Report on conditions on the Vallee Blanche 13th Jan 2012

Report on the Vallee Blanche from Robbie Fenlon, Wilderplaces, IFMGA Mountain Guide

“We skied the Vallee Blanche today jan 13th.

The access arete is well equiped. Although there are some crevasses the route passes easily through the Salle a manger. The exit from the glacier is easy and the the forest track is easily skiable to the carpark in Chamonix.

All in all it is the safest i have seen it in many years. Very skiable for our clients.”

Back in Chamonix

We arrived back in Chamonix last Friday and are now settling in and getting ready for the 2011/2012 winter season. The weather has been cold and sunny and the views stunning as always (going away makes coming back even better as you appreciate more what a great part of the world this is).

The November newsletter from BASS Chamonix and Parallel Dreams was published on Monday and brings you up to date with our plans for the coming season. Click here to read the issue.

One of the nice things about a new season is all the new kit and we now have all our new kit from Salomon including the new BBR skis. Have a look at Shona’s video when she tested them last summer in Saas Fee. We also had our new BASI Trainer uniforms delivered yesterday. The Patagonia kit looks really smart and is really high quality.

So now all we need is some snow although I have heard that conditions in Zermatt are excellent just now. Bring it on..

September is nearly over..

Well as September draws to a close and the winter comes ever closer I can reflect on what has been a very busy and productive month. The highlight of the month was the Ski Club of Ireland Instructor’s refresher course which ran from the 16-18 of Sept. The new snowflex slopes added a great focus to the training and the skiing facilities at Kilternan are now excellent with a mixture of dendix and snowflex slopes, 2 poma lifts and 2 travelator lifts. Check out their new website.

The office has also been very busy with bookings for BASS Megeve, BASS Chamonix and Parallel Dreams Coaching Face 2 Face courses. If you have not yet planned your winter then check out our Parallel Dreams Course Calendar, our Chamonix Off Piste Course Calander and the BASS Megeve website.

This coming Thursday I will be in Dublin for the Irish Association of Snowsports Instructor’s AGM. I will be doing a short presentation on Ireland’s participation at last January’s Interski Congress in St. Anton. The presentation will start with a short compilation video of the congress (and this will be available to public view on YouTube following the AGM).

And October is looking particularly busy as Shona is delivering a BASI/Snowsport Scotland Level 1 Alpine Instructor course in Aberdeen, we have the BASI Trainer’s conference in Hintertux and we will be at the London Ski & Snowboard Show on the Friday and Saturday at Earls Court.

Bring on the winter..

Updated course information from Parallel Dreams Coaching

We have now updated the course calendar for Parallel Dreams Coaching’s Face2Face courses. Click here to view.

We have added a new course to the program; Preparation for Technical & Teaching Exams in Zermatt, Switzerland from the 7-11 of November. For more information about this course click here.

And don’t forget that we have our Personal Performance Courses running in Hintertux, Austria 3-10 of December.

To reserve your places email coaching@paralleldreams.co.uk

And why not get your skiing off to a great start this season by signing up to our Remote Coaching services. We still have a limited time starter pack available – buy 50 credits and get your first year’s annual subscription FREE. For more info click here.

Busy busy busy

Well the last couple of weeks have been all go. We started with staff training for the instructors at Glasgow Ski Centre, Bellahouston and I then had a BASI Level 1 Ski Instructor Course at SNO!zone Scotland, Braehead. We had 2 groups of level 1 delivered by myself and Duncan Adamson from International Snowsport School. We had a great success rate with 18 of the 20 students passing the course. The week finished with a syncro competition which can be viewed here.

Then last weekend we delivered one of our Parallel Dreams Coaching Face 2 Face courses at the SnowCentre Hemel Hempstead. This was a great success with 20 students in four groups delivered by myself, Shona, Andrew and Will.

     Shona’s Team

Will with his team

Following this successful face to face coaching event a number of people signed up to our new remote coaching services which offer continued support through “internet” based services including online video analysis, training diary, drills library etc. To find out more read our recent feature article on PlanetSki.eu.

Next on the schedule is staff training for the instructors from Firpark Ski Centre (the slope I used to manage) which will take place at SNO!zone Scotland, Braehead.

We are also busy preparing for next winter and our early season Parallel Dreams Face to Face Performance course in Hintertux, Austria is available for booking. Find out all the details byfollowing the link PD Flyer PPC Dec 11.

And if you are already ISTD qualified or equivalent then BASS Megeve has great career opportunities.

Until my next update I hope your preparations for next winter continue to go well.

Summer ski testing & UK couses

Last week we were over in Saas-Fee, Switzerland doing some ski testing of the NEW Salomon BBR 7.9 skis. And what a brilliant ski it is. Have a look at our promotional video from footage shot on the day; http://youtu.be/lf0Jv1ViCp0

We also got some excellent photos:

Great stability while carving

A radical shaped ski

A surfboard style tip

We are heading back to the UK on Wednesday in preparation for our UK based courses. Next Sunday it’s Glasgow Ski Centre for staff training, then Braehead for a five day Level 1 Instructor and then on the 2o/21 of August our Parallel Dreams Face to Face courses at the Snow Centre, Hemel Hempstead. We still have a few places left if you want to get your training for next season underway. Check out our course calendar on the Parallel Dreams Coaching web site.

We have been working hard preparing for next season and have a great range of courses & lessons available in both Chamonix and Megeve. Check out;

www.basschamonix.com and www.bassmegeve.com

Looking forward to seeing you on the slopes “indoors” or “outdoors”!!

Waiting for some better weather!

The weather here in Chamonix has been quite cool recently and fairly wet. The river Arve has been high on a couple of occasions with Chamonix town even on flood alert! Read the article on Chamonet. However the weather has had some benefits as Henri (our black Labrador) is loving the cool conditions. And it has meant that there has been plenty of office time to focus on the launch of Parallel Dreams Coaching our exciting NEW combination of Face to Face and Remote Coaching services.

Hoping to go and see Harry Potter this evening – should be a good conclusion to the great series of movies. We have about three weeks left here in Chamonix before we return to the UK for a busy end of summer/autumn of courses. Our Parallel Dreams Courses are all listed on our calendar on the PDC web site. Check it out and come join us at one of the UK Snow Domes or in Hintertux for our early season performance course.

Enjoying the summer and planning our calendar of courses

We got back to Chamonix last Tuesday and have been enjoying some lovely weather and getting back into the mountains with early morning runs and a little climbing.

The summer office

 

Parallel Dreams Coaching is one of our main focuses just now and we are putting the finishing touches to our programme of “Face to Face” courses. Read our ParallelDreamsFace2FaceCourses2011 to see exactly what we have to offer for the rest of this year and view our Course Claendar for specific dates, venues and prices.

If you are coming to Chamonix this summer you should download the Chamonix iphone app and check out the official Chamonix website.

And if you are planning your winter then look no further than Chamonix and make sure you book your ski tuition or course with us at BASS Chamonix.

The week ahead is looking busy with several meeting lined up and a trip to Vacheresse near Chatel.

Back to Chamonix soon after 2 weeks in the UK

It has been a very busy 2 weeks in the UK which started with our Personal Performance Course at the Snow Centre, Hemel Hempstead. You can view photