pwr's blog http://www.soulfibre.com/blog/1/atom/feed 2006-03-26T19:41:13+01:00 Je suis ici! http://www.soulfibre.com/node/211 2006-12-07T01:38:50+00:00 2006-12-07T01:40:11+00:00 pwr Salut!

Here, for your viewing pleasure, is the view from the balcony of our apartment in downtown Bourg St Maurice. Flights and transfer went without a hitch. Lifts open next weekend and snow is at least a possibility between now and then. Reports indicate that we are currently a little short. We do however have plenty of beer and baguettes. I'm pleased to report that all is therefore well in the fifth republic.
À bientôt.

]]> Salut!
Here, for your viewing pleasure, is the view from the balcony of our apartment in downtown Bourg St Maurice. Flights and transfer went without a hitch. Lifts open next weekend and snow is at least a possibility between now and then. Reports indicate that we are currently a little short. We do however have plenty of beer and baguettes. I'm pleased to report that all is therefore well in the fifth republic.
À bientôt.

]]> A Season in the Alps http://www.soulfibre.com/node/197 2006-11-07T03:47:58+00:00 2006-11-07T03:47:58+00:00 pwr Ever since I visited France in the spring of this year I knew that I would be going there for a season soon enough. Well, over the summer I've done some reorganising of my life and in only a few weeks time I will be heading out to Bourg Saint Maurice (BSM) in the French Alps for a season in the snow. This is pretty exciting as I'm sure you can imagine.
I decided that I would like to be based in Bourg based on my experience of it last year. I've never boarded Les Arcs, but everything I read is good. What appealed to me most is that Bourg is a proper little town and definitely not a manufactured location. As much as I am going there to snowboard, I am also going there to experience France and improve my French.

]]> Ever since I visited France in the spring of this year I knew that I would be going there for a season soon enough. Well, over the summer I've done some reorganising of my life and in only a few weeks time I will be heading out to Bourg Saint Maurice (BSM) in the French Alps for a season in the snow. This is pretty exciting as I'm sure you can imagine.

I decided that I would like to be based in Bourg based on my experience of it last year. I've never boarded Les Arcs, but everything I read is good. What appealed to me most is that Bourg is a proper little town and definitely not a manufactured location. As much as I am going there to snowboard, I am also going there to experience France and improve my French.

After deciding where to go I set about finding somewhere to live. In the process my requirement changed from looking for somewhere for me to finding seasonal accommodation for me and 4 loosely connected others who I knew were hunting. I used web forums and benefited hugely from the advice of locals and past seasonaires.

Some of the places to look, other than Google, are the French Yellow pages - www.pagesjaunes.fr - looking for "Agence Immobiliers". Find the post code of your destination (BSM is 73700) as I found it helped a lot with searches. One tip suggested that the sites may not be as up to date as one might expect - get in touch with the agency and ask. If you are able to make a reconnaissance trip then the small ads in the supermarkets are also a good place to look for accommodation. There is a useful classified ads web site at http://www.paruvendu.fr/ where individuals can post what they have or what they want. Ultimately I was recommended someone to get in touch with who had the perfect accommodation and he and I were able to conclude a deal!

So, in a few weeks I'll be arriving, cracking open a bottle of red wine and surveying what will become home for the next 6 months. I'll keep you posted!

]]> Snowboarding Fitness http://www.soulfibre.com/node/193 2006-11-01T18:19:48+00:00 2006-11-12T12:52:47+00:00 pwr Susan mentioned it recently and with winter well and truly on the way it is probably high time to think about getting fit for the mountains! Fortunately Adam at HighlyObsessed is a few steps ahead and has done a quick roundup. There is also a top 6 exercises article at about.com which looks ok.

]]> Susan mentioned it recently and with winter well and truly on the way it is probably high time to think about getting fit for the mountains! Fortunately Adam at HighlyObsessed is a few steps ahead and has done a quick roundup. There is also a top 6 exercises article at about.com which looks ok.

]]> First runs in Colorado http://www.soulfibre.com/node/192 2006-10-17T03:32:25+01:00 2006-10-17T03:32:25+01:00 pwr Opening Weekend reports:
At exactly 9 a.m. on October 13, 2006, Arapahoe Basin cranked up its Exhibition chair lift and sent skiers and snowboarders off for the first official run of the season in Colorado.

]]> Opening Weekend reports:

At exactly 9 a.m. on October 13, 2006, Arapahoe Basin cranked up its Exhibition chair lift and sent skiers and snowboarders off for the first official run of the season in Colorado.

]]> Google Mountain Bike Team - Google Earthlings http://www.soulfibre.com/node/191 2006-10-10T16:57:39+01:00 2006-10-10T16:57:39+01:00 pwr Google are entering a team in the 24 Hours of Moab world-class race event on October 14th & 15th, 2006. There is a race limit of 450 teams from around the world. Self confessed amateurs, the Google team don't expect to win but they will be demo'ing Google Earth and other google products of interest to the Mountain Bike community. Check out the Google Earthlings team blog.

]]> Google are entering a team in the 24 Hours of Moab world-class race event on October 14th & 15th, 2006. There is a race limit of 450 teams from around the world. Self confessed amateurs, the Google team don't expect to win but they will be demo'ing Google Earth and other google products of interest to the Mountain Bike community. Check out the Google Earthlings team blog.

