We need lithium!

12/2/2012

Oh well it didn't take me long to eat my words. I do prefer to go hiking up hills to find untouched spots but it's not for everyone. Friends and family are always going to want to go to resorts so if you get the chance to go to places you haven't been before then who am I to say no?

First time in the Alps. Wow what can I say it really is breathtaking. Even the drive there blew my mind. I love the hills of Scotland but this really was amazing. Sabine and I set off with her dad Karl at around 9.30am from Munich and arrived at Steinplatte in Austria at 11.15am, had a quick munch to eat and by 12 we're heading up in the gondala. I have to say I was pretty nervous about my first day out as I thought I was going to be holding everyone up.

Sabine was on her snowboard, Karl on skis and me on the snowskate - how more openminded can we be? After the first couple of runs the nerves wore off and I was away. The snow was quite hard packed on the piste but it was awesome to ride, I couldn't believe how wide the piste was and with trees, which im not used to, so much fun. Steinplatte is a really friendly, family resort and I had no problems with the snowskate. One liftie did stop me but when I showed him my leash everything was cool. The whole day was pretty magical for me and it was hard to take it all in. It was like I was watching it all on t.v and wasn't really there. After a few runs we went to the top of the Mountain the views were undescribable. I had my camera with me but I just wanted to soak it up and didn't take a single picture the whole day. At one point I thought my eyes had gone funny and my eyesight was knackered. I could see glitter moving very slowly in the air. Karl had warned me of the importance of wearing goggles a couple of runs earlier, which I had ignored. Luckily for me Sabine and her Dad could see it too. It was so cold the air was freezing, it was bizzare. Anyway my shades went on after that just incase. As at Cairngorms, like most resorts I've been to, the snowskate was causing loads of interest from people curious to know what it was. One guy came rushing over to ask me about it. We had language problems so I had to fetch Sabine to explain. He was a non believer, but after I blasted down the slope a bit I looked back to see him give me the big thumbs up. Steinplatte is an brilliant resort and has something for everyone and their funpark which you can see from the chairlift is not completely intimidating but still pretty big with rails, kickers and tabletops dotted around the place. After doing about 50km of riding we were all done. I cant wait to get back there to cruz about.When we got back to the car we were dusting snow off our gear and I noticed Sabine's toe strap had snapped off (it must be a sign!). Seriously thinking about a bigger ski for my board,as I went through the powder run and took a wee tumble. I'm sure there are better places to go snowskating in the world but that was by far the best yet for me.(Steve man get your Bloody PASSPORT!!!)

Two guys who forgot to take their gloves(Karl and Myself) lucky Karl had spares (-17°C)

Happy Birthday, merry old Schenker!

Very tempting to ride over the roof. Photo by Karl

Spot the odd one out!

If you're looking for a serious munch after sliding about, check out Cafe Schmid in Waidring for the biggest portions of food I've ever seen. They have slices of cake that can only be compared to the Alps themselves.

Ok thought I would have a bit of a bitch now. I was looking through the new White Lines snowboarding magazine 100^th issue,(which has Angus Malloch inside. Big up the Glenshee Massive; Whitelines: Talentspotting) remember seeing him mucking about on a snowskate when he was an even younger lad than he is now. Anyways back to the bitchin, there is an advert for Santa Cruz inside. A brand which I love ,great Skate label and they build awesome bikes but please don't write „Skate the Snow“ unless you are. I know it's refering to the Rob Roskopp graphic on the board, which was one of the first pro skateboards I ever saw, but then why not put the graphic on the bottom of a Double Decker? Because I know they have it on a flat snowskate. Then get someone to fly off the roof. Skate the snow my arse.

And in the same issue Nick Visconti doing a christ air on a snowboard , yeah that is really awesome but I'm sure he would have been been far better of trying this on a snowskate. If you don't need your bindings anymore, Dude, then get rid. (Nick's Christ Air)

Since being at the ISPO and coming home with enough toilet reading material to last us until next year's one, I've noticed that more and more snowboarders are doing tricks now with one foot out or both and making it all skateboard style like American rider Scott Stevens. In an interview in Pleasure magazine he said his snowboarding style is the opposite of what he calls „triple corks“ or as Sabine calls it „glorified gymnastics“. Scott Stevens is also an avid skateboarder and adopting a skateboard attitude towards his snowboarding helped him to be creative again and having fun with the board. He said his tricks are not the biggest or the most dangerous ones but that's not what it's about for him. It's about putting his individual stamp on snowboarding and having fun with it skateboard-style. If you ask me I would say this Dude should seriously consider asking Santa for a Bi level (double decker) snowskate for xmas.

