When I looked out of the windows of my new home in the Chamonix Valley in 1995, I was over awed by the vista of high peaks and glaciers that filled my view. The Bossons Glacier stretched down into the tree line of the valley floor like a huge lizards tongue snaking downwards from the ‘land of Dragon’s above’. The Argentiere Glacier, opposite my window, still connected to the glacial basin above, also reached down to the valley, filling the depths of the deep sheer sided gorge below, the Glacial ice easily accessible a short walk from the ‘Cremerie’ restaurant situated in the woods at the foot ..read more

I often get equipment questions to do with Splitboarding so as the season approaches I’m going to start to answer a few of the main theme’s here through my blog. This week I’m answering a question that I get on Splitboard boot choice. I find this an interesting subject as its one of the bits of kit that I feel (and hope) can and will develop the most in years to come and I’m excited to see how things will progress. This blog will explain how I make my personal choice in choosing a boot that I can use for both general Snowboarding and Splitboarding. If there are anything useful in here that he ..read more

Part 2 of the ART of the ARC… So in part 1 of ‘the ART of the ARC’ I introduced you to my obsession and passion of turning a Snowboard. For me, there’s something satisfying and addictive about the carve, the power through your feet, the resistance and balance over that knife  edge as you cut and change direction in a perfect arc. The Snowboard is the perfect tool for the job in my opinion. I search constantly to get the same feeling in my Surfing and when it happens, it feels amazing, but (maybe, probably, definitely, its my lack of ability or the constantly changing canvas of the wave t ..read more

A quick update as to how things are progressing with the courses as we enter 2022. I’m writing to you as I look out at the sun kissed peaks of Chamonix and it looks beautiful. Just about to head out for a slide with Ruth and the Girls before starting a few days Guiding with what is left of my January courses after Covid travel restrictions once again played havoc with my work calendar. Fortunately it looks like the restrictions are lifting and we should all be able to enjoy the majority of the winter season 2022. Conditions are pretty good. Major snowfalls in December gave the Alps and Pyrene ..read more

As a Mountain Sports professional with 30 years in the high mountains behind me, I have seen changes in the high mountains that I find difficult to comprehend. Irreversible changes to an environment that I took for granted. An environment that reached a sudden and irreversible tipping point, the Alps surpassed the global goal for limiting global heating to 1.5C (reaching an average over 2C) around a decade or more ago. There have been drastic changes in the mer du glace over the past few decades. (ph.World economic forum/powuk) Over the years, I have watched with growing concern, as the extrem ..read more

Meditation I’m relatively new to meditation,  or to what I would class as actual meditation rather than just sitting listening to my thoughts and wondering if I should just go and do something else. Having tried, but not really benefitted from meditation for many years, I recently kind of fell into a regular practice by accident whilst sitting in comfortable contemplation at the end of my personal Yoga practices. This feeling of calm, kindness and of letting go of my thoughts at the end of the practice started to become a bigger part of my daily practice, until at some point, some days, t ..read more

Recently, I had a question asking me for comments about the changes I might be seeing in the high mountains for a future article for ‘Roc and Ice’ magazine. Here’s my reply… Q – As a guide – could you tell me about the changes you’ve been seeing, which routes can’t be skied/snowboarded anymore, are too dangerous, etc, are you worried about this, is it getting too dangerous? A – The higher altitudes in the Alps, and elsewhere  in the world, saw the ‘dreaded 2 degrees of warming’ become the norm many seasons ago. When I started guiding Mont Blanc in the summer 20 years ago I never reached ..read more

The Winter season 21/22 is almost upon us and who can say they’re not getting pretty desperate to get back out there amongst the high peaks and feel the glide under their feet again? Last season was the first winter in 35 seasons, that I’ve not been a full-time Snowboarder! Having moved to the Surf of the West Coast of France a few years ago (after 25 years in Chamonix) it was the first time not to Work, Climb or Ride amonst the high peaks in longer than I can remember. Looking on the bright side, the ‘time off’ gave us all a moment to perhaps reflect and think about our lives and rethink our ..read more

Some of you might have seen the new website for my new project ‘mcnab snowboards’. Some of you might have been out on one of the test weeks in Baquiera last season and tried out one of the demo boards. Some of you might know nothing about it and some of you have come across the project and have been writing in with questions about the boards. If you’re new to the project then go have a look at the new website  www.mcnabsnowboards.com For those that have been wanting more insight into the project read on… So we’ve been getting a lot of interest for the McNab Snowboards project and a lot o ..read more

Where Mind surfing mountains becomes a reality! So you’ve got a deeper understanding of how the turn shape, your body movements and the equipment you ride are linked to line, speed and flow from ‘The Art of the Arc’ parts 1 & 2 and now you’re ready to take it to the natural terrain of the mountain. This is where Freeriding begins and you really explore the potential of your riding. It is about you, your skills, your influences, knowledge and the Art you want to create on the mountains natural canvas. As we’ve already explored, in terms of technique and movements, we all need to stand, mov ..read more