The snow is here, so let's be nice yeah?

So it has dumped it down in Chamonix, officially kicking off the season. Here's a little something to get you on your skis and feeling good about the world rather than destroying it with your sport.

Can skiing ever be completely eco-friendly? Unlikely. But if you’re keen to reduce your carbon footprint while still get your powder fix, here are some ways to do it.

See? Snowboarders can be green. Ripping it in Keystone, Colorado. Photo: Tom Humpage

WHERE TO STAY

ISRA ECO CHALET –  Chamonix Mont Blanc, France www.israecochalet.com

Described as a place of deep healing and relaxation, this beautiful five-star chalet with views on Mont Blanc was conceived using Feng Shui to harness the area’s natural energy. Heating is by solar power and for every group which stays the owners plant a tree in Scotland via the Trees for Life charity. 

CHALET CHATELET – Abondance, Portes du Soleil, France www.chalet-chatelet.com

Built from scratch by Anglo-French couple Suzie and Pascal, Chalet Chatelet takes ‘leave no trace’ seriously. Insulation is provided by lambs wool, cork and hemp packed into the logs which make up the walls, heating is via solar panels and wood-burning stoves. The excellent cooking uses organic and local produce and even the crockery is handmade around the Portes du Soleil area.

LA SOURCE  – Samoens, France www.greenalpinechalet.com

Once a 19^th Century farm, La Source is now a boutique, design-led yoga and adventure lodge which embraces the idea of sustainability and personal development. It could be a modern day hippy commune but is far too hip to succumb entirely – the wood-fired hot tub being a great example of luxury meeting environmental awareness head on.

WHITE POD – Les Cerniers, Switzerland www.whitepod.com

Not so much accommodation as an entire resort located above the gorgeous village of Les Cerniers. The resort comprises of 15 futuristic dome-like pods surrounding a central chalet which houses a restaurant and spa. The pods sit at 1700m and have access to 7km of piste, the whole atmosphere being one of cosy wilderness camping rather than Jagerbombs at 4am.

TIMBERLINE LODGE – Mount Hood, Oregon www.timberlinelodge.com

In June Timberline Lodge became the first ski resort in the world to receive third-party recognition of its eco-credentials through Sustainable Travel International’s Sustainable Tourism Eco-certification Programme (STEP.) Some of the initiatives it was commended for included its work with the Forestry Service, its energy reduction plan and its employee-led ‘Green Team.’

KICKING HORSE RIVER LODGE – Golden, British Columbia, Canada www.khrl.com

Celebrating its fifth birthday this year, and located in the small and uncommercial but powder-heavy resort of Kicking Horse, the KHRL is an absolute find.  Geothermal technology is used to heat the building, reducing C)2 emissions by 77%. The owners revel in the spectacular natural environment which is on their doorstep and encourage guests to do the same – not hard when supping a beer from the gigantic outside deck after a day riding powder up to your knees.

WHERE TO GO

If you want to check out the green credentials of a resort before booking, the Ski Club of Great Britain have an excellent resource on their website www.skiclub.co.uk. They list resorts from Austria to Australia looking at their green programmes, recycling initiatives and traffic reduction ideas. Currently coming out top is the North American resort of Aspen.

WHAT TO DO

If you want to tread lightly once you’re in resort, ditch the downhill skiing with all those chairlifts and opt instead for ski touring or snowshoeing. Dream Guides (www.dream-guides.com) run day and multi-day ski tours in France, Italy and Switzerland where clients use ‘skins’ on their skis to move up cols, accessing areas unattainable on tradition skis. If your skiing isn’t good enough to cope with hours of off piste try snowshoeing with Icicle Mountaineering which runs week-long courses in the Chamonix Valley (www.icicle-mountaineering.ltd.uk). 

GET INVOLVED

Eco Expo (www.eco-expo.org) is a new exhibition/ conference which launched last year in Chamonix, France and is due for its second installment in April 2011. As well as talks by environmental experts and enthusiasts on how to reduce the carbon footprints of both skiers and businesses, the event also hosts organic food and wine tasting, a clothes swap and gig sessions by local musicians.

Gothenburg, Sweden top five

'No wait, I think I have a death metal version of Britney Spears here somewhere,' said Hampus. And there in one sentence is Gothenburg or Goteborg in its Swedish spelling. The home of the melodic death metal scene, an industrial and maritime hub (Volvo and Ericsson have centres near the city) yet also sweet, the locals are hilariously good-looking and the city is becoming a surprising cultural herald. Got a weekend spare? Here's where to go.

1) Cafe Kringlan, Haga Nygatan 13, 413 01 Göteborg
Even when the staff are having a bad day (and they had two when I was there. Not because I was there I hope ... )the food and coffee more than make up for it. Massive cinnamon buns which were delicious and superb latte. Quiet in the early morning but soon packs out with students heading up to the University of Gothenburg which sits at the end of Haga Nygata. Kringlan has a cosy, farmhouse-style interior in shades of floral green with low lighting. You could sit here until you are bored of reading that same page of the intensely intellectual novel over and over and over again.