Beanie's hairy bits:

While at the ISPO I went to the „Women in Boardsports Lunch“. It is an annual business lunch just for girls and women working in the boardsports industry. Everyone was there, the founder and owner of Nikita, Heida Birgisdottir, proskater Steffi Weiss and the whole team of Cooler magazine, I will quit the namedropping here. Anyway, there was a 20min panel discussion among girls from Bonfire, Volcom, Salomon, Nikita and Factory Media. Some of the discussion points considered the difficulties of being a mum and working at the same time, others how to make it in the world of boardsports but what is of interest here for me is the fact that, as Amy Aigner from Bonfire pointed out, more and more girls are stopping snowboarding. Due to various reasons such as snowboarding being a very expensive sport if you have to take your whole family out. Buying the equipment, lift pass and the journey to any ski resort can become pretty expensive and therefore lots of women stop snowboarding all together. If anything they would pay for their kids to enjoy the white stuff instead of themselves going up. Amy said that it has to be stressed that a snowboarding day out is a family affair and can create some of the best family memories. However, let's face it, the money is a real big issue here.

Consider the advantages of a snowskate day out: everyone involved needs a board and a pair of waterproof boots and off you go! Packed lunch in the bag, everyone can hike up the hills in the local park together and a great day out is guaranteed! And if you ever want to go to a resort it is no biggie either (just read Scott's write up on the Steinplatte) if your skills are half-way ok.

Snowskating like skateboarding is a relatively cheap activity. Once you invested in a decent deck you can also do it anywhere! It does not have to be as expensive as snowboarding is. After all, great memories are created by having a great time together.

I am fortunate enough to be able to do both. I just bought a brand new set up by Flow and I love riding my strappy beast. But recently I realized that hiking up the hills with my snowskate in hand and creating fresh lines while riding down has been probably the most fun I had on a board for a very long time. I just want people to see snowskating as a real alternative to snowboarding and more people should give it a go.

STUFF TO CHECK OUT

1.LIB TECH SNOWSKATES Lib Tech Snowskate

2.RALSTON SNOWSKATES/RALSTON CUP ralstonsnowskates; Ralston Cup on Youtube

3.CHAIRLIFT SKEPTICS YOUTUBE Awesome CS Video

4.SHUT UP AND SNOWSKATE YOUTUBE Youtube video

5.MARTY SPECTRUM SPORTS Spectrum Sports

6.BLUE TOMATO Blue Tomato

7.STEINPLATTE Steinplatte homepage

8.JOE BENDER Boosie & Joe

9.SMX SHIZOFANATIC Great SMX Video!

10.GERGIS MAXIMUS PHOTOGRAPHY Snowskate Party Mountain check out his entire youtube channel! Snowskate Video

DOUBLEDECKERS

SNOWSKATING:

Fresh Lines

„ [...] seems like everytime we go out Snowskating together we come back a little happier inside.“ - Scott Ewen

Editorial: Scott's snowskating biography

2002:

I first saw a snowskate around 2002 when working as a lifty at Glenshee Ski Centre Scotland. A young lad about 11 years old - whose name I should remember as I met him again last year - had borrowed it for a shot. I think it was made by Burton. I was immediately interested and dying for a shot myself. I have been skateboarding since the mid 80s and from then its just stuck with me. I love the freedom that skateboarding gives you, the do what you want attitude. During the 80s I was real happy, me my friends just hanging out and skating.

After a couple of runs down on the snowskate I had a feeling for it and loved that my feet were free. I got into snowboarding quite late on and remember my disappointment when I first saw it on T.V. because their feet where strapped to the board . What about kickflips? After thinking for some years that snowboarding was for rich kids and not for me I was taken up the hills by some older friends on the wildest, windiest, snowy day you could imagine. This did not go well and could have put me off for life. But after a couple of years I somehow started working at Glenshee (http://www.ski-glenshee.co.uk). After a couple weeks of working and watching other people board I was told to get myself a board from hire and I hiked half way up a slope. I strapped myself in, just wearing work boots, I straight lined it down with no idea how to turn or stop. After this I was really hooked for some years blasting about the hills and again having fun with friends and after a while getting my brother Steve involved.

