•  JAPAN 09 POWDER CAMPS (February 09)
•  VERBIER LANDSCAPES (January 09)
•  VERBIER RIDE 08 (DECEMBER EDITION) (December 08)
•  GREAT WHITE SHARK (November 08)
•  LONDON RIDE 08 (November 08)
•  RIDE FREESORT FILM FESTIVAL (November 08)
•  PYRENEES CHALLENGE RAISES £450,000!! (Novermber 08)

(FEBRUARY 09)

JAPAN 09 POWDER CAMPS

Powder, Sushi, Japanese culture; that was what the Warren Smith Ski Academy Japan powder Camps were all about.  Last year Warren Smith and myself went to Japan to research the possibility of Japan being a potential location to run Powder Camps.  What we came back with was a result better than we could ever have expected.  The Academy made history in being the first ever ski tuition organisation to be granted exclusive permission to take our Academy groups off piste in the ‘Sacred trees’ of Furano.

The 11 day ski trip was split between the resorts Niseko and Furano, with a day trip to Kamui.  There are three main resorts in Niseko; Annapuri, Niseko Village and Hirafu.  Here the tree skiing is magnificent, with extensive floodlit night skiing, even off-piste, running up until 9pm every evening.  The Academy Powder ski coaching and development began in these areas before transferring to the resort of Furano.  In Furano a guide and 2 patrol escorted the Academy on a historical journey to the finest off-piste terrain with the most beautiful pine and Silver Birch forest densely filled with powder.  The area was untouched by anyone else, and the Academy clients knew this was to be the best skiing they had ever done.

Warren ran a transceiver check with everybody in the group before accessing the off piste terrain. He talked about the area, what to look out for, potential dangers, general ski etiquette and also about respecting the mountain. He spoke highly of the patrol, and the job they were doing for the mountain.  This instilled confidence in the Patrol for what the Academy were doing, which seemed to make the whole operation work really smoothly.

Of the 20 people on the Camp, not one had to ski in another’s tracks.  The area was vast and safe due to the gradient and the trees. It was also a fantastic learning environment due to the light texture of the snow and it’s depth, meaning nothing underfoot could catch out a skier, giving greater confidence to ski the powder.  The group were guided to the same areas Warren and Myself had tried, tested and photographed the year before, and they also had their photographs taken in the same areas.  The experience was magical and will never be forgotten. 

To read more about the Camps, have a look at the blog that was kept over the 11 days and see what the skiers have to say.  Read here:  http://www.warrensmith-skiacademy.com/japan-blog/

(January 09)

VERBIER LANDSCAPES

Each and every day presents a new scene in the mountains for me this season in Verbier. It's not difficult to take a great landscape photo in Verbier when every day the sun, moon and clouds cast new shadows and a new scene on the awesome mountains surrounding the resort. Verbier faces south with the Mt Blanc visable in the distance. Over the back of Verbier you can see the Matterhorn. Every direction is amazing to look at and I certainly never get bored taking a photo or filming a time lapse. This winter the snow has been fantastic and the crisp white quality of the snow has been frequently topped up. Tips on mountain landscape photography will be coming soon.

To see more of Verbier's stunning panorama, click on the Landscape photography here.

(December 08)

VERBIER RIDE 08 (DECEMBER EDITION)

What an awesome event!  The early season’s Verbier Ride 08 (Dec) (www.verbierride.com) couldn’t have been better.  The season started early with the kind of powder expected mid season.  Televerbier’s (www.televerbier.ch) carefully selected Snowpark team, Fabien, Bebert and Dave worked for many long days to construct a Slopestyle in the La Chaux Snowpark (www.mysnowpark.ch) to be proud of.  Many of the riders said it is the best park Verbier has ever had.

The many nationalities had one language in common – 'Freestyle skiing,' where the tricks and expressions mean the same in every language.  In the Qualification runs, the girls and the guys enjoyed riding the field together and pushing each other on to even bigger and more technical tricks for the final. 

In the finals, the pace picked up and the crowd multiplied.  The riding was of a very high level.  Last year’s winner Alex Neurohr (SUI) was riding well again and finished in the top at position 7. Newcomer Paulo Martinoglio (ITA) just missed a podium finish with 4th place. Blaze Bramwell (SWE) was getting the attention of the crowd in 5th with his style along with Andreas Burri in 6th. 

