Happenings...

So we did'nt have internet for the last couple of days. Not much has happened during these days, but here is a quick run down.

Nate placed second in the Junior Worlds Halfpipe. [Well done Nate!]


We had two days off to rest up after a long stint on snow. We did'dt do much with these two days off. Just alot of couch time, some pool shooting and a walk down the lake.


Today we went up to Snow Park but unfortunately after three runs we ended up here...


Yep, Charley fell in the pipe and dislocated his shoulder... no fun at all. He is about to head down to the medical center to get an X-Ray, so hopefully the results are good.


This is a photo I took out of the window while Charley was getting checked out by Patrol.


Thats all for now. I will let you know how Charleys X-Rays turn out... fingers crossed.
JW

Junior Worlds: Qualification

We left home at about 7am this morning for the boys to compete in the first heat. To be honest I was in the cafe when they were comepting so I'm not sure how they rode. Nate qualified through to Semi's though, coming 3rd in the first heat.

I headed up to the pipe a bit before 10am for training. The pipe was in incredible shape and there was not one cloud in the sky. I did two training runs before the heat started. I dropped around the middle of my heat and landed my first run [The same run I was doing during the Northen Winter - Cab 7, Front 9, Back 9, Straight Air], it was a bit scrappy though. In my second run I kooked my Frontside 9 and ended up with the wind knocked out of me and a bloody nose. I ended up 7th in my heat... about 22nd overall. I missed out on finals by just .1 of a point, which is kind of upsetting but I'm sure I will get over it.

Scotty James came 5th in the third heat, which put him through to Semi's. It should be a good event to watch tommorow [Even though I'd much rather be in it than spectating] as there is alot of talented kids from all over the world here.

This is what Cadrona was looking like this morning... I can think of alot worse places to be.


It's Jason's 19th birthday today [HAPPY BIRTHDAY JASE!] so I think we are heading out to dinner to celebrate.

JW

Junior Worlds: Training

The last two mornings we have had official practice in the Cadrona halfpipe. It was really good to get back into their pipe after a fair stint at Snow Park. We have been pretty lucky with the weather so far and pipe was/is in awesome condition. I can't wait to ride it again tommorow.

This is how the pipe was looking this morning.
[I stole this photo from Sam... Taken by Benny A]


There are three qualification heats tommorow. I am in the second, Scotty James is in the third and all the other boys [Nate, Jase, Sam and Charlie] are in the first. The top two riders from each heat advance directly into the final on Wednesday. The next four placed riders in each heat advance into a semi-final also to be held on Wednesday. Six riders from the semi go through to make it a twelve man final.

To check out scores during the day: live scoring will be posted here, or if you are tech savvy [Like my Mum who has already downloaded it] there is also an iPhone app available here.

Fingers crossed that all the boys and I do well. I will be sure to keep you posted.
JW

Junior Worlds

Today was the official opening of the 2010 FIS Freestyle/Snowboard Junior World Championships here in Wanaka. This afternoon we atteneded the official proceedings including: a march through the town of Wanaka [which was pretty crazy, the police closed roads and there were people in town cheering on all the competitors]; a traditional Maori welcoming peformed by the local primary school; and the usual speeches from big wigs that make events like this one possible.

We are competing on Tuesday, and possibly on Wednesday [depending on finals qualification] at Cadrona. Until then we will be practicing either at Cardrona or Snow Park.

Here are a couple of photo's from this afternoon.



Sam put up a pretty cool post about today with more photos @ samuelmurphy.com
JW

DJ Knows

This video explains itself pretty well. It features RJMC [RJ the Kiwi] , DJ Dork [Alex Cordingly] and DJ Perplex. There is also a brief cameo of Remi doing his thing, so keep an eye out!



JW.

Boredom and a Barber Kit.

This is what Sam Murphy looked like earlier today.


This is what he looks like now.


Yep, after a few days of contemplation and a few minutes in the chair while I was wielding a pair of scissors, Samboss's lushious locks are gone.


Sam's initial intentions were to shave his whole head to a no. 3, so I didn't hold back at all in terms of going the hack. Upon second consideration he decided to keep a little bit of length. This resulted in a is a less than salon grade hair cut that Samboss is happy to run with. For now anyway.


