Well, that's it all over for another Winter. Boards covered in storage wax (oh, dammit, got to redo the Rome because of that unexpected bonus day at Mt Hutt) and boots sent back to ThirtyTwo. Yeah, there's one - my boots that have been awesome for 2 seasons now had started to come apart near the toe. Didn't think they'd be keen, but after a couple of months of painfully sloooooow emails going back and forth, they said "just send them up to the distributor in Auckland and we'll replace them". Get in! Got a call from them last week and they're out of Lashed, so have got to send me some 306's instead - seems they're a couple of models higher up the range. Hope to get them this week. Sweet as. 
So what about the season then?
In terms of snowfall it was nothing compared to 2006, but then that was epic! If only I'd got round to riding Ohau and the Canty Clubbies back then...d'oh! There's always 2008...Anyway, so back at the beginning of the season I wrote myself a list of places I wanted to ride - looks like I did fairly well considering the lack of neige:
- Ohau
- Mt Potts
- Remarkables
- Cardrona
- Coronet Peak
- Treble Cone
- Porters
- Temple Basin - didn't even manage to open
- Craigieburn - rope tow fear!
- Broken River - bizarre season. As of Nov 3rd/4th, they're still open!
- Methven Heli (yeh, like I could afford 2 heli trips in a season!?)
- Olympus (only managed to open for a couple of days, BIG avalanche action though - not good)
- Snow Park NZ - stay away from anything made of metal or plastic or BIG jumps
7 out of 13 - gotta be happy with that. Ok, so I only got 21 days' riding compared to 48 last year, but these were pretty much all quality and the pick of the best conditions. It's all been about roadtrips - twice down to Queenstown, once to Ohau and then that wicked day at Mt Potts.
Loving the new board - took a little getting used to, but that Magne-Traction stuff really makes a difference - you don't even need to sharpen your edges - it still grips. Loves the powder, plenty more pop than the poor old Rome, it's all good in the Lib Tech world. Other new kit - gloves are the best I've had - super-warm and having built-in robotic wrists is sorted. Jacket and pants are sweeeeet - clip them together and no snow gets in your ass. Toasty, dry and comfy. Worth getting a Mt Hutt pass? Yeh, defo - riding Ohau for free, discounts almost everywhere else - sorted! Might just stick with mid-week pass next year though as that's only around $275.
Weird Weather
So what's been going on with the weather then? June wasn't too good, with most fields opening later than usual. Got some awesome pow in July, a very dry August, but sweet if you knew where to go. September it all started kicking off again, then in October, when everything closes, it all went mad. During October Broken River had 2.25 metres of snow fall, Coronet Peak has had 110cm since they closed (and only 180cm all season). Broken River was still open this weekend, the 3rd and 4th of November - that's like riding in May in the Northern Hemi. Apparently there's another cold front moving up the country tonight, dropping snow down to 700 metres. Wtf?
That's it then, all done, roll on 2008...and there's something big in the bag for that one! Watch this space...
[p.s. if you're still watching this space, look away now, nothing to see here.]