Sitting outside your alpine home on a sunny day you will not even need a good pair of binoculars to spot all the ski- and snowboard- enthusiasts swarming all over the mountains around you like ants, treading big zigzag lines into the fields on their way up and carving sexy wide S-turns or rhythmically tight turns on their way back down into the valley. This is back country skiing and snowboarding, a most magical experience with a small group of good friends, the true connection with the mountain and nature and a real addiction for most who have tried it once. This kind of mountain enjoyment is almost exclusively enjoyed by locals in many parts of the Alps as they have one distinct advantage – the leg power and stamina necessary to enjoy such an exhausting experience.

Imagine yourself standing at the summit on a sunny but crisp winter day above a huge, wide and steep field of fresh and un-touched powder. Your friends are throwing themselves down into the field, carving huge turns into the face of the mountain tailed by a 6ft tall powder fountain like a power boat – in short every snowboarders dream. You have worked hard to get up there and at the moment where it is time to reap the reward for all that hard work your legs are too heavy, numbed by lactic acid and exhaustion. Instead of the perfect ride of a lifetime, the way back to the car is going to be hell!

The secret to an enjoyable day in the back country is training and preparation. Even snowboarding every day will not prepare you adequately for a 4h ascent in knee-deep snow and if you are not prepared physically and mentally, you better stick to the slopes. So here is a little round-up of how I have prepared for the hiking during summer when I lived in the mountains, a preparation which still does the trick now when I go back for a week’s holiday. Living in the mountains you tend to spend a lot of time hiking up and down steep and long mountain faces and hilly fields for most of the year so it is no big surprise that come winter, you almost have the strength and stamina necessary to make a 4 hour ascent to the summit of a remote peak and still have enough power left in their legs to actually enjoy the ride back down rather than suffering from butter legs after the second turn. Being able to produce the explosive power needed for a hard and fast ride after an exhausting climb is what you are preparing for.

While living in the alpine village of Berchtesgaden in the German Alps I tried a great number of different training methods to prepare myself for winter. We would spend a lot of time outside in summer mountain biking and hiking, rock climbing, skate boarding, wake boarding and surfing but none of it frequently enough to prepare my legs for winter. Whilst all these sports work the correct muscles, unless you do them at least twice a week and every week they will not have the desired effect on your body.

I noticed during summer that many of the local hard-core skiers (the Olympic team was training in Berchtesgaden that summer) would spend a lot of time on the cross trainer at my local gym. Once I had got used to the slightly odd movement of the elliptical cross trainer I started increasing the resistance rather than the speed I was moving at and instead of a dynamic ‘almost running’ movement I got into a routine of doing 60min at walking speed but the highest resistance level on the machine. The high resistance level means that you really need to use your arms and your entire body as well to keep the momentum of the machine up. Doing this for a full hour is next to impossible at the beginning but once the body gets used to the rhythm, it will keep going for a long time. And that is the secret on the ascent as well, to get your body into a stepping rhythm and to keep going at a comfortable speed. The cross trainer session would be followed by a weight session of jumping squats holding medium sized dumbbells or skipping with a rope.

I now live in the UK and make it into the mountains once a year if I am lucky which makes it even more important to be well prepared to enjoy the few days on board… But the way I prepare for those trips is still all the same. I will start getting on the cross trainer about two months before the trip and start off on a medium resistance for about 20-30 min, 2-3 times a week. By week 5 I will have steadily increased that to 45min and will look at bringing the resistance level up. For the last two weeks before I go I will be on 60min and max resistance every other day. This preparation has never failed me and means that when I am out there, on top of that mountain on the perfect day, I can still keep up with my local friends who are out all winter and get the most out of the day.

Until today I still have not found a gym equipment machine suitable to train the paddling movement in your arms, back and shoulders in preparation for my surfing holiday. So far, the only good training for paddling seems to be paddling which is not a particularly attractive option if you live on the English Channel! I would love to hear about any gym-based exercises or machines for this purpose..