However local Nicolas Vuigner who has competed in the Verbier Ride before but had never taken a podium place, took 3rd place with a clean Unnatural Switch 720, Rodeo 720 and a Rodeo 900, keeping it smooth and with good landings. Janne van Enckevort (FIN/SUI) took 2nd place to the delight of his fellow riders.  He finished with a nice Switch 1080 with a Mute Grab.  He was clearly enjoying the comp and being with the other guys on the circuit.  Janne had been hanging out with the winning rider all day and was clearly stoked to see him take his first Verbier Ride podium finish.

16 year old James Woods (Woodsy) from the UK took the well deserved winning title. Woodsy who has competed in the Verbier Ride before and also the Saas-Fee Ride and London Ride was riding at a level way up there with some of the big European names. The judges were blown away with the massive amount of work he has put into his skiing in the last year and how much of a star performer he was at the Verbier Ride 08.5.  He threw down a Kangaroo flip off the kicker with an absolutely perfect landing, and was spinning cleanly on the rail, 270 in on the Flat Down.  His style from beginning to end was relaxed and carried out with ease, making him a true winner.

The women’s competition was amazing with one of the camera crew at one point saying they couldn’t tell the difference between some of the girls and the guys.  Most of the girls gave the big kicker a go at least once during the day. 15 year old Nina Michel (SUI) looked cute, petite and delicate but once she got into the Slopestyle she showed talent, determination and guts!  She was spinning 270 on the rail and the box, and then spinning 360s on the small table.  She is definitely someone to look out for in the future. With no warm up and no practice in the newly constructed Slopestyle, she was thrown in at the deep end, riding blind.  However, she didn’t fail to impress the judges with her clean 360 Safety on the big Table.  A good end to a day that started off badly for Katrien.

Finally it was Switzerland’s Eveline Bhend who took 1st place on the podium.  Eveline who first competed in summer 08 at the Saas-Fee Ride was a cut above the rest.  She was hitting the big kicker with ease and focus.  At no time did she look out of her depth.  Her winning run was a 360 Reverse Double Mute on the big table and a clean 720 on the last kicker.  We look forward to seeing her develop further and further in the future.

So what a day.  All the riders were there doing what they do best with the people they love to have around them.  It was a pleasurable day, perfect all round for everyone.  Many thanks goes to the resort of Verbier (Televerbier, Verbier Sport Plus, Ecole de Ski Verbier, Verbier Tourism) for their support of the Verbier Ride and helping to make the best park possible for the day.  Also to the event partners Snow & Rock, Ski Service for their trust and support and to the Farinet/Casbah for hosting a big send off with the Verbier Ride after Party and to the help of Natives for providing Emma and the Show Love Tour.

The action from the event will be going out to the networks from end of January starting with YOZ on Eurosport. You will also be able to watch the event from your IPOD and mobile by downloading the 24 minute TV programme from www.verbierride.com.

(November 08)

GREAT WHITE SHARK

The Great White Shark has always been a fascination of mine. After many years of watching hundreds of documentaries and scaring myself swimming in deep water, I finally made it to Cape Town to visit them. Warren and I got on a rib in the morning and headed out to Shark Alley where we first stopped off to see the seals (lunch for the sharks!). We were watching the water intensely waiting for that first fin. No shark appeared and we continued on for a bit. Surprisingly we weren't too far off shore when we saw our first. It wasn't the encounter I expected. It shyly approached our very small boat and lifted it's head cautiously against it to check out what was going on. It disappeared beneath the water again and we were already excited about seeing re-appear. Once more it appeared and spent probably 10 - 15 minutes swimming around and checking us out. It wasn't a big shark, probably about 3-5m long. Another of a similar size, perhaps slightly bigger came along and repeated the same action. I felt surprisingly comfortable with the sharks circling our boat. Not the feeling I expected at all, but a welcome feeling.