To hear Samboss's outlook on his new haircut click> here

JW

Where Did Snow Park Go?

So those clouds I took a picture of that were rolling through the valley yesterday... well they decided to stick around and do what clouds do - make it rain/snow. We thought we would try our luck anyway and took a nice little drive up to Snow Park. The closer we got the more likely it seemed that it was going to be a below average day up the hill. This is what Cardrona looked like from the road up to Snow Park.


After surviving the sketchy roads we pulled into the car park only to find that we could'nt see Snow Park. Where did it go? To answer this question we sent Jase and Samboss on a Reconnaissance mission to see if it was still there.



Upon return they concluded that Snow Park was still there, it was just really really hard to see, and it was pretty wet too. Due to this intel, we made the call to turn around and try again tommorow. It sucks today was a write off but I guess we will try to make the most of it by going to the gym and perhaps sipping lattes.

JW

Today Was A Good Day

This morning I woke up feeling rested, I got well caffinated and then headed up the hill. The sun was shining, the pipe was in good shape [in comparison to yesterday] and everywhere I looked/went there was a familar and friendly face smiling.

I took this photo from the top of the Pipe just as the clouds started rolling through the valley [I'm pretty sure I will be posting a bunch of scenic shots while I'm over here. This place is so beautiful. Everyday I see something that is amazing].


It was one of the funnest days shredding I've had in NZ so far. The weather was good and I no longer have a cold. I just worked on some of my more simple tricks today, I'm looking foward to tommorow when I can start working on my run for Junior Worlds [which is on next week in Cardrona]. I'll be sure to let you know how things go.

JW

Another Lay Day

We had another day off snow as the NZ Open was on up at Cardrona and Snowpark got hit pretty bad with rain yesterday so hardly any features were open. I wasn't super happy to be off snow again as I have'nt been snowboarding in way too long due to illness and bad weather. I embraced the day anyway, with a pretty cruisy morning involving several cups of tea and the purchase of a crossword book [The last month at home I got addicted to the daily crossword, but the papers here just dont live up to the caliber of the Herald Sun].

This afternoon, however, we decided to confront cabin fever buy heading the 10km's out of town to 'Have a Shot' to play some putt putt mini golf and so Samboss could let off some rounds in the shooting range.

Samboss after shooting.


Some putt putt happy snaps: Jase gets an honorable mention for the only hole in one [Even though he came last], but I came out Victorious with Sam and Charlie tied for second.




We also hit up the Transport and Toy Museum which was across the road before heading home. Although we didn't make it past the foyer, there was some pretty cool stuff to be seen.




Well thats it for now.
JKW

One Day in Queenstown

We had the day off today so we cruised down to Queenstown with the intention of seeing a movie and so some of the boys could do some shopping. It was snowing like crazy on the drive over so we ended up missing the movie showing.. twice. We just ended up eating lunch and heading home after the boys did thier shopping. We took the long way back to Wanaka to avoid trecherous snowy roads in our sweet MiniBus and in a split second decision (as in the turn in 400 metres sort of decision) we decided to go to the cellar door of a winery to do a tasting. Here are some photos from the day.

The Barrels aging the 2010 Pinot Noir at the Peregrine Winery


The Boys and I wine tasting.


This is one of the buildings at the winery.


This Gondola is in Queenstown, I have no idea where it goes but it is ridiculously steep, so I took a photo.


We saw this sheep farmer at the bottom of Snow Park yesterday. This place really lives up to the cliche, there are sheep everywhere!



JW

New Zealand.

On Monday I flew out of Melbourne Airport bright and early to Queenstown via Auckland. I am spending the next 6 weeks in Wanaka with Nate Johnstone, Jase Maxfield, Sam Murphy, Charlie Steinbacher and our coach Benny A. So far we have done 2 days at Cadrona and one day at Snowpark. Both reorts have pretty awesome parks and pipes, not to mention some pretty amazing veiws from up top.
Here are some photos:

Cadrona Village


Cadrona's Pipe


As always keep posted because this should be a fun trip. You should also check out Nate and Samboss's blog by clicking thier names up there ^^
In the not too distant future I will post some photo's of the Dew Hut Jam from last weekend.

Until then
JKW