Another closed day

Well the mountain has pretty much been closed since Sunday. It is now Thursday and I am betting a bit stir crazy. There is only so many things you can do around town before you get very bored of town. The weather has become awful on the mountain lately and winds are getting close to 60mph and visibility is around 100 feet or so. So in short you can no see hear or move if you were up there but we are getting some good snow. The reported base is around 3 meters of packed snow which will add up to a great spring with tons of terrain to ride.

I am thinking about traveling to the south island soon to do some riding down there and see a few different ski fields and even see a few mates of mine for a good ski session down in the south. But we shall see if that trip happens or not.

Well this is the weather as of last week, It was beautiful and just an amazing time to be working on snow. Now you couldn't even see those flags being that close due to the poor vis and wind.

I have finished my last day working for Atomic and Salomon but hope to come back next season and work for them again. They have been great to work for and I am looking forward to any other involvement I have with them.



Cheers and now just waiting to get back to the states and back to my friends at the shoe. Its going to be a great winter this year.

Long time no post

Well it has been a long time since I have written up here and not to much has been happening lately. But we have had lots of great weather and some good snow. It has been a good season and epic amounts of snow is still on the ground.
My demo days for Atomic Salomon have ended for the season. I was only contracted for 20 days and I have used all of those up. Getting the skis down the hill the last day was a bit of a feat. Loading things on the back of a snow-cat is a challenge in ski boots for sure. Metal tracks on plastic ski boots is about as slippery as you can get. Along with the fact that your bags of skis have 4 pairs of skis in each and are not easy to handle.

Now the rest of the season is just for me. Working in town at the local rental shop along with what I hope is going to be lots of skiing in the spring time soft snow and maybe a few hikes to the summit and skiing down on the awesome amount of snow the mountain has gotten this year.

Some of my favorite products I have tried this year have been the Atomic Bentchetler. From what I understand the new one is far better than last years ski, because of the stiff tail they have added, the ski sticks and holds on anywhere and everywhere you go. Best powder ski I have been on. Along with this as far as a pist ski I would have to choose the Salomon XT850 a brutal full sidewall dual TI layer woodcore ski. It is hard charging and will take you for a trip. Along with that comes the Atomic Nomad Crimson. Great lineup from both brands. But  I really cant wait to get home and be with my Nordica Fire Arrow 80 Pro new this season and going to be a pist killer.

Right now the Rugby World Cup has started and NZ will be filled with people here to see this great sporting event. Just from seeing all the stadiums it shows how small this country. The stadium that they will be having the final and all of the big games only holds 60,000 people. This is less than the WVU staduim that just keeps all of the mountaineers fans in. Wild when you think this not that big compared to many pro and other University's. But it is going to be great. Last night started off with NZ beating Tonger for the first opening game of the world cup. The games will last right through till Oct 23

I changed my flight the other day so I can stay here for my birthday and the final game of the world cup and work for a bit longer and make a bit more money that I can bring home to keep me above water till the winter starts at Snowshoe. Can not wait till I am back at Snowshoe with all my friends.

What else is going on down here. Nothing that I can think of right now. I have been going out and seeing a few good DJs but not really any good live music since I have been down here. I guess I will have to wait till I get home to see any of that. But everything is going well.

Will try to get photos up soon and keep this moving. Its been a while but hopefully I will have more to write about next time write.

Epic storm.

It is bad to use the word epic but this really has been an epic one. The last storm dropped 80cm in the last 48 hours and has just started snowing again. Once the storm breaks we are going to have over a meter of snow on the ground and its going to be an epic season.

Vid of NZ skiing.

A low res vid but still thats what it looks like down here at whakapapa. This was on tuesday one of the bluebird days I got to ski a little bit on. Skiing behind one of my friends Dazza.
Took the vid with my new GoPro camera.

Bluebird photos

Bluebird

Well if you have been to NZ before and mostly if you have been to Ohakune and the ski fields around here you know that the weather is unpredictable because we do not sit in a large mountain range, we are a flat area with a few mountains that stick up around here and seem to attract all of the gnarliest weather that you can think of. So it is strange that we have had such a great time with the weather over the last 2 weeks, I have been working non stop at the mountain doing demo days and it seems to be bluebird after bluebird day for the last two weeks. Wild weather that is suppose to be ending for a bit as of tomorrow but it has been great while it lasted. Today will be one of the last times I will be able to see the sky for a while because we are suppose to be getting some snow soon.

The demos have been going well for both companies and a great response from the public and the shops that they buy their equipment from.

Everything in kune is going well and the people are great, most things are going as planned but you cant plan for others that's why we live and keep on going. Great times down here and I will post up some pics soon.