]]> Ski Instructor Training in Argentina http://www.soulfibre.com/node/190 2006-10-10T16:29:02+01:00 2006-10-10T16:29:49+01:00 pwr Len at Megève Ski has recently completed and passed the Peak Leaders BASI Ski Instructor course in Argentina. He has been blogging about it along the way and has just posted a bit of a roundup and review. If you are at all interested in doing BASI instructor training at some point then this series of posts makes really interesting reading. Really well done dude, sounds an amazing experience.

]]> Len at Megève Ski has recently completed and passed the Peak Leaders BASI Ski Instructor course in Argentina. He has been blogging about it along the way and has just posted a bit of a roundup and review. If you are at all interested in doing BASI instructor training at some point then this series of posts makes really interesting reading. Really well done dude, sounds an amazing experience.

]]> First Snow at Whistler http://www.soulfibre.com/node/173 2006-09-18T02:41:23+01:00 2006-09-18T02:44:52+01:00 pwr Schweeet :D
First Snow at Whistler 4 days ago. This must surely signal the start of a countdown to winter. Pics.
[Via Adam]

]]> Schweeet :D

First Snow at Whistler 4 days ago. This must surely signal the start of a countdown to winter. Pics.

[Via Adam]

]]> Surfing in 2006 Britain http://www.soulfibre.com/node/165 2006-07-17T01:31:42+01:00 2006-07-17T01:38:22+01:00 pwr Surfing in Britain
For all the branding such as the Extreme Academy, there is nothing remotely extreme about a chartered surveyor braving 2ft waves with a bright yellow board. "There was a time in the 70s when you could have gone, 'I'm a surfer' and chicks would have gone, 'No way!' Now it's like chicks go, 'Whatever,'"

]]> Surfing in Britain
For all the branding such as the Extreme Academy, there is nothing remotely extreme about a chartered surveyor braving 2ft waves with a bright yellow board. "There was a time in the 70s when you could have gone, 'I'm a surfer' and chicks would have gone, 'No way!' Now it's like chicks go, 'Whatever,'"

]]> More Snowboarding Links http://www.soulfibre.com/node/148 2006-04-10T03:09:39+01:00 2006-06-27T10:51:24+01:00 pwr Seems like I have tons of interesting links to put in this little round-up:
Travels

 Seems like I have tons of interesting links to put in this little round-up:
Travels

Other

]]> So far, so good... http://www.soulfibre.com/node/142 2006-03-26T18:12:51+01:00 2006-03-26T19:41:13+01:00 pwr Taxi to Train Station, Train to Glasgow, Bus to Airport, Plane to Gatwick, Plane to Grenoble, Bus to Grenoble City Centre, Train to Bourg St. Maurice, Bus to Val d'Isere. Clockwork. Stopped in Bourg St Maurice and hung out with Liam and some of his mates for a bit, was good fun. Sweet little town. Stayed at the Hostellerie du Petit St. Bernard which was a little bit like a monastery, but for 51 Euros including breakfast was definitely fine enough for a place to lay your head. Arrived in Val d'Isere about 3pm yesterday, the coach from Edinburgh arrived about two hours later. Having been travelling for 29 hours or so... The apartment is ok "Le Jardin de la balme", functional. Roommates also are good value. Went out last night. Was interesting. Weird thing about Val D'Isere is that there aren't many (visible anyway) french people here which kind of sucks. Either that or they are smart enough to stay out of the way. Thats probably the truth.

]]> Taxi to Train Station, Train to Glasgow, Bus to Airport, Plane to Gatwick, Plane to Grenoble, Bus to Grenoble City Centre, Train to Bourg St. Maurice, Bus to Val d'Isere. Clockwork. Stopped in Bourg St Maurice and hung out with Liam and some of his mates for a bit, was good fun. Sweet little town. Stayed at the Hostellerie du Petit St. Bernard which was a little bit like a monastery, but for 51 Euros including breakfast was definitely fine enough for a place to lay your head. Arrived in Val d'Isere about 3pm yesterday, the coach from Edinburgh arrived about two hours later. Having been travelling for 29 hours or so... The apartment is ok "Le Jardin de la balme", functional. Roommates also are good value. Went out last night. Was interesting. Weird thing about Val D'Isere is that there aren't many (visible anyway) french people here which kind of sucks. Either that or they are smart enough to stay out of the way. Thats probably the truth.

Anyhoo, forgetting about daylight savings blah blah meant we didn't make it onto the snow until 10 or so. For my first run in a year I did spectacularly badly in picking a 'difficile' moguled piste. Quickly wised up. Thereafter I'm all about taking it easy. All about the stoke and awesome stuff like that... So, yeah, getting my snow legs back. Soreness pervades everywhere. Came off the mountain about 3.30ish and after a shower had a wee saunter around town. Sitting right now in CAFE FATS having paid them 10 euros for all day internet access. Bit of a rip off, but hey. If I can move then I'm having a lesson tomorrow afternoon, maybe iron out some of my myriad flaws...

Anyway peeps, thats all for just now, my pint is almost finished :) Peace.

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