Tim Wade's Blog

Snowboarding is now less than 2 1/2 months away, and I can’t fuckin’ wait. New board, bindings and boots are all on the cards for this season (and a pair a gloves with new warm linings in them), as is 3 days lift passes a week if poss. Hopefully the dragon ex-wife will let the kids come across too (I hope she’s not coming).

We are on about getting a helmet camera this year instead of chasing each other down the mountain trying to capture any action on a mobile or shitty handheld digital camera, and hopefully some of the top resorts here are going to be loaded with powder. Judging by the shitty cold and wet weather already at times, I’m hoping my dreams will be realized this winter. I even have the beautiful girlfriend thinking about getting some mountain clothes, although I think it will be hard enough to get her on some skis let alone a snowboard.

She’ll still look beautiful anyway!

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Cervinia has to be one of the greatest places I have been in my life. Sat at the bottom of the Matterhorn mountain that borders Switzerland, and with its own glacier that offers summer snowboarding. A great day we spent there Nick and I, and the last day of the 2007/2008 season too.

Once you get out from amongst the stupid hat wearing skiing posers applying sun screen in the car park all day, this is a wonderful mountain wilderness. Cable cars take you to miles of spread out piste with significant gradients of powder, reservoirs to skirt and rocks to miss.

The ski lifts make it possible to rise and then board down to Zermatt, the rip of Switzerland resort where they would even try and grab your money for taking a snowball. Just watch out for the Swiss customs at the top of the ski lift as you cross over the top, as they are very anti drugs in Switzerland. That is why the have these protected Swiss bank accounts where they deposit all the proceeds from re-selling confiscated hashish from their central European hub. And do it with a certain German authority and accent. One theory anyway!

Being at a higher altitude the ski lifts are also open later in the season than most resorts and there is also great, untouched powder for riding off piste. The following is ‘Lukes video’ on youtube.com. It shows how it attracts some of the world best snowboarding, and has a great soundtrack too. (if you read this Luke, get in touch please):

The resort of Cervinia itself is quite big, yet typically Italian in quietness. There are though like minded boarders to bring a bit of cheer to the surroundings. The guy working at the bar at the lift station, who tried to sell us somebody else’s jumper for 50€ deserves a special mention for his humour.

I will certainly be back in Cervinia!!!

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