Davos Daily Details:

• Timetable - 9:30 to 4:35
• Area(s) - Jakobshorn
  
• Equipment - Palmer
• Weather - Warm
  
• Visibility - In and out
  
• Snow conditions - Freshly cut pipe, good piste
  
• Company - Tom
  
• Fun factor - Stoked
  

I met Tom for a day-long lesson in the Jakobshorn half pipe.  The warm up ride around was in the fog!  However, we were able to get into the pipe and Tom went straight to work on my technique.  Things to correct: entry from the highest point on the coping, jump start with nose down the wall, hip back and centre stance, pump the wall, let the board run flat on the vert, and just let go!

We stayed at it all day, taking just a few breaks for liquids and lunch, all at the Jatz Hut.  The gloom lifted midday and the light improved enough to allow full practice of the new technique.  By the end of the day I was running good.  I was riding into the pipe from the highest point and pressing the nose on to the vert for the first transfer.  I had the hip back and the weight centred, running up the wall to the coping and letting the board run flat on the vert.  Toe side turns tended to be a little smoother but I was reaching the coping on both side consistently with every turn.  In the last four runs of the day I started to get a little pump on the wall.  There was some tail air here and there and I managed a couple of half flights.

The only thing I didn't do was fully let go. I need to sleep on Tom's instructions and to build on these tomorrow, with a view to getting fully out, soon.

We rode down to meet DS at Bulgun and caught the last lift for a run in a slushy Bolgun pipe.  Boards off, beers on.  Thanks Tom for a top day out.

Lazy start, 10:20 on Jakobshorn riding the Allian with tunes.  Solo today - everyone else was too battered!  Bluebird day, more like late March.  Reggee today.

Made my first visit to the snow parc this season.  Conditions were among the best I can remember.  Made good air over the top kicker all day and warmed-up in the half-pipe.  Sessioned the whole hill, riding switch, hitting lips and jibbing 180s of all forms between parc runs.

The pipe was superb.  After a few runs I started to find a little form.  I've certainly ridden better, but several elements of the later runs were encouraging.

Late ride out at 16:15, making it a fairly full-on day.  Lucky 13th.

9:30 start on Jakobshorn for the first time this season.  Bluebird day - just for a change.  Completely cloudless but not warm.  Pistes were slick.

Hooked-up with Patrick, H and Christina.  Spent the early morning ripping around on the Allian.  Then spent a couple of hours instructing H, who made great progress and bought me lunch for my trouble.  As H was taking it slowly, I took the opportunity to jib the hits and ride switch between handing out tips.  I didn't make it to the parc, but still had a decent day of it.  One of the side effects of passing-on tips to another rider is that it makes you reconsider your own style and technique.  So today was a bit of a school day.

After a late lunch, I returned to tearing around until after 4 o-clock.  Another full day of it, albeit slightly less full-on than the previous two.  Treated myself to a new slimline mid-layer ('Burton AK' for kit wonks).

Quiet evening in prospect.

08:00 queue for lift tickets.  First train up the hill.  Clear skys, corduroy under board.  Not a punter in sight.  Welcome to Davos and have a nice day!  It's good to be back.

Quick to test as many old favs as possible.  Nose press on the track round the Jock, 180s on the run to the Haute, boarder-X and kicker, ollies off anything that looks like a lump, light-speed off the Jock in all directions.  All good.  Pretty solid start for first ride of the season.  SurfyMDO's a happy little camper.

Hooked-up with Colin and Doug for a general charge around the Hutte and down to Klosters.

Final charge down to Dorf.  Full eight hours on the hill.  Board off, Seehof beers on.

 

Another bluebird day in Davos.

Dave and I took the big camera to Jakobshorn.  We spent the day shooting in the park, ripping around the mountain looking for untracked spring snow and drinking beers in the sun.  It's tough at the top of the hill!

The spring snow was awesome.  The North aspects had untracked slopes of soft snow, which was a joy to ride - in April!

