Two snowboarding sessions in 8 days and I’m loving being back on my board. Things have been tough on the snowboarding front this season, work has been hectic and not only did I not get away to the mountains but I haven’t even managed to ride indoors on a regular basis. Freestyle sessions are normally on a Thursday or Friday night, which makes it hard for me to get to a slope, I’m either battling work or traffic and it’s meant that I’ve only managed to sneak in a couple of Saturday sessions.

We decided to take the opportunity gifted by the bank holiday for #thatwedding last Friday to head up to MK SNO!zone for the Friday night freestyle session. It was fairly quiet (most people seemed to have decided that street parties or the pub were a better idea) but this meant the park stayed in good condition and we got plenty of runs in. It was good to be able to spend the evening sessioning the kicker and I managed to get a few grabbed spins down without picking up too many bruises.

Last night I managed to escape the office a bit early to miss the traffic and headed up again. I really had a brilliant evening, although the kicker felt a bit whippy the rails were spot on. For the first time in ages I actually enjoyed myself and felt like I really progressed. I have a genuine dislike of gas pipes and they seem to be the favourite toy of the UK scene right now, so it was great to ride a park that had a good mix of rails, boxes and pipes. Not only that but it wasn’t all side-on hits for a change. I’ll admit it, I struggle with side-on hits, it’s taken a while to get my head round the technique for them and also to calm my flailing arms so I don’t fall off the moment I get on. Not riding them on a regular basis as well means that each session I go to I’m battling my nerves and it takes a while to get settled back into it. Last night though I managed to pull myself together and not only hit the side-on gas pipe but step it up to hit the side-on bench as well. Best of all though was the gap kink bench! It’s been ages since I had to gap a box, everything always seems to be either side-on evilness or ride on beginner stuff sunk deep into the snow, so it was great to see the park team at MK put out a decent gap on to something that was more than 6 inches out of the snow. I’m not saying I wasn’t scared (I was) but it was good to step it up and push myself on something I knew I could do.

It seems that even though I haven’t been getting much snow-time the work I’ve been doing on the mental side of things has worked. My arms are much more relaxed, and if they do lift as I pop onto things they return to relaxed position much quicker than before and I just feel more positive. I managed not to get myself into a negative thought process loop yesterday and it really made a difference, instead I managed to beat the fear and try stuff that a year ago I would have bottled out on.

I was also really impressed that not only was the slope freshly groomed for the session (meaning no icy patches or skier moguls on the run-ins), the snow was super fast AND the toys held up well. The park team are obviously putting in a lot of effort to get the features built and iced in well and I for one appreciated the fact that everything wasn’t destroyed within half an hour.

All being well I’ll be heading up again this week, not only is there the standard Friday session but Saturday sees the monthly Park Strife session (a bit later in the month than normal because of the bank holidays and some ski racing), and here’s the park plan.

You can also meet the Park Team behind the set-ups at MK SNO!zone in this short video:

Park Team Interview #1 from SNO!zone Milton Keynes on Vimeo.

Here’s a short slideshow of some of the photos Jools took at the weekend

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I really need to blog about the sports psychology books I’ve been reading,  I went on a bit of a mission after the Big Air comp where I got into a negative spiral of self doubt and rode way worse than I should have done.  Long story short though I’ve been feeling a lot more positive and I’m starting to settle into my riding a lot quicker and I’m feeling more confident about hitting gas pipes (probably my most hated park feature) from the side.

Jools got some nice shots of me, and it’s good to see that I’m keeping my arms lower and generally looking more relaxed (although I do still have my “rail-face” which makes me look like I’m not enjoying myself – I am, I just don’t tend to smile when I ride).  I think my favourite of the set is this one, I love the way he’s caught the snow spray and I’m pleased to have some proof that I don’t always have my arms flayling above my head.

and here are the rest

You can also see some of the other shots Jools took that night here.

Here’s the blurb…..

The 2011 Shred Aid Calendar showcases the work of the UK’s finest snowsports photographers, in one place, to help raise money for a great cause.

The calendar forms part of the fundraising effort of a group of Scotsmen taking part in the Mongol Rally 2011. The team aim to raise a minimum of £1200 for the Christina Noble Children’s Foundation, an international chrity operating in Mongolia, looking after orphans and street children in the capital Ulaanbaatar.

Not content with merely raising valuable funds for some of the poorest people in Mongolia, we will also be delivering a fully functioning ambulance full of essential medical supplies, halfway around the globe, where it will be put to great use serving the people of Mongolia.

Go on, do your bit for charity and have 12 lovely snowy pictures to brighten your wall or cubicle….. buy the Shred Aid Calendar for £10