Started out early as this was my last chance to ride this trip.

Overnight snow had refreshed the slopes.  Overall conditions were near perfect, although very cold.  Hardly anyone took to the hill.  On my own I cranked-up the tunes and sessioned the Parsenn parc.  The light deteriorated and I stayed well within my riding limits but the time spent was rewarding.  Fresh powder on the piste was a reward.  No effort involved and fresh lines with every run.  A nice was to finish a trip.

Cleared the mountain shortly after midday.  Packed and started to make my way home.  The trip was uneventful in the best of ways.

Huge thanks to Dave.  You're a brick, albeit with considerably more flair on skis than any other brick!

Looking forward to the next trip.  Stay tuned...

Light cloud, fair viz and good slope conditions.

Took to the slopes with Dave, riding in the margins with punters from the Ski School of Great Britain.

Dave set up some excellent off-piste powder runs above Parsennhutte, most of which we reached without hiking.  Creeping round the avalanch barriers to claim first trax reminded me of the days riding the Bois de Lour above Arcs 1950.  Conditions were near perfect and I made some of the most rewarding lines, ever.

Took a couple of runs through the Parsenn parc before heading over to Jakobshorn.  Luck ran out with the light, which faded just as I reached the parc at the top of the mountain.  Jibbed the box before heading to the pipe at village level.  Ran this until the lift shut, although none of the runs were anything like as good as the best ones from last week.  Heigh-ho, still a rewarding day on the mountain.

Board off, pizza on!

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.

Day started warm, with light cloud and fresh powder on piste.

Spent a couple of hours hucking the natural hits on the way to Parsennhutte.  Cut into the fringe here and there to take fresh powder lines.

Hooked-up with Dave round lunchtime, which on a day like today was restricted to a small beer!  Spent the rest of the afternoon riding off-piste lines between the Weissfluhgipfel and Schifer.  Dave's local knowledge meant we missed nothing, most of which was accessible with little more than a scoot from a piste or a short hike.  The light flattened but conditions under board were near perfect.  Rode until last the chair before making our way off the mountain through some heavy powder fields in bad light.  Not the most stylish dismount, but challenging and fun nonetheless.

Low cloud and snow.  Poor visability but relatively warm.  Slopes were very quiet.

Started my day riding the powder on the Parsenn piste margines, which was light, fluffy and untracked.

iPod on random, I sessioned the whoops and toplander jump.  Landed a clean 360 before coming-up short the next time with a 270, toe edge, scorpion air to face!  Knee pads did their job.  Conditions were perfect to cushion a few slams.  Sadly, the weather closed-in bringing viz down to about 10m, which finished-off any chance of further spin practice today.

Crossed town to ride super-pipe, which was in terrific condition.  The walls remained icy, but light snow at village level meant the base was softer, which helped control between trannies.  There were no queues and the sun broke through a couple of times, which lifted the mood.  All the runs felt solid.  Heelside flys most times.  Toe side is less consistent, but smoothing-out nicely.

Board off, pizza on.  Beers later!

The weather broke.  Cloudy, flat light, high winds and snow!

Started the day riding Parsenn but the weather was against and cut the fun by 50%.  Slopes were relatively crowded.  Conditions were sketchy.  Crash factor crept-up all the time.  Spent my time smoothing out BS180s but didn't feel incline to go any further.

Quit Parsenn early afternoon.  Was heading back to the appartment for a late lunch but changed course and went to ride the pipe at the foot of Jakobshorn.  Viz in the vallee was fine.  The lip of the pipe was coloured bright blue, so there were no excuses.  General poor mountain conditions and half term meant the pipe was comparatively busy, but still fun.  Not my best riding at amy point today but, hey, I'm riding!

Another bluebird day in surf heaven.

Started my day on the slops of Parsenn.  The piste was slick and smooth.  Having spent the last couple of days riding pipe it was good to have a blast round the mountain, and Parsenn is better for this than Jakobshorn because most runs follow the fall-line.

Temperature up, Tunes on random, speed up, then I noticed some whoops and jumps.  Top draw.  Spent the morning riding the whoops and pulling backside 180s off the kickers.  There's a perfect top-landing launch sight in the mix.  Stay tuned, I have plans.

Charged down the hill and made my way to Bolgen Place for lunch, at the foot of Jakobshorn.

Rode the Jakobshorn park for a while after lunch, but never really made much happen.  Just at what might have been the tipping point the local crew decided to reshape the pipe (odd really as it looked perfect to me).  Anyway, as I'd tweaked my left shoulder and right ankle I opted for what I think was the sensible option - Game over.

Woke from the best sleep I've had in ages.

Another bluebird day.

Scrambled up Jakobshorn and started the day riding pipe, which I had to myself.  Felt as though I was making an effort but the results were unsatisfactory.  I shaded everything.  Changed tack, turned-up the tunes and took a blast round the Horn.