The park provided some good photo opportunities, particularly with me back on the fun box.  No slams this time.

Several halfpipe runs and a few kickers later are we were just about done.  Charged down to the mid-station and downloaded by cable car.  Left the hill feeling as though we'd given it our best.  Nice way to be leaving Jakobshorn this season.

Boots off, beers on...

Woke to discover significant overnight snowfall and Davos in a thick cloud.

Took Ian to Jakobshorn.  Conditions under board were superb.  Sadly, the visibility was all bust zero.  Spent the morning jibbing 180s off moguls on piste, riding switch and coasting into the freshies between the runs.

Dave joined us at lunch.  Snowed-in for an hour or so in a bar at the top of the hill.  Returned to ride floating on a cloud of beer at 2,500m.

Light lifted, a little.  Shot a few runs through the park.  Pipe was in good condition.  Camera call was enough to encourage me back onto the Fun-Box that was the scene of my undoing last week!  Needless to say, the journey was uneventful.  Disappointed the photo was out of focus, doh!  Still, I'm back on the box.

Quiet night in prospect.  However, may be tempted to try a sun dance!

Good to be back.

Hit by bird poo on the way to the lift.  That's gotta be good luck, right!?

Few runs with Dave and a couple of his clients, both cald Dave!  It's like someone was taking the Mick; phnar, phnar!

Set-up felt good.  Conditions were superb: bluebird and warm. Snow under board was bullet-proof, but very well groomed.

Left the guys to their day.  Took a couple of runs through the boarder-cross.  The whole course has been developed since February.  The banking turns are big.

The sun was so bright my Pink Iridium lenses were struggling to give me enough protection, so I bought a replacement Blue Iridium for the afternoon session.

Spent the late morning in the park at the top of Jakobshorn.  Made a number of good runs.  It felt as though I was picking-up from February without a break.  Very happy with the way things were going.  The jump at the top and the box were both going well.

Lunched at Bolgen Place then returned to the park at the top.  Had a couple of good runs - Jump, box, pipe - then...

...I lost it on the box!  somehow I went head-first over the end.  Drop at then end was a metre or so had hard packed.

AIR-TO-FACE.  SCHEISSE!  Nee-nor, nee-nor...

At least that's what I think happened.  Hit my face (brow, cheek, chin). Must have been quite hard.  Not sure if I blacked-out.  Whatever, I was really disorientated at the next point I remember anything.  Aparently, I called Dave, who was on another mountain at the time, to ask where I was staying!  Soon, a Pisteur - Frederich - arrived and took me off the mountain on a blood-wagon. Davos has a hospital, so the journey at the bottom was short.  My mind was all over the place.  Guess this is how a computer feels when it crashes!? Two and a half hours after crashing; blood-wagon trip off the mountain, ambulance journey, examinations by two doctors, several X-rays and a tetinus jab later, I was good to go.  Face looks a bit rough though and everything is starting to hurt.

Picked-up prescription pain killers on the way back to the appartment.  Quiet night in me thinks.

Stay tuned!

Snowy skies, poor viz but good slope conditions.

Started the day riding the Jakobshorn park.  Main kicker landing was in a bad way and the light was poor, so I diverted my attention to the box and rails.  First real jibbing this trip.  Went well.  50-50 on each rail was solid, mostly!  Nose slide to fakie on the box was better.  The pipe was a challenge with zero viz.  Real properceptive test.  Felt more confident than I expected to but quit the mountin at lunchtime in a total white-out.

Was about to cave-in.  However, despite the weather, I managed to amuse myself for a couple of hours riding switch, hucking an unofficial kicker and taking tree lines in an underused area close to the appartment.  Had a lot of fun.  The main run was almost empty, consistent in gradient and width, and covered in fresh snow.  Conditions were perfect for experimenting with nose presses and pivots.

All together, a really worthwhile day on the mountain.