2005:

In 2005 I was with friends at Granite Reef a surf/skate shop in Aberdeen (http://www.granitereef.com) when I found my first snowskate made by Morrow (http://www.snowmania.co.nz/xcart/images/P/Morrow%20Snowskate%202.jpg). I think it cost around 30 pounds. Winter came and my cousin John, brother Steve and friend Pete and I went off the slopes. John and Steve on snowboards and Pete and I on the snowskates that we bought from Granite Reef.

Super icy conditions made the snowskates hard to control but we persevered and come lunchtime the snow down the side of the runs was getting softer and the snowskate was starting to feel good, after lunch though nightmare - I started to get a bit over confident and broke my shoulder, end of season for me.

2007:

2007 I met Sabine Schenk from Munich Germany while she was on holiday in Scotland. We had a lot in common skateboarding and snowboarding being two of them. And the following year we and some friends planned a trip up Lochnagar one of the highest hills near my home town of Ballater, Aberdeenshire.

We stayed in a bothie the night before and set of early the next morning, my brother with his snowboard and Pete and I with our snowskates. After a few hours of hiking we reached our destination, which we had named on the way up as the Virgin Panties as we could see a perfect white triangle of untouched snow in the distance. After a long tiring walk we sat down for a bit, there was no wind, the snow was magic, and the sky was blue. We had picked the best imaginable day. Sabine and I walked the rest of the way to the top of Lochnagar to see the views and then on the way back down shared the snowskate to make sweet FRESH LINES down a gully. Sabine bought her first Morrow snowskate soon after that day.

Enough said. Snowskating had taken over for me after that day, and yes I still went snowboarding after that but I was slowly losing interest. I had found what I was looking for: that skatebord feeling that had been missing.

After that trip I did lots of city snowskating in Aberdeen random places graveyards, pavements, through parks, down allyways laughing to myself. Sabine and I had a great day out at a golf course, which ended in a mad blast down a path through some trees. We didn't need to be up mountains to be having fun we were probablly getting more riding done than any of our mates who were living in the country.

Snowskaters. Sabine and I with Pete Pete A.K.A .Barry Chats on our journey to the Virgin Panties Photo by Steve Ewen.

Sabine and I at the top of Lochnagar.

2009/10

In 2009/10 I did my first snowskate season working at Glenshee on the Morrow to the horror of many. Which I can kind of understand. Why go from snowboarding to snowskating? Some smug ski instructor said its like a bicycle with square wheels and others took the piss saying „oh look at your little board!“.

My brother and I went out one day with a friend of ours who I went skateboarding with a few times and they made me take a snowboard. Near the end of the day I had had enough and switched back to the Morrow to our friends disbelief. Sure there are advantages of being strapped in like being able to go off massive kickers and jump onto rails etc but hey. We are not all gymnasts.¹ I think a lot of my friends didn't understand why I was riding a snowskate but its easy, it gives me the same feeling that I got back in the 80s when I started riding my skateboard. I feel free and young and that makes me really happy.

At times though I did think to myself and discuss with my brother that I wished the Morrow was just a little bit longer, trying to turn was tricky and involved a bit of doggy paddle with your arms, which looked quite funny, but I somehow mastered that art.

The last day of snowboarding( bar one) for me with my brother Steve and friend Ed.

2010/11

Sabine and I are both riding Lib Tech snowskates now which are a far cry from the Morrow snowskates that we first bought. They are a lot bigger and much more controlable in all conditions. Getting the Lib Tech really changed everything and my first day out at CAIRNGORMS (http://www.cairngormmountain.org/) was to quote KLUNKERZ (http://www.klunkerz.com/) „hair ball“. But the day was awesome fun although I did feel like my new board was trying to kill me. Coming down the piste next to a boarder, we both fell, I was laughing at him and I fell flat onto my board and took off head first down the hill, which we both found pretty funny. I was getting a lot of interest from people curious to know what the hell I was riding.

Working at GLENSHEE that year was different in the way that with my new kit I was taken a bit more seriously and now I could keep up with most snowboarders and come down all the slopes. I even got a mention on WINTER HIGHLAND:

http://www.winterhighland.info/forum/:

Date Posted: 14.59hrs on Thu 23 Dec 10

I noticed that one of the GS lifties is using a *Bi-deck Snow Skate*. Had not seen one in the flesh before.