2) Bitter bar, Linnegatan 59, 402 33 Göteborg
Extremely, unashamedly (maybe because it doesn't realise) cheesy bar. So bad it's awesome. A homage to the ratpack with their pictures everywhere and a fake fire burning on one wall. But the rum choice is huge and superb and it's well worth a visit for that alone.

3) Bar Kino, Linnegatan 21 413 04 Göteborg
Sitting underneath the art house cinema of Hagabion, this bar is a gorgeous modern speakeasy without the illict actions but a lot of the feel. A piano sits in the corner demanding someone to let loose, and low lighting combined with the black and white check floor makes for a groovy, downtempo, funky atmosphere.

4) Bar Italia, Prinsgatan 7
No way is this the best coffee in Gothenburg despite what fans may tell you! But it has a blue vespa stuck to the wall and frankly that swings it into this list for me. The espresso is thick and wonderful and the modish Italian furniture spot on for that Roman feel. Crowded every single time I went in but then standing up and necking strong coffee is what Italy is all about so that even goes in its favour.

5) Soppkaffe, Karl Johansgatan
This place is way out from both Haga and Linne, the two hipster parts of town but for its homely, local, lack of style it is a superb place to chill. Big windows, Gothic mirrors, huge velvet sofas and cute little red-check tableclothed tables just begging to house a first date for two shy 17-year-olds on a budget. Plus it's warm and smells of food which in chilly, windy Goteborg is a plus. Oh and the latte was pretty unique with quite a nutty flavour. Whether that was intentional or not I'd rather not know.

And in terms of places to stay, you could do a lot worse than the boutique Avalon hotel. Although the best part could easily be said to be the walk-in shower, glass bottomed swimming pool which hangs over the edge of the building, or the inclusive, huge breakfast. but no. The best bit is the sound of fairy magic as you walk down the corridor. Think Tinkerbell. Superb.

Oh. And here's that death metal Britney.

www.goteborg.com

Rave on Snow, Saalbach, Austria

You can also read this story here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2010/oct/23/rave-on-snow-festival-music-skiing-austria

It was 4am when I cracked.  David Hasselhoff was walking towards me in his red Baywatch shorts, chatting with a giant rabbit. This was too much. Scrambling backwards through the heaving Karma club I leapt out into the freezing Austrian morning, babbling incoherently about drowning cottontails.
But where to go? For this was Rave on Snow – a 48 hour dance event which had mischievously turned the dainty and cobbled ski resort of Saalbach into an electronic music mecca.  Seventy DJ’s had taken over the town square, a lift station and even the local school – nine venues in total, the intimate and off-beat nature of each one contributing to the feeling of it being an illicit party rather than a commercialized venture.  In every direction German, Austrian and Swiss partygoers were bounding around like gleeful gremlins, racing between venues gripping cans of Red Bull, oblivious to the snow settling gently on their shoulders. By 10am that snow would transform itself into the kind of powder a person gets up early for. Ah the irony.
‘But there’s no time for snowboarding!’ yelled one confused punter, blond in the way only Dutch teenagers can be. ‘We’re here for the music.’

More fool her I thought six hours later as I clipped into my skis and shot off from the top of the Schattberg X-Press on red run five,  my already strained vision struggling to see a route obliterated by cloud. It was early December but Saalbach was enjoying its third year in a row of superb opening season snow. The resort – together with neighbouring base Hinterglemm - is nicknamed the ‘Skicircus’ because the towns sit in a ring of mountains, 200km of pistes offering powder runs, sweeping corduroy, freestyle parks and technical blacks. This particular circus clown could have been on a World Cup descent for all it mattered, lack of sleep and far, far too much caffeine mixing darkly with calf deep powder. The lifty working the absolutely deserted Schattberg Sprinter which takes skiers over to pistes leading into Hinterglemm, benevolently suggested trying one of the 40 mountain restaurants before proceeding any further. This I obediently did, clinging wildly to my skis as the Westgipfelhutte loomed out of the gloom. ‘I demand a radler and schnitzel,’ I heard a booming voice say. Curses, it was mine. Retreating into a corner I polished off the amazingly good food and began to feel more confident of my legs, of my ability to hold my poles in hands that didn’t shake. But then I heard it. A faint but persistent beat was seeping through the clouds.