The next time we went out it was on a larger tourist boat. We moored the boat in the same area as before. This time with the cage hooked onto the side of the boat. I had always wanted to go down in a cage and come face to face with my most exciting predator. However, once again the reality was not the same as my expectations. The other people were screaming in excitement as chum was thrown into the water as a small piece of tuna was dangled like a carrott. Warren and I felt more sorry for the sharks and it felt more like a circus act. However, we wete happy to see several sharks and after the first 30 mins of the first group in the cage not seeing what we were seeing, we decided to remain on the boat.Tthe visability was low under the water, and it was cold. We filmed and photographed several sharks and got what we came to see. Now we know exactly how we would like to repeat this experience from what we have learned from it this time. It was certinly exciting and I have an even higher admiration of this incredible creature.

To see more images of the Sharks, chack out the photos on this page.

(November 08)

LONDON RIDE 08

Saturday’s Metro Ski and Snowboard Show saw the skiing highlight of the event, the London Ride ’08. This year the traditional quarterpipe setup had been replaced by a snowflex kicker, and although the table wasn’t particularly big, the jump sent the riders pretty much straight up, so there was plenty of hang time for them to show off their skills. Practice was underway by the early afternoon, and the riders soon familiarised themselves with the obstacle. There was no doubt the Brits were going to fare well here, this was not only their home ground, but also preferred surface, and some of the international riders took a few runs to adjust to the snowflex.

The minute qualifications started it became clear that the riders were not going to hang about in busting out there biggest tricks. Rodeos, corked 7’s, and double grabbed fives were all thrown into the mix, and there was even the odd 9 for good measure, while on the knuckle the judges argued over the relative merits of the various tricks being thrown. As always the judges were looking for technicality of trick, style, solid landings, and in the case of such a small jump amplitude was going to play a factor here as well.

	At the top of the brits James Woods and Murray Buchan were the only two to hit the kicker switch, both with 720’s, meanwhile Paddy Graham and Mike Wakefield were both impressing with huge, stalled out misty’s and flatspins. The international riders were fast familiarising themselves with the jump as well, and Henrik Harlaut threw a nine down with ease. In the end Henrik managed to top the group of thirteen riders that were to go through to the final. The finals saw the riders really step up their game. There was no doubt that the Brits were at an advantage on their preferred surface, as generally they were getting more height and air time then the rest of the field, however the international riders were busting out some technical moves.

Paddy Graham and Mike Wakefield were both going huge with styled out 5’s, but in the last round Mike went pretty much bigger than anyone else had been all day, practically landing in the appreciative crowd at the bottom. Murray Buchan and James Woods were still the only two to hit the kicker switch, but Woodsy just edged Murray out with a slightly bigger and more technical switch rodeo 7. In the end though it was everyones favourite Swede, Henrik Harlaut who managed to impress the judges the most, pulling a massive 9, and somehow managing to grab both mute and japan throughout, before stomping comfortably and riding out the landing.

It was a final to remember, and it was genuinely impressive how quickly the international riders had adjusted to the surface and were able to bust out such technical moves on such unfamiliar terrain. Mike Wakefield just squeezed out Murray Buchan and Paddy Graham to take third, while James Woods took second place, and Henrik secured his umpteenth Ride title. Can anyone stop this kid? I guess we’ll have to wait until next year to find out.

To view the London Ride website, click here

(NOVEMBER 08)

RIDE FREESPORT FILM FESTIVAL

The Ride Freesport Film Festival originally started as a film premiere night in 1999 for the ski action movies of Warren Smith, Guido Perrini and Melody Sky. In 2006 Warren and Melody decided to evolve the film night into a mini film festival for young up and coming British Ski Film Makers and Photographers to show their work on the big screen.

	To view gallery of the Ride Freesport Film Festival 08 After Party, click here

(NOVEMBER 08)

PYRENEES CHALLENGE RAISES £450,000!!

Warren Smith, Lawrence Dallaglio and the rest of the Pyrenees cycle team would like to say a massive thank you for your incredible support during their challenge of cycling 933km in 8 days over the Pyrenees in aid of the charity Bliss.

	Charity Registration No 1002973

The team are proud to announce that on the 3rd December 2008 they beat their £175,000 target to raise an astonishing £435,500! This money will help Bliss to provide funding to a range of cutting-edge clinical research projects in major UK hospitals, which aim to improve the standard of care available to all babies in the UK. In addition they champion innovative new approaches in the care of premature and sick babies, such as developmental care.

Warren would particularly like to thank all the people that donated to his just giving page helping him raise almost £10,000.   There was over 175 of you that contributed through the Academy, family or friends and he was overwhelmed by the generosity.