Race training clinic taking place this weekend at Cheeseman. It will be a pretty casual affair, here's a rough time table-
0900-0930 meet up at the Cheeseman day lodge
0930-1000 Talk about the days plan and have a look at gear.
1030-1230 Work on transitions and techniques.
1230-1330 Lunch
1330-1530 Small tour, practicing what was learnt in am.
1630 Very short relay race. Teams of 2 or 3.
Bring all the stuff you normally would when ski touring. The relay race maybe in the dark, so make sure you remember a head touch!
If you want to stay at Snow Line Lodge DBB call to book- 03 318 8794 ex720
Hopefully we will get out for a ski tour on the Sunday also, but the whole weekend is weather dependent.
Looking forward to seeing here on Saturday.
Wednesday, 30 July 2008
Monday, 28 July 2008
Transtions
Noel and I went up to Temple Basin on Sunday and made these small transition videos.
Skins Off
Skins On
Skins Off
Skins On
This will be the kind of thing we will cover at the Cheeseman race clinic this weekend. I hope we will see you there as every one (esp me!) can learn something new or how to improve on exciting skills.
Here's Noel working on a new, faster stride............
Sunday, 27 July 2008
Speed Up-Post Race
After the Porters/Dynafit Speed Up Race yesterday Jane, Noel and I went for a ski out back of Porters, making the most of the great conditions currently in the Craigieburns.
Jane and I skinning above "Uli's Role"
Jane skiing the top of "Crystal Valley"
Noel and Jane skinning out of Crystal
Jane making turns on the western side of the Craigieburn Range.
All up we did about 1000m of vert.
Looking forward to seeing you all at Cheeseman this weekend for the Ski Mountaineering Race training clinic!
Wednesday, 9 July 2008
Men In Tights.......
I just came across this story on PisteHors.com and wanted to share it with the first race of the 2008 season only weeks away. Enjoy!
"It is a big thing in Europe. Rubbing embrocation on your legs, wearing a skimpy lycra suit and climbing up your local mountain to ski back down on gear so flimsy that you wouldn’t let your kids learn on it. It is the antithesis of freeride and now even snowboarders are getting in on the scene.
The concept. You race over mountain terrain using ski touring gear – either lightweight skis or snowboards and snowshoes. Checkpoints are established at key locations and you might even get a mug of tea and a piece of cake. It is not just brute uphill speed that separates the winners from also rans. In general the uphill is not that technical but you will need to make conversion turns on the fly. Efficiency is the key, competitors can fix and remove climbing skins and ski crampons without removing their skis.
Equipment is super lightweight. Trick Dynafit bindings (weighing just 700 grammes) are heavily modified to save a few more grammes. Dynafit has launched a featherweight Titanium version of their binding this year to respond to this specialized market. Boots and skis weigh in at the 2kg mark whereas a typical touring ski is more like 2.8kg (pair) and boots 3.5kg. Over 1500 meters of climbing you might make 9000 steps, saving the equivalent of lifting 25 tonnes! The flipside is limited downhill performance. Although events are usually staged close to ski resorts for logistical reasons most of the course will be off piste and the flimsy equipment might have to cope with windpack, crust, crud and powder. A 1500 meter course will be covered in less than two hours with climbing speeds in excess of 1000 meters per hour. Something to aspire to on your next tour.
Apart from the obvious competitors will carry the usual avalanche safety gear of beacon, shovel and probe although organizers will do their utmost to ensure the course is safe. Helmets and sometimes crampons are required."
"It is a big thing in Europe. Rubbing embrocation on your legs, wearing a skimpy lycra suit and climbing up your local mountain to ski back down on gear so flimsy that you wouldn’t let your kids learn on it. It is the antithesis of freeride and now even snowboarders are getting in on the scene.
The concept. You race over mountain terrain using ski touring gear – either lightweight skis or snowboards and snowshoes. Checkpoints are established at key locations and you might even get a mug of tea and a piece of cake. It is not just brute uphill speed that separates the winners from also rans. In general the uphill is not that technical but you will need to make conversion turns on the fly. Efficiency is the key, competitors can fix and remove climbing skins and ski crampons without removing their skis.
Equipment is super lightweight. Trick Dynafit bindings (weighing just 700 grammes) are heavily modified to save a few more grammes. Dynafit has launched a featherweight Titanium version of their binding this year to respond to this specialized market. Boots and skis weigh in at the 2kg mark whereas a typical touring ski is more like 2.8kg (pair) and boots 3.5kg. Over 1500 meters of climbing you might make 9000 steps, saving the equivalent of lifting 25 tonnes! The flipside is limited downhill performance. Although events are usually staged close to ski resorts for logistical reasons most of the course will be off piste and the flimsy equipment might have to cope with windpack, crust, crud and powder. A 1500 meter course will be covered in less than two hours with climbing speeds in excess of 1000 meters per hour. Something to aspire to on your next tour.
Apart from the obvious competitors will carry the usual avalanche safety gear of beacon, shovel and probe although organizers will do their utmost to ensure the course is safe. Helmets and sometimes crampons are required."
Tuesday, 8 July 2008
Early Morning Training
Been getting out skinning the last few mornings and evenings at Cheeseman, making the most of the great snow cover and conditions!Check out the valley floor, that's Flock Hill covered in snow.
Thursday, 3 July 2008
Been a while since we've updated the SkiMoNZ blog, so here's the latest-
-SkiMoNZ.com- Our flash new web site is now up and running, check it out- http://www.skimonz.com/
-Ski Mountaineering New Zealand Inc! Yeah, we're just like a real club now and your invited to join. To be honest, we're still working out the details, but if you are keen to join or want to help out fire us a e-mail at nzinfo@skimo.org
-Rainbow Rando Race 9th August. Open male and female divisions, around 700m vertical climbing and series points are up for grabs- rainbowrando.blogspot.com
- Taranaki Rando Race 16th August. Open male and female divisions, around 700m vertical climbing and series points are up for grabs- nakirando.blogspot.com
-Porters/Dynafit Speed Up. Details are online for the first race of the 2008 SkiMoNZ race series. portersspeedup.blogspot.com
-Amazing early season conditions!
-SkiMoNZ.com- Our flash new web site is now up and running, check it out- http://www.skimonz.com/
-Ski Mountaineering New Zealand Inc! Yeah, we're just like a real club now and your invited to join. To be honest, we're still working out the details, but if you are keen to join or want to help out fire us a e-mail at nzinfo@skimo.org
-Rainbow Rando Race 9th August. Open male and female divisions, around 700m vertical climbing and series points are up for grabs- rainbowrando.blogspot.com
- Taranaki Rando Race 16th August. Open male and female divisions, around 700m vertical climbing and series points are up for grabs- nakirando.blogspot.com
-Porters/Dynafit Speed Up. Details are online for the first race of the 2008 SkiMoNZ race series. portersspeedup.blogspot.com
-Amazing early season conditions!
Cheeseman 3rd July, fresh tracks all day!
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