Hey everybody, sorry for the delay since my last post. I've been fully intent on having a small edit for you to take a look at however I keep getting so involved in riding that I haven't taken enough video.

Things in Banff have been going great. I've just got a second job working in a huge outdoor sports shop on Banff's main street. It couldn't come at a better time since budget cuts have resulted in my hours at the CD shop being slashed to a pathetic 4 hours a week.

The town itself is really starting to buzz. With the beginning of February we start to move into high season so there should be plenty more people out here for the next few months. Olympic fever is sweeping the nation and every town has had themselves a party as the torch has passed through on its way to Vancouver. We managed to get a grip on one of the torches in Banff while a runner waited for the changeover of the flame.

didn't expect to ever hold one of these

With the Olympics only a fortnight away the excitement is building over here, just a shame that our British athletes may not even be getting a chance to compete.

After a ridiculously warm January there is high hopes of a massive dump of snow sometime in February. The rivers and lakes that were frozen solid in December are now melting and looking like they should look in April. This has been worrying but several local mountain-men have assured me we will be waist-deep in the near future. I hope they're right!

amazing ice formations due to the warm weather

As far as riding goes I have been using the lack of new snow to focus more in the park. I have been progressing well, building up to cork 5s and 7s on the 40ft kickers at Sunshine Village. I will have to step up to the 65fters soon which will be scary stuff. Hopefully by my next post I will have some good footage to show you. Sunshine are nearly finished the second half of the park. Once it's complete it will be one of the biggest parks in North America and it has plenty of quirky little features to mess around on, as well as some mean-looking jumps.

I haven't ridden in a few days now as a direct result of doing my best Sam Longmire impression in the park the other day. After increasing my approach speed for some 7s I went for a BIG misty 5 attempt at the same approach speed but forgot to slow down the rotation. I only have a photo of what happened but if it had been a video it would have looked very similar to Sam's infamous fall in NZ this summer. The only difference being that my point of impact was the top of my left ass-cheek rather than the base of my spine. Despite the pain I was pretty happy about that as I picked myself up off the floor at the bottom of the jump. I may not have been able to sit down too well for the last few days, but the season goes on. I'll be trying my best not to make that mistake again!

Oh boaby!! Still 15ft off the ground, add another 270 degrees to landing on the back. You get the idea

And so I end this post with a promise that I will take more footage before my next . It's snowing outside at the moment so hopefully my next few days will be full of powder slashes and park progression. Fingers crossed for an edit next time around. I'll leave you with a picture of Banff's saddest dog who, despite his miserly appearance, is actually delightful when approached!

I'm sad because I can't read Unbez

AG

AG in AB

Friday, January 8, 2010

AG in AB

Happy new year Unbezzers! Hope 2010 is going well for you all. Just a quick update before I come back atcha with some full-fat flava in my next post. So far it has been a great year for me. I've been breaking in a new pair of boots, rocking a new down jacket and most importantly... making full use of my new season pass!!

stoked to be holding this

Life in Canada has gone from awesome to mondo-uber-sweet since I can now jaunt off up the hill whenever I have the time off work. I will in fact be getting up to make the 7.10 bus up the hill tomorrow so that I can get a morning's riding in before work at 1pm. It's good to be highly active again, and especially to get some quality shredding in. I've had a mixed bag of conditions since getting my pass a week ago. A few days of warm weather with poor viz and a couple of bollock freezing bluebird sessions. I have still managed to cover just about every pisted run at Sunshine Village along with a good few runs in the park and a few laps of delirium dive (Sunshine's massive backcountry bowl).

I'm working on a wee edit for you guys to see what I've generally been up to. Should hopefully have it ready in time for my next blog in a week or so. Until then, keep shredding Unbezzers and enjoy that sweet snow in Scotland if you're there!

AG

AG in AB

Sunday, December 27, 2009

AG in AB

Hey there Unbez fanatics. Ally G here kicking off my blog with a run-down of what I've been up to since leaving for Canada a month ago. Apologies for not blogging sooner, I will try to make it more regular from now on...

Canada is, in a single-syllable word, RAD! Much in the way that Scotland is rad but way bigger and without a single strip of snowflex to be seen. Which is a shame because I do love plasticboarding but you gotta try new sports from time to time.

My girlfriend Zara and I have been getting our tourist on big-time since we got here, absolutely hemorrhaging money on the way. It is not a cheap country by any means, but it wouldn't be a proper season without a bit of hardship.

We spent our first week in Vancouver taking in as much as we could of the incredible city. What a place. I'd recommend everyone makes at least one trip there. We even managed to get a days riding in at Mt. Seymour, one of the 3 local resorts on the hills above Vancouver. It was early season but was still a sweet day. If you find yourself in Vancouver this winter then get yourself up to Seymour! They have been given $10,000 by sponsors to make what will be a banging park so go check it out if you get the chance.

Anyway before we knew it we had to leave for Banff, which was not a bad thing. It is a truly awesome place to live. For those of you that are unfamiliar with Banff here's the scoop: Banff is not a ski-resort in itself, it is a medium-sized town that sits in the Bow-Valley in Banff National Park, Alberta (AB), Canada. It is at around 1000m above sea level and is surrounded by mountains stretching up to 2,500m from the valley floor straight up. This gives you one hell of an idea of how small you really are. The best bit about all these mountains is that there are world-class resorts very near by. Depending on which one you head for you will be riding Mt. Norquay, Sunshine Village or Lake Louise in a maximum of 1 hour. If I had to compare it to somewhere in Scotland it would be Aviemore. It is bigger but it is similar in that it is not actually at the foot of the ski-hill, but it still has the apres-ski and the resort buzz. Aviemore would definately be flattered by that comparison!

The town of Banff from the top of the Banff gondola
(you get the idea)


Unfortunately for us, living in Banff has so far been like standing at the pearly gates of snowboarding heaven while St.Terje jabs you with a pointy stick and laughs in your face. Not entirely true. We have had a day riding Lake Louise and a day riding Sunshine Village however having gone from the regular drymat sessions in Aberdeen to riding 3 times in a month has been difficult to say the least.

How many roads? Walking at dusk with Mt. Norquay in the background

Nevertheless there are good things going on that show promise for the near future. We both got jobs within a fortnight, which is impressive seeing as there are many folk now leaving Banff after 2 months without work. We have one of the biggest flats in town for a very reasonable price and hopefully in the next fortnight we should get season passes. I've also got word of a secret back-yard jib that a friend of a friend has set up and I've scoped plenty of street spots to get into edits.

Railing at the Banff Gondola: on the jib-list

So have no fear Unbezzers, there's plenty to come from me in AB. Just watch this blog