Jackrabbitt

Things arent going quite according to plan…We cant decide whether or not to sacrifice 3 low point slopes for 2 mid point slopes…we just dont know the right answer!

Esher had some really nice chatty people around, I say some, I mean 2, it was a little bit deserted. We really liked it here just because the slope has a 90 degree bend half way down…still dendex and still quite slow but it was just a little different! Nothing really to play on though, not that we have the time anyway, we decided on a total of 3 carrots out of the 5 due to “niceness” (i cant find the right word) of it. It just needs a lot more to do, maybe some bumps and a less vicious poma! Bruises all round and a little bit of flight from napper.

Next was Bowles…A bit out of the way to say the least, but they were nice enough to let us go on even though they were about to close! Fantastic! Really nice activity centre, unfortunatly with lots of kids running around and commenting on our dress sense… The slope guys were awesome and the slope was really well maintained, good quality dendex (never thought Id say that) and the sprinklers did their job! There were also two really nice little lumps in the slope for jumping as the video footage will show once I have it editied! 4 carrots maybe sounds a bit outrageous but it was a mint location and had spot on facilities. (They also turned the sprinklers on just for our run!) So yeh, a 4!

The Knockhatch Slope, although the staff there were really nice and friendly,the slope was somewhat lacking, apparently it is called powderflex?! Basically wet astro turf on a hill…You stand with your board flat, you stick to the slope…which…personally i think defeats the purpose of a ski slope? I started off by shuffling forward onto the main bit of the slope and went flat on my bum, back to the beginner stages of snowboarding! We have decided to give them a single carrot out of five, we were so dissapointed by the sense of not being able to snowboard, but the people were cool and the slope looked nice!

Due to only just having lunch at 7pm a couple of us…ok…mainly me…started to get a bit grumpy but after a quick charizo and primula Tiger baguette, we are topped up and back to full spirits.

As we were leaving Knockhatch slope we were suddely jumped on by the “Are we there yet?” groms! who had been down to the very south east! They will probably have racked the points right up! We need to adjust our plans! A thursday night map reading session…the joys! We have decided to cut our losses and not head to Folkstone slope and just head up back toward our base, this is us submitting that we cannot do the whole 37 THe plan is to hit another minimum of 3 slopes tonight, but optimistically 5 before we head back to the hutch!

Snowflex is a good concept but i think it would require a few more runs to get used to! The staff at Bracknall were really friendly and the slope is well maintained, but the tow snowflex is very worn and could do with some attention. THey had a nice set of freestyle kit, jumps rails etc. 4 out of 5 carrots mainly due to the huge toboggan run and the really good beginner freindly bit!

Aldershot slope looked terrible from behind due to mass scaffolding but everyone including random people at the bottom were really excited to see 4 idiots in bright orange overalls falling down there slopes! The slope was dendex and very worn, with a bit of work this slope would be fantastic! The best bit was seeing all the young uns in skiing and snowboarding lessons…and making fun of us being slow to get strapped into our boards! ONTO ESHER!
www.twitter.com/jackrabbittuk for photos!

Starting at 6:30 am in huntingdon, we set off to milton keynes, xscape, we arrive on time in hurricanes and gales. We register and have a bacon or sausage pannini, cup of tea, then massive rally participants photo. Then one of the Snow Leopards from Ghana started the rally with an airhorn and a quick speech.

Due to the rushed nature of the event…we don’t have any photos yet but now we have settles a little, we will have some soon! Our first stop was Welwyn Garden City slope, which we will give 2 carrots out of five, the staff were lovely but the slope was a tad slow and dry, with dendex underfoot! There were 2 nice little bumps for jumping if there was a little more straightlining done…but our dry slope virgins were a little warey, and fell a few times! BRING IT ON!

Our next stop was Hemel Snow Centre, staff a little on the grumpy side but friendly enough, and the run was a little bit short, however we feel it deserved 4 carrots out of the possible 5 available, due to the loverly real snow! The newness of the place was really nice and the layout etc.

The rush is on and we are feeling the buzz, now on our way to Bracknall Ski and Snowball Centre, a permasnow/snowflex slope…This will be a new one for us! I will get photos on as soon as i can!

ps. we will be doing mini twitteer updates also if you want to follow twitter.com/jackrabbittuk!

ITS ALMOST HERE!

Ladies and Gentlemen!

It is very rare that we get to do the things we love and others get to benefit from it (unless you’re Mother Theresa in which case, you’ve probably done enough already!) but an opportunity exists at the moment to make a real difference in people’s lives through the medium of snowboarding.

In the words of the wise and wonderful Brenton Woo (Automaton snowboards) “Snowboarding saves lives” and it’s true! Thanks to the great people at Snow Camps.

Snow Camps are a charity with the aim of enabling young people who live in the UK and France and would never otherwise have the opportunity to try snowboarding or skiing. It also helps them with lifeskills and identifying the positive things they can do to improve their lives.

http://www.snow-camp.co.uk/snowballrally/about.html

And ‘lo there emerged from the darkness a light, not a particularly bright light as we all know Dan can be a bit dim at the best of times…  but a light nonetheless and it was called Team Jackrabbitt

DUN DUN DUHHHHH

www.justgiving.com/snowballingnapper - Tom Napper

www.justgiving.com/nicola-claypole - Nic Claypole

www.justgiving.com/jackrabbitt - Dan Jesse

www.justgiving.com/Andrew-Gray - Andrew “Gandy” Gray

This Fantastic Four (but with the only superpower of being totally awesome) will be completing the Snowball Rally 2009 in aid of Snow Camps! Crazy? Possibly, enthusiastic? Definitely!

I’ll keep this brief but we all have an awesome time out on the mountains and it is no bad thing that as many people as possible get to try this fantastic, exhilirating, and yes lifechanging sport for this first time. The positive effects that Snow Camps have on peoples lives is too much for words and definitely beyond the scope of this post but, I’m sure you remember the first time you stood on top of a mountain, looked down at the valley and the scenery below, had a small epiphany and thought to yourself “Woah!”

Remember that? If you have any spare change kicking around or if you’re feeling extra awesome you can have a night in and treat someone else to what is truly the experience of a lifetime.

Live free and ride hard

Joycey