time. I want to be there!
It's been a busy week. I made the camcorder handle last weekend and shopped around for a new digital slr. I've had my birthday, a last minute trip to the physio, snowboarding dvds to watch and it finished with a full body massage last night after work - thanks Ciara!
I've been preparing for the wsg review too. I think I mentioned that I recevied some copies of the guide to hand out while I'm there, and a couple of t-shirts too. I'm loving the t-shirts!
I managed to secure a new battery for the camcorder, following the death of my old one. I did still have the original battery, but that only provides somewhere between an hour and an hour-and-a-half. That's not always enough. The new one, around 30% bigger, arrived on Thursday. Nice one.
It wasn't until last night when I packed all of my gear that I realised just how big my new Dakine bag is. For a long time on this blog I've been waxing lyrical about the benefits of having a board bag + some kind of roller, rather than a single, almighty board bag. The reason being that it distributes the weight, allowing you to check more stuff in at the airport. It's more flexible too.
Be careful what you wish for.
I've struggled to fill my new luggage setup (a photo should follow). I started off, as always, aiming to travel light. I ended up thinking of stuff to add in, to fill the bag out some more... It's all good now though.
So that's it. I've caught up on the posts I wanted to make this week, I'm packed, and there's some good snow forecast to fall this weekend and into next week. We don't have Internet access in our chalet (lame), so the posts, if any, will be light over the next couple of weeks. I'd like to put up a picture or two using Ciara's iPhone while I'm out there, but no promises.
Roll on this afternoon. Get me on the plane. Get me shredding!
Labels: morzine trip 2009, wsg
First Big Review For The WSG
Posted by on Sunday, December 07, 2008
Over the last year or so I've written 3 reviews of UK slopes for the World Snowboard Guide: Castleford, Halifax and most recently, Chill FactorE. As much as I've enjoyed writing these reviews, I've been wondering what it would be like to review a full-scale resort...
Well, I've been given that opportunity. I'm going to be reviewing the Portes du Soleil in January, as part of my trip to Morzine. Stoked. Anxious. It's a pretty big job.
The guide already has substantial information on the main resorts in the Portes du Soleil - so some of the work required is targetted at updating existing data. However, the project as a whole involves reviewing 12 resorts within the full area, some of which the guide has no coverage at all. It's going to be fun - but it's definitely a step up.
So my plan is for Ciara and I (we're doing the review together) to learn as much as possible before we go - especially about the areas that I've never visited before, or don't know so much about. We're only there for two weeks, so we need to be prepared.
I've been looking at one of the smaller resorts, La Chapelle d'Abondance. I tried calling the tourist office there this weekend and ran into my first hurdle - they had no one who spoke english. That's not very good - on my part! I can speak a little french, but I'm not confident enough (or practiced) to try and make a phone call. Getting an email contact was difficult too. I'm going to have to work something out here. Watch this space...
Labels: wsg
3rd Session - Real Snow, The WSG And Pain!
Posted by on Tuesday, June 03, 2008
My third session of the summer was on real snow. Five of us headed to the chill factor[e] in Manchester last Saturday; it's the first time that I've been.
Real snow made a nice change from snowflex. The setup was good - especially the kicker. Much impressed. I'm not going to say to much about the slope and the facilities though because I'm putting all of that in a review for the wsg, which you should check out, if you haven't already. More on that later - when I've finished writing the review.
I should mention that I'm pretty pleased to be putting some reviews together for a guide that I've used since I first got into snowboarding - even if they're only uk slopes and not fully fledged resorts. Sick! Hopefully I'll do some more this summer.
So what about the shredding? Well, as I mentioned they had a pretty sweet kicker, nicely shaped and solid. I spent the majority of time spinning backside: 1s and 3s. They're far from being on lockdown, but the backside 3 is definitely getting more comfortable. I stomped at least two during the session, fairly smooth too.
We took a decent amount of video - for the time we had available anyway - and some photos of the slope too. I'm gonna sort that stuff out after I've finished the review...
And finally onto the pain. I mentioned before that I took a pretty hard slam last time I was at Halifax. Well, I (stupidly) managed to catch two heel edges on Saturday night sending me straight onto my back. How I managed that I don't know, but it happened. By time I got home the bottom of my back had the strangest swelling, not good!
The bruising is out now and centred around the spine, and seems as though the pain isn't going away, I headed to a sports injury clinic today. It's 35 notes for an half hour session, but it's worth it. The physio was painful, and the guy reckons I should have it x-rayed just to be on the safe side; I'll probably head back at the end of the week or the beginning of next for a second session.
It's annoying. I hope it gets sorted soon as there are plenty of things on that trick list that I wanna cross off...
Labels: injuries and fitness, uk riding, wsg
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