Best pow day ever.

Just got in a while ago sore and can barely walk from today but it was amazing. But it all started out as a pretty shit day, had to wake up early and ride with a buddy of mine to Whakapapa to do demo's and we get to the junction and the road is closed. After waiting for a few min we decided to find out what was going on with the road and drove to the end and the guy told us that it would be over an hour before it would be open. So Dazza and I decided it would be best to go and do some "product testing" and we turned around and came back to Turoa. What a decision that was. We get to the road and it is closed at the 3K mark so we start talking to people and the road opens we start heading up. The road is slick and shitty but Dazza has been driving the roads around here for some time so I had faith we would make it up. But the other people are the ones that you have to deal with. We made it up the road and were close to the car park when cars started going wild. We made it past the switch back and the shit hit the fan. We got stopped on a hill and started sliding back down and ran into a SUV behind us and then went past the Audi in the ditch and ended up behind it. No more than twenty min later and we were getting pulled up the hill by a small pickup and we were back on our way. It was close to 9 when we made it to the top and there were only a few cars in the car park which was surprising but considering the road it was expected.

After making it there we got the fat pow skis out of the car and got boots on. We did get a coffee or 2 well in my case I got hot coco. And waited for the chairs to open. Most of the upper mountain was closed due to bombing for the snow and avalanches. So we found some sweet first track freshies on the lower mountain, at this point it was one of the best days I have ever had. But it only got better.

Met up with the manager of a local ski shop and we started to hike and now my legs are burning from walking up but it is getting better. The snow is deeper, softer and untouched. As we head in to the glacier we are talked to by ski patrol saying the area is pretty unsafe and to use caution for the area but we went anyway. We entered the bowl and no one had been there all day it was stunning. I am very angry I forgot my camera and my helmet cam because it was an epic day on the mountain. We went across one at a time as not to put to much stress on the snow so we wouldn't get a slide of any kind and skied carefully. Fresh tracks in a massive bowl and not a sound or person other than my mates in sight. It was simply the best skiing I have ever done in my entire life. I was on some big fat 183 Atomic Bentchetlers. It is the largest underfoot ski I have ever been on and was the best ski in the world in my opinion, maybe it was the snow, maybe it was where I was skiing but it was simply the best thing I have ever done.

After skiing the lines it was like being on top of the world and the hike out was awful but every step you were closer to where you could grab the lift and go do it again. Now thinking back and feeling my sore legs and back and arms it was all worth the ride down.

RAIN RAIN RAIN

So its still raining for the 3rd day in a row. Its pouring down here in town so that means its dumping down on the mountain up top. I am stoked about the snow coming down but that also means that the wind is rolling also. All of this together means that the mountain is closed again. These boring days are leading to some new more exciting snow up top. But tonight at least there is a toga party.
Not much else is going on except no mountain opening no work and no money.

A photo from the mountain bike ride I took with a few friends.

Well one evening we did happen to go out. And after I went to sleep some shenanigans started to go on. A housemate of mine decided to go field bashing and might have gotten stuck. But we did get him out after some time with a jack and some wood.

There is snow on my rocks.

Well I went skiing on tuesday and boy was it different. The mountain is beautiful and the area around it is for the most part flat, apart from the volcano that you see sticking up in the area surrounding Turoa. The snow cover is still limited so I decided it would be best if I just got rental skis and that was the best decision I have ever made. The mountain is still great and I can see lots of potential lines that could be done once we get more snow.

Right now the mountain is closed due to high winds and snow so the snow coming down will do wonders for the mountain and how much terrain is open. Work has also started and I think its going to be a good job to have for the season, the people are nice and I like what I am doing for the season.

Next time I go up to the mountain I will make sure to take photos more often and all.

Until next time. I will have much more to write.

Broken pots, ash clouds and tons of skis cont....

Lunch was good, and I ate out for once at a pretty good place in town.

Well after doing everything with Salomon and Atomic ski companies Gerard and I decided to go out for a beer or ten and met Ian and Cam from Atomic there to talk about the other things as far as the ski industry goes.

My flight was to be the next day at 6pm, at around 7am the next day I got a text saying my flight was cancelled due to the ash cloud from the volcano in Chile. So I had to figure out what I was going to do for the day and how I was going to get back to Wellington in time for my bus trip back to Ohakune. This was a a rough time because the phone lines were all booked up for everything. I finally got through to Jetstar and asked for my refund for the trip and they did do that after I sat on the phone with them for around thirty min. So how to get to Wellington, train up the coast? Nope the train is out of service until all the tracks have been fixed due to the earthquake. So bus it is, got the bus booked and it was going to be a 5 or so hour ride up to where the ferry would pick me up and then a 5 hour trip on the ferry to Wellington. This trip would be pretty shit as far as I can tell. the 45 min flight will now take 10 hours by bus and ferry.