Photo: Tom Humpage www.numero97.co.uk

DJ Paul Kalkbrenner was beginning his set at 2020 metres, controlling the decks at the top of the Schattberg gondola. It was noon. The game was on again. The scene was like something out of a twisted fairytale. People dressed as tigers and bears were lolloping around, penguins bopped, a giant lizard made its way slowly through the crowd and day-glo beanies graced the heads of impossibly beautiful girls wearing aviators despite the heavy snow falling. Everybody was dancing,  hopping from foot to foot as steaming cups of gluwein spilled left and right in time with the beat. And sweet gods what was this? David Hasselhoff again, dancing on the roof of the lift station, only this time I was able to see that it wasn’t actually the Baywatch star, but a very brave soul wearing swimming shorts - in minus10 degrees.
Some people were tempted by the deep powder on routes 2a and 4a and they were chased down the runs by empty beer bottles. Getting off the returning chairlift was carnage. Bodies piled on bodies, coordination lost in fits of giggles and yelps. When Pascal Feds took over the decks I decided it was time to make my way down, opting to ski (hey, it’s a black run and I’ve not slept – what could possibly go wrong?) only to be greeted after the third corner by the sight of three naked men sliding down the steep slope on their stomachs.
Rave on Snow started 17 years ago when  German Thomas Kleutgen wanted a crazy weekend in the snow with his friends. ‘We wanted  a bit of boarding and partying  -we honestly never thought it would grow to be this big,’ he said. ‘It’s basically the ultimate pre-Christmas party, it kicks off the season.’ You know your office Christmas party? Rave on Snow is better. The event may be big in Germany and Austria but its reputation has yet to spread very far beyond those borders so although it can boast world-class music acts, at its core it remains a fun, giddy and exuberant party among mates.
After even more schnitzel at the gloriously Austrian Kohlmastubbe restaurant where I watched a man try to lift a glass the size of his torso filled with beer (was nothing in this town normal?) I made my way to the Dorfplatz – the outdoor arena which served as ground zero for all things Rave on Snow –  at 9pm in time to catch Andre Galluzi’s set, a bonanza of lights, crazy inflatables and a lot of ice which made dancing a skill indeed.

Photo: Tom Humpage www.numero97.co.uk

The crowd were going nuts, people careening across the frozen dance floor like spilt marbles. This was not a time to hold back I told myself as I leapt into the fray, the heavy beat picking me up and sweeping me into the early hours of the morning via Dan Drastic’s funky tunes in the Taverne  and the superb Johnny D at Saalbach’s converted school (sorry kids.) Just when it dawned on me I was sporting three beanies and none of them were mine, I concluded it was time to take my leave and lurched out into the snow.
At 8am, as I left for the station, the party was still going strong. People were dancing outside the Castello club as Domenico D’Agnelli wrapped up proceedings. One of the rascals was wearing my beanie.

Rave on Snow (raveonsnow.partysan.net) is on 10-11 December this year. Two nights' B&B accommodation plus festival pass costs €149. Seven nights' accommodation, ski pass and festival pass is €435. Booked separately, a two-day pass costs €60; the four-star Hotel Kohlmais (kohlmais.at) has doubles from €90 a night. Train travel from London to Salzburg costs £231 return with Rail Europe (raileurope.co.uk)

Snowboarders on bikes

You'd have thought they'd have the legs for it ...
Cute video with the Oakley girls riding from London to Paris for the Lavender Trust - Jenny Jones rocking the boob tube bike top look.



Would have been nice to see something a bit more like this:

Once upon a time I went to Canada ...

Here's the write up in this month's Singletrack.

Two links missed off the article (that's what happens when you run out of time and leave the info box to be written by the photographer ... ) which definitely need flagging up: Shaums March's riding coaching - madmarchracing.com and Cumberland's awesome MTB guiding company - Island Mountain Rides

I do believe I'm hard enough

It felled Lance Armstrong. Marco Pantani conquered it in 33 minutes. 'But it's a Haute Categorie!' exclaimed my friend Cosima. 'That means it's hard.'
Certainly its reputation via Google was immense. But there's a lot of bluster in cycling. A lot of posturing. A lot of people who think 'I ride bikes' means nothing more than popping to the shops. And ultimately, the Col de Joux Plane was just another hill. I like hills.
I left the car in Morzine and rode up to Les Gets then down and along to Samoens, the 11km sweep from Taninges to the base of the climb, a lesson in how to create a road that rides fast.

The Col, often closed completely in winter, was clearly signposted but was beautifully empty, a smooth curve of tarmac winding through tiny hamlets and fields of cows. Sweat gathered on the tip of my nose before plummeting onto the crossbar, the heat unseasonable for early October. At 8km there was a spiteful increase in the incline. Not for long, but enough for the lungs to break out of their comfort zone. Then up ahead I saw them. A couple - man and woman. Or rather: bait. I have a tendency to keep my pace steady even when the gradient changes, a tactic that when employed on long rides can put you well ahead of other riders. But I'm learning to sprint and these two were enough for a try. At 10km I dropped the hammer. Lungs filled and emptied rapidly. Head down, elbows out trying to give as much space to my chest as possible. My legs began to pound from the hip - you ever get that when you're racing hard? Your thighs become pistons, the power they control fully engaged. Two corners and the couple were still in sight. Four and I'd dropped them.
'Bravo! Vous gagnez!' You win! yelled a descending rider.

The road continues to climb after the Joux Plane - not for long, but just so you know, then it's a screaming descent through wood into Morzine where the Coupe de Coeur bar and it's terrace doused in sunshine offered the perfect end of ride bevvy.
Lance? Where are you?

I know I should really grow up

But I laugh every time I pass this sign.

Who knew learning French could be so exciting?