Julian spent most of his life in the alpine region of Berchtesgaden and the surrounding Austrian Alps working as a Snowboard Instructor during winter and training hard on his JTX Strider cross trainer during summer.

The pistes are open, wide, long, and full of ecstatic children. Although it has been a warm couple of weeks, the slopes are well groomed and temperatures have dropped considerably preserving the snow at the highest resort in the Alps. Therefore the snow is still to die for and there are still lots of off piste to be explored.

Temperatures have dropped and the weather forecast is looking promising to preserve the snow until the end of the season. With snow forecast over the next 5 days, hopefully this will amount to 11cm of fresh powder.

With the forthcoming of the end of the season everyone is on top spirits, with expectations to make the most of what Val Thorens has to offer. Amazing après, live bands from 2 p.m. onwards, BBQ’s on the piste and also spectacular freestyle events. So if you think you can hand the snow and the action, ‘GETINVOLVED’.

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Its April and there is still snow everywhere! A result of a fantastic season so far… Temperatures are warming up as we move into spring, yet the snow is showing no signs of going anywhere fast. Snow conditions are still good considering the temperatures and time of year, with fantastic skiing to be had all across the ski area. Anyone visiting the Espace Killy in the near future should try the excellent blue run “Henri” over on the Tignes side of the ski area, a fantastic descent into Val Claret that boasts excellent views of the whole resort of Tignes.

More snow is forecasted, coming in scattered snow showers over the next three days, with the majority falling on Thursday evening.

The La Scara competition hits Val d’Isère, where the top 1000 young skiers from 22 countries across the globe will be competing in downhill races on the “O.K.” slope down to La Daille. Expect to see an amazing standard of skiing with some nail biting races!

Following some extended sunny spells in Les Arcs, this week the pistes are due for a top up of the white stuff with around 19cm predicted over the next few days. This should give those powder-searching skiers and boarders something to celebrate at this late point in the season.

Les Arcs is home to the infamous Flying Kilometre, home of the World Speed-Skiing record set by Simone Origone in 2006. Origone reached a phenomenal speed of 251.4 km/h – faster than terminal velocity.

Within the next week, people visiting Les Arcs will be able to see an attempt on the world record for speed-biking, whereby an adrenaline junkie will take to the speed skiing course on a bicycle. Not for the faint hearted.

Despite spring being upon us there is still some good snow in the Méribel valley. The pistes are so empty at the moment and so you can enjoy at your leisure. Yesterday Blaireau was absolutely deserted and the snow was delightful.

The temperatures will be hovering around 0 degrees over night and early morning meaning that it will be around the freeze-thaw point. This morning’s sunshine will be replaced by some snow clouds and there will be on and off snow showers for Wednesday and Thursday. The temperatures will be dropping slightly to as low as minus 5 at night.

Ski total ski hosting beats the paparazzi any day! While skiing to Val Thorens on Friday with G-rep the ski hosting group spotted Kate, Wills, Harry and Pippa on the slopes at the top of the plan des mains lift.

Méribel vs. Albertville tonight, playing ice hockey at the Olympic park at 8.30pm.

Runs and lifts are wonderfully quiet this week, meaning perfect opportunities for Easter skiing. Many of the runs are still in fantastic condition, particularly Folyeres leading down to La Tania. The trees have preserved the snow keeping this picturesque run in tip-top condition.

Alternating between sunny spells and snow showers, meaning we should enjoy the fantastic sunshine we’ve been enjoying lately but get some fresh snow to keep the pistes in great condition for the last few weeks of the season.

On Monday the 9th, we will see the 10th anniversary of the 3 Valleys Enduro, a chance for skiers of all levels to come together and enjoy the feeling of spring in the 3 Valleys. Whether your objective is to win or just to take part, it’s a great day out.
After the excitement of having royalty in resort last week, this week we have Kate’s hairdresser staying in one of our Chalets!
This weekend sees some exciting Easter activities, with a nighttime egg-hunt on the Saturday evening after an Easter party, and a resort wide egg-hunt on Sunday morning.