But I did make it back to Wellington got into the backpacker and went out for dinner with some friends I have not seen in 9 years. I have not seen them since my family owned the bed and breakfast. But it was strange to see them in NZ when its so far away from both places where we live. But it was great to catch up with them. Later on that evening I was in the backpackers drinking beer and hanging out with one of the guys that works at the Turoa as a cat driver. While playing pool I might or might not have tried to sit on a tree pot because there was nothing else around to sit on. While sitting down the pot might have broken out of the bottom, but no one saw it happen so I was good to go to bed.

But the next day I got on my bus and made it back to Ohakune. So I am back home with my bed and its great. The day I got back is when Mardi gras started and its a celebration of the beginning of the season. Well its just tons of punters and no one you really want to be around so most of my flat mates just stayed around the house and drank.

Its been a great few days. Yesterday I went on a nice bike ride with a few of my friends and say tons of cool things around the area on the Old Coach Road trail. Its a great ride and one of the most beautiful rides I have ever done.

Pictures to come in the next few days.

Broken pots, ash clouds and tons of skis.

Well I guess it has been a while since I have written and that means stuff has been happening because I have not had time or internet to write on here. Well I did leave for Christchurch in the south island of New Zealand last Monday the 20th, and everything was going smooth went to wellington for the day ate dinner and slept in a backpackers lodge. Pretty nice place right close to the train station but I did not think my staying through very well. See my flight was to leave on the 21st the day after I got there so I would stay and then see the town the next day. Well the people that were staying in my bunk room decided it was a great idea to wake up at seven in the morning so I had almost 8 hours to kill in town. This was way to much time for me to kill seeing as I know nothing about Wellington. Well I set out for an early morning breakfast and then decided to take a walk around town. Its not that big of a place but I did not really want to get lost in town and not be able to catch my flight. Well I did get to the airport after my flight was delayed some due to some unknown reason but oh well.

I arrived down at the airport where I was picked up by my friend Gerard and he took me back to his place so I could get settled and have a pint or two. It was really nice to have a shower, bed and a few beers. I do know a few people in Christchurch so Dylan another friend from snowshoe showed up later and we all had dinner together along with Jack, Gerard's 3 year old son and Jamie his wife. It was nice and we got to watch a few ski movies and relax as well. At around 10 that evening as Dylan was getting ready to leave we were standing out front when it seemed the world started to just shake and move turns out it was my first earthquake and not to shabby of one either, 5.4 I would find out later. I didn't sleep at all that night because we had 14 aftershocks.

The next morning I was met by Cam from Atomic Ski, and he took me over to the company Brandx. They are the main importers and distributors of Atomic skis in NZ. There I met everyone who worked there and proceeded to check out the the new line and all of the new skis that Atomic had to offer. It was a great experience and I look forward to working with them this winter. I then went with the guys from Salomon and did the same. Both are great companies and I am stoked to start this winter.

More to come later on today after I eat some lunch......

Great morning for a hangover.

Well last night was interesting, after locking my keys in my room I had tried to break into it. Not as easy as breaking into a room at snowshoe and that is for sure. My housemate with the master key had been out to dinner and I didn't know where he kept the key.
It was at this time that my housemates decided to go out to the bar. So I caught a ride to the bar so that I can get the key and unlock my room so I can go out cause I have no shoes, jackets, wallet or money so it does not seem like I can go out. I did end up finding the key I got dressed and went out with my friends to a pub called Suitcase. Very interesting bar, lots of cool people and some nice pool tables and tv's with ski movies on them.

One cool thing was the giant Jenga, I thought about playing but the problem with playing is if you loose then you must buy everyone that is playing a drink, and when beer is 4.50 and mixed drinks are higher, I cant really afford to buy drinks for 5 or 6 people. But I did get to meet the reps for Atomic and talk to them about the product and what they will need from me for this season. Along with meeting the guys from Atomic I also met reps from K2 and Volkl.

This morning was met with the usual from an exciting night. The hangover bad taste in mouth and headache but at least it was a beautiful day.

Business trip?

Well it seems that I have my first business trip coming up soon, and its even being paid for by Salomon and Atomic skis. I am traveling from Ohakune to Christchurch this coming Monday the 20th for some training in this years ski equipment. Turns out I will be the demo rep for Salomon and Atomic this winter along with working at SLR ski rental shop. Half of the day will be spent with each rep so I can learn as much as I can about the products before I return home.