Goofy riders need iron thighs to ride this mountain (steel calves for normal riders I guess), it's a heelside nightmare.  None of the runs follow the fall line, they all run right to left and were bullet-proof this morning.

Searching for my mojo, I tweaked my set-up.  Moved the rear binding a half inch from heelside to toeside (giving it a centered position), then moved it a half ince towards the middle of the board, thereby closing my stance slightly (the front binding has been centered and a full inch back for some time).  The results were stunning.  The toeside turns came into balance with the heelside, and overall grip seemed to have increased.  Can't say how much of the change was just in my mind, but imaginary or not the results were real.

Returned to the park.  Managed to really boost off the main kicker and felt confident to experement with Method grabs, some of which came off.  Then into the pipe.  The board gripped better on both walls, so I kept at it for a couple of hours, just finding a rythm.

Met Dave for lunch at the bottom of the hill, then returned to ride the pipe, again!  First run was typical post-lunch fatboy sketchy.  However, the next couple of hours built up to a new story.  There were a few riders around but the park remained quiet, so runs were uninterupted from initial kicker to final quarter-pooper.  I slowly put my moves together - and started fly. I got it, at last!  Some runs were better than others.  Some turns were better than others.  The impact shorts, knee guards, back protector and helmet all earnt their keep.  But at 15:50 I made my first clear run getting out of the pipe at every turn.  Stoked!  Not bothered by 'one more'.  I decided to leave it on a high.

Dod, Rodriguez, I wish you were here!  All those pipeless winters!  This is a winter wonderland.

Back to base, board off, beers on!

Another bluebird day.  Warmer, too.

Took the iPod to Jakobshorn.  Went up the mountain this time, for a look around.  Found a park with interesting rails and kickers, and another halfpipe.  This pipe is a little smaller and the walls only just run vert.  It was a pleasure to ride; consistent, smooth trannies and a relatively narrow base.  Nice quarter-pooper at the bottom.  Something for another day. For those of you that know it, think Les Deux Alpes in the summer, take away all the people, drop the temperature by about 8 degrees, add back that the pipe is solid and can be ridden all day, and you're pretty much there.  For those of you who like this sort of thing, it's about as much fun as you can have with your clothes on!  Meanwhile, the fauxmosexual hat has been a winner.  It's a keeper.  Now where are those pink goggles!?

Sun is up, sky is blue, it's beautiful.

Spent the morning rippin' round Parsenn and the area down to Schifer, just me and the iPod.  Conditions were near perfect.  Crowds were thin, uplift was swift, margins remained fluffy.  The kit really worked today.  Big smiles all round.

Met Dave and his clients for a quick lunch stop.

Spent the afternoon in the Jakobshorn halfpipe.  Sunny, therefore visible and softer than yesterday.  Music helped me up my game, too.  I do plan to visit other mountains, but I'm havin' the best fun.  Why bust a good mix!?

A full day.  Topped-out with a couple of cheeky beers and the purchase of a 'dodgy' hat (girls camo viser actually, but I have a small head and it's very cool, honest.  No one will notice!)

Looking forward to more of the same.  Early night me thinks...

Slept later than planned.  More tired than expected.

Collected board.  What a fantastic job they'd done.  Base looks like new.  These guys are good, and only 55 Swissies (circa £25).

Dave kindly got me started by showing me some runs around the Parsennhutte.  Overnight snowfall had been considerable, so everywhere was in superb condition - up to two feet of fresh power just at the side of the piste.  Ran a number of cheeky lines, hampered slightly by high winds and flat light, but hey, I'm riding, so it's all good.  Weather improved a little which made the long black run back to town really worth the effort.

Spent the next couple of hours on my own riding the Jakobshorn super-pipe, which was a real challenge.  The walls were very even, and the base was clear.  The trannies were smooth, but vert was rock hard.  Can't say I felt that confident and I certainly wasn,t flowing, but how lucky to have such a good pipe there already.  Kickers look interesting - something for tomorrow.

Returned to base. Fell asleep.  Still really tired.  Off to buy food.  Will try and tempt Dave with a beer, later.

Left at 04:30, urh!

All points went well: walk, train, plane, train, train, train, car - oooh, thanks for picking me up at the station.  Top man Dave!

Abundance of snow.  Palmer already in shop, third base grind coming on.

Appartment is fantastic.  Dave already demonstrating fab hosting skills.

Very hungry.  May need a brewski to take the edge off.

It's snowing...

Thanks for setting this up, Dude!

Last munite packing left.  Got most of the things I need, I think?  Hoping to limbo under the flight baggage weight limit.  Don't want a repeat of a trip to Val Thorens: discovered I was 4kgs over at check-in.  Had to open the bag and find things to tie round my waste.  Not funny!  Looks like the snosk8 will be a casulty.

Spoken to Dave.  Apparently, it's snowing in Davos as I type.  Good timing?!

Stay tuned.