Jindabyne Take Two

What a season! It's had its ups and downs but there have been few ups and many downs all in all. I have been keeping my eyes on the end of the tunnel and getting by on a day to day basis.

Awesome start early and then nothing for months- until early August Perisher officially recorded its worst snowfall in history. Things were looking grim. Without snow we have no guests, and with no guests we have no lessons.

Australians in particular were feeling the squeeze. The 63cm dump we had in early August could not have come any sooner. Travis, Eamon and I had a powder day that would rival places in Canada. Decent sized drops into deep powder, what had been a death-trap of rocks and tree stumps the day before was now a pillowy wonderland.

I had been riding the same boots for close to 6 full seasons and they were showing their age. Massive splits down the sides that could no longer be contained by tarzan grip. As much as I loved my Timbas, it was time to upgrade. These boots cost $539 in Australia but after som painstaking searching and messing about with shipping restrictions I managed to find them in the US for $98. Much stiffer than my old boots; my neon-yellow TM-Twos, while still a little painful, are treating me very well in terms of responsiveness.

Unfortunately no matter how good my new boots are or how many strange magnet balance bracelets I wear: I´m still pretty sub-par in the park. Lack of time and courage has meant that I am only taking baby steps forward: luckily the occasional reminder that I am unco hasn´t left me too badly injured yet. Best stack of the season? Coming off the up-down rail in front valley at its apex and landing (thankfully on the snow) flat on my back. Just a few more days to go...