I am taking the bus from Ohakune to Wellington and flying from there to Christchurch, where they just had a massive earthquake again so hopefully it will be better when I get there. My flight leaves the 21st a week from today and I will find some place to stay once I get down there. Wednesday will be spent with the reps for Salomon and Atomic and then I will fly back out Thursday to Wellington.

I am going to stay in Wellington until Saturday morning where I will catch the bus back to Ohakune for the weekend and hopefully have a bit of a party somewhere. The mountain is suppose to open this coming weekend but it is not looking good, the weather this week is suppose to be "nice" which is not good for skiing. We really need the storms to start rolling through the area so that the mountain can have a good base of snow for some epic riding and hiking. I have talked to friends and have been looking at the prices of crampons and some ice axes so that I can do some good hiking to find the good snow and the great lines. A friend has some crampons that I can use the next thing I will need is to find some ice axes at a good price.

Let us hope the weather takes a dive and gets cold so this season can be EPIC
Alex

Home brew? Thought that was shine?

Well it was a great weekend for sure, got to go out to a house warming party with a few people I knew and most people I didn't know. It was still a fun time though. Home brew is sort of our moonshine back home. Only thing is that its legal and they sell kits to do it in the stores around here. Its potent and cheap for sure.
Got to do some hiking and walking around to see a few of the different sights that NZ has to offer. It sure is a beautiful country.
I went for a walk with 2 of my housemates that are from England along the railroad tracks to one of the bridges that has an amazing view of the valley and the rolling hills that surround the area, here it is legal to walk along the tracks because it is sort of a rails to trails without the "to". But none the less it was a wonderful hike and we got to see a train or two go by. The bridge was not the same as the train bridge they had a different bridge that was the old bridge but rebuilt for personal transport. Unfortunately I did forget my camera but photos will be taken from my friends and posted up later.

Still no snow on the mountain yet, it might be a slow opening but hopefully it will get going soon. I have heard that the first month that the mountain is open its not the best weather conditions for this area and its pretty slow. But the email did come and I have an official job for the winter working at SLR which also includes Vertigo Climbing, its a high performance rental shop and climbing gym. On busy weekends I will be the demo rep at the top of the mountain for 2 different companies and it looks like they will be flying me to Christchurch for some training with the 2 distributors. An amazing job for my first time down in New Zealand.

Well I hope the snow comes soon and the season is amazing but we shall see, either way the people are still here and I am still seeing an amazing country.

There goes my day....

Well yesterday was a pretty nice day. Saw some blue skies in the morning and it was rather cool compared to the other few days but no rain or any other forms or precipitation. But I wake up today to the roar of wind and the sound of rain falling and falling hard. Looks like it will be another lazy day spend around the house. I had planned to go for a hike today and explore some more of the area but that sounds like a not so fun idea seeing as the weather outside has turned to shit.
Lets home it lets up for tonight so we don't have to drive to get to the bar.

Galliano shots, over the course of time here I have learned a few strange traditions and things but I have never taken a shot like this. It usually starts with about a one half to three quarters shot and you have a few friends all take it together. This is when it gets a bit different. You all take the shot and keep it in your mouth for as long as possible and when one person gives up you all get back together take a deep breath in and let it out as far as you can till you think you cant breath anymore, put your head between your legs and swallow the shot while standing up and breathing in. Sounds complicated but you end up with a head rush and your mouth is numb. On the upside the liqueur tastes pretty good and does not burn to much.


More to come soon
Alex

Red Sky at Morning

So there was a bit of a red sky this morning and I am hoping it means that there will be snow coming soon. After going up to the top part of the house and taking a look over at the mountain it looks like we got a dusting of snow up top along with a small layer of ice or frost down here at the bottom that found as I walked outside. Beautiful morning again here in Ohakune.
Found out over the weekend that I 100% do have a job working in a rental shop setting up skis, the money is good and so are the hours. Work in the morning and if its a nice day you go up to the mountain during lunch for a few hours and then back down to the shop in the evening for some more work. Not a bad life for a ski bum.

There might be a chance of another job that would be amazing but more details to come on that later. Might be doing a company flight down to the south island for that though.

The weather here has been good and I have already created my own bank account and applied for an IRD number which stands for Inland Revenue Department. Not really sure what they do but I know they take your money for taxes so you have got to have one to work.

A few new people have been moving in to the house and everyone I have met has been really cool lately. I have a feeling this is going to be a great winter. Walking to and from town have been a bit of a pain lately but so is filling up your tank on the car back home so I don't really mind to much. Lets just pray for more snow because the start of the season is coming up soon.