Has no bindings, and smaller than a usual snowboard. I didn't get a chance to watch him sliding. Had interesting side cuts which are supposed to help on boilerplate ice..

But he did have a sturdy leash for it, particularly since it has no bindings & would *skate* away from you if you take a wee tumble. - In this case it's a clear advantage.

Date Posted: 15.47hrs on Thu 23 Dec 10

gaz5m

Saw him using it last Sunday HTH at the bottom of Tom Dearg. One of those neck twisting look twice moments as it seemed someone was hurtling towards us on a Skate deck! In fairness, guy had some skills, I'd have killed myself.

2012:

2012 Munich, Germany. The first day that we took the Lib Techs out together, was into the hills of Tegernsee near the Alps which was such a cool day. Cool being an understatment as I think it was -12°C. Two days later back again to the same spot I had thought about taking my scarf that morning and decided against it, wrong decision. -12°C again with a wind, a wee bit nippy on the face, soon got over it though. Seems like everytime we go out snowskating together we come back a little happier inside.

ISPO

Sabine and I went to the ISPO, a massive trade fair for all the biggest names in winter sports and to my disappointment found no snowskates. Well thats not entirely true, I did see a couple of flat snowskates for tricks but that's not really my thing. The correct term for the skates we are riding is BI LEVEL but we like DOUBLE DECKER.

Seems to me that there is not nearly as much interest in Europe as in the U.S. There is quite a big community in Lake Tahoe where they hold the Ralston Cup and hopefully one day I might get the chance to get out there and speak to some like minded people. Oh yeah, email me if you are a snowskater and you are reading this: henryfelixewen@googlemail.com. There is still quite a few questions I need answered about snowskating, trucks and leashes being two of them. I really want to try some Rocker trucks but have no idea how to attach them and I've seen the leash fastened to the board in different ways but I'm a bit reluctant to bore a hole through my board.

Along with that there are so many new skis coming out. I just had a look at the new 2013 Lib and they have a 39in, a 48in, and a 50in ski that is the weirdest shape with yet again the coolest graphics by Quincy Quigg. Wicked. Snowskating is for sure growing. I just wish board sports were as big here as they are in the U.S.

BENEFITS OF BEING STRAPLESS

1.No wet bum sitting in the snow

2.No tired legs or sore calf muscles

3.No wasting time strapping in and out at top or bottom

4.Able to push on flat areas with ease

5.Wear comfortable footwear.

IF I HAD A POUND FOR EVERYTIME I HEARD

1.What is that ?

2.Did you make that yourself?

3.How do you stay on that thing?

4.You're a Nutter.

5.No I dont want a go I`ll kill myself.

STUFF TO CHECK OUT

1.LIB TECH SNOWSKATES: Lib Tech Snowskate

2.RALSTON SNOWSKATES/RALSTON CUP: ralstonsnowskates; Ralston Cup on Youtube

3.CHAIRLIFT SKEPTICS YOUTUBE: Awesome CS Video

4.SHUT UP AND SNOWSKATE YOUTUBE: Youtube video

5.MARTY at SPECTRUM SPORTS: Spectrum Sports

6.BLUE TOMATO: Blue Tomato

Im not trying to say that snowskating is better than snowboarding. I`ve read a few things on the net that have implied that and some that are just trying to piss snowboarders off, which I think is the wrong approach, even though I've seen everyone and their granny out boarding. Literally, I met a 74 year old woman just stared boarding because she was fed up of skiing. Snowskating is just different. It makes riding fun and challenging again and kind of makes you respect the hill a bit more. It makes you think about what your doing and where your going rather then just ripping down the hill without a care. But if you think its going to be boring then think again because when you do get going you're going to have to get your big balls out and when you look up and see your line with your heart still pounding you´ll have something to be proud of.

Why not save yourself some cash, save yourself that long drive to a resort, save the enviroment a bit and most of all save yourself from becoming a sheep. You don't always have to rely on your bindings and the uplifts and lets face it: Who the hell can affort to go out in a helicopter?!

You can't beat grabbing your skate and walking to the park or hiking out to the hills to find sweet spots with beautiful views with that lovely untouched snow waiting for you to carve out fresh lines.

1