Despite the warm weather and lack of snowfall over the past two weeks, Obergurgl still boasts some of the best conditions in Austria. Many of the higher altitude runs in resort are in much the same condition as they were during January and February, but without the bitter cold and high winds to make for a much more pleasant skiing experience! Only the very low runs down into resort are beginning to suffer from heavier, slushy snow much later in the afternoon. Runs of note are:

Blue 24 – With the afternoon sun softening some of the harder patches on this lovely wide run, blue 24 currently has an excellent layer of packed down snow which makes for a pleasant cruising run and some excellent carving opportunities.

Red 25 – Despite some heavy snow later in the afternoon, an early morning run on red 25 is still a must. One of Obergurgl’s best tree runs, in the morning the snow is still light and grippy making for a relaxing and speedy descent for beginners and intermediates alike.

Sunny skies expected to continue throughout Tuesday with light snow and lower temperatures forecast through from Wednesday until Friday.

Today is the night of the Ski School show at the top of the Festkoglbahn in Obergurgl.
Expect fireworks, stunning formation skiing and breathtaking stunts from Obergurgl’s top ski instructors.

Spring skiing conditions are continuing in Selva so early breakfasts are recommended to hit the slopes as early as possible. There are still pockets of fantastic snow to be found such as the north facing area of Alp de Suisi which can be reached on a very picturesque bus ride from Monte Pana. The Belvedere bowl near Canazei and parts of Arabba are also holding on to good skiing possibilities.

A mixture of rain in resort and snow up top predicted over the next 3 days. Wind picking up by this evening. Max Temp 6, Min Temp -1

Local Ice Hockey team HC Gherdina are in the Final play offs in the Pranives stadium. It will be the 6 out of 7th games tonight….tensions are bound to be high!

Rock the Dolomites – winter music festival is fast approaching on 07.07 till 10.04. All gigs are in the Panorama hutte just down from Dantercepies lift. Watch this space for more details on the line up.

The snow down here in resort at the moment is firm in the mornings and a little heavy in the afternoon: perfect for early mornings and early après! The sunshine means we are getting to appreciate the absolutely stunning views that are around every corner here on the Arlberg, my favorites being the view from Valluga (the obvious one) and coming down run 17, because by the time you are at the bottom, you are in the view that you were looking at from the top. Stuben and Rendl are really coming into their own in terms of snow quality, they are less busy so giving you the space to turn, without fear of hitting someone, and generally without the mogul fields which are found on the Nasserien side of the mountain.

Hooray!! We are due more snow tomorrow afternoon, night and also on Thursday morning.

The boys (and some of the girls) in our staff team are spending more and more time in the park. The back flips are getting bigger and the spins even speedier. I just chill out up there, on the beach, taking photos of other people doing these daring things!

The pistes are glorious in the mornings with the snow hard packed but not icy thanks to our wonderful piste bashing team. The snow does soften up but it is great fun to practice different techniques on.

The runs have been nice and quiet recently so we can really make the most of them. In particular the arbis run has been fantastic recently and also the Coupe du Monde in Avoriaz as they are both lovely and wide with good changes in camber and turns with some fun drop offs making them exciting and fun and exhilarating.

It is definitely getting colder and colder with the freezing level approaching 1000 meters again. It is currently snowing up high which is a nice little top up for us and due to continue until Thursday. We are then expecting sun on Friday and then some sun with snow showers on Saturday with bright sunshine on Sunday. We are all very excited about this week’s weather!!

Here in resort I have been told that the Easter Bunny is on his/her way and since I have already had a nice Easter egg from him at Geneva airport I can believe that we will be seeing him sometime soon as after all it is only a 1 and a quarter hr transfer from Geneva!!! Plus the chocolate shops here have some stunning creations already on show! There is also a Jazz festival in Avoriaz and Morzine is lively at the moment with the Bass Camp music festival.