More to come soon about the other job and the season if it will start on time or not. Projected opening date has been set for the 25th of this month so we shall see.
Alex

The weekend,

It was a good first weekend down in Ohakune, I went to the fashion show at the Keg (Powderkeg bar) and got to meet lots of people during a fun event. But I also might have a lead on a very good and profitable job in town. Do not have the official job offer and everything set yet but it seems to be around a 90% chance here. The only problem is that it will not be starting till next month but that will give me plenty of time to get to know the town and the mountain and get some skiing in before the starts. 

A few of the house mates and I might take a small road trip around the island to do something like bungy jump or something else outside. For now it will be hanging out and trying to keep myself occupied. 

More to come soon.

Alex 

  

More Photos.

The mountains on the way up were the only thing that seemed to be in the distance.

The room is kinda small more of a hole in the wall but its a hole in the wall big enough for my stuff and me. 

View is pretty good also

This is walking back from town and looking at the mountain in the distance. Cant wait for the snow.

Photo

Well the internet is moving really slow. More to come later. 

The long haul.

So I have made it to NZ.
After my flight was delayed several times when I was in LA. I made it on the airplane and was surprised with how few people were on the flight. After departing we were told we could move around and stretch out, shortly after the flight attendant asked me if I would change seats because the man across the seats from me needed to stretch out because of his back problems. I was asked very nicely and then told that I could have a bottle of wine, since I don't drink wine I simply said could you make that a bottle of Bourbon and we will be straight. Shortly there after I had my bottle of Jim and I was set. Now for some shut eye.
Or not, I don't know if I am the only one that has a problem with sleeping on planes or if this was just a particularly bumpy plane ride. But I made it to Auckland shortly after 8am where customs and immigration went just fine and now I am standing at the airport in Auckland with over 100lbs of ski gear and clothes and no where to go.

Getting a bus and hotel was not a problem either, just go to the counter and ask for your bus trip and hotel along with a bus ride to Ohakune (where I am now). And shortly after its all set and all you need to do is go outside and hop on a bus with all of this shit that you have and go in to town. After sitting down with all of my things I noticed I was the only one on the bus. The driver said "hey come up here so we can talk" so drowsy from the plane ride I walked to the front of the bus and stood in the isle while he drove me to my hotel that he said "has very small rooms" and boy did it (Pictures to come).

After getting settled in my tiny room with all of my stuff from the flight, it was only 11 am and I was hungry, well it turns out in Auckland many of the people are Asian and so are most of the places to eat. And having a non adventurous apatite I decided to stick with fast fried foods and at at the closes Burger King. It was ok and seemingly similar. But the town is beautiful I have a few pictures even though it was a cloudy and rainy day in the city. Still needing time to kill, I got a few ski mags and sat down to read when I saw that Hangover 2 was playing in town, now one would think a movie theater is a movie theater but this is not so, this was one of the largest ones I had been in and it seemed to have assigned seats in the theater but I disregarded that and sat down to my movie hoping I was not sitting in someone seat. The movie was very funny and popcorn is still the same no matter where you go.
The bus ride to Ohakune was nice and long, only about 6 or so hours including stops so was not a bad trip, one strange thing did happen when we made our first stop the Police did board the bus and take some younger girl off of the bus and all of her bags. It was very strange but other than that it was a fine trip.

I am now settled in my new home for the next few months down in Ohakune and its a very nice small town with a good ski resort feel to it and hopefully I will be able to find a job some time soon so that I can keep myself busy.

Alex

Leaving soon

So this is my first post to a blog of my own. Let me start by telling you who I am, my name is Alex and I have recently sold my truck so that I can afford to move my life to New Zealand to follow the winter around the world. This sounds like a pretty heavy task but I do believe it will be a great adventure.
I have been working in the ski industry for a few years now teaching skiing, but this has just been a 3 or 4 month a year job for me since our season in West Virginia is pretty short. Teaching is an awesome job where you just meet so many people from everywhere in the world believe it or not.
I started teaching when I was still in high school and I was hooked from then on. Recently I have been getting involved in furthering my education by getting involved in PSIA (professional ski instructors of america) they do teach you tons of cool stuff.

So my flight, its suppose to leave on time and take around 19 hours from DC to Auckland. This will be the longest trip and the farthest I have been away from home ever. The closest I have been to this is when I visited Chile for around 3 weeks. From Auckland I will need to take a bus trip that seems to take on average 5 hours to get down to the town I will be living in which is Ohakune. Its a small town that is located close to MT. Ruapheu ski resort. Which is one of the largest in the country, and is smack in the middle of Tongariro National Park a beautiful landscape that I hope I can explore and hike through. 




Well more to come soon from NZ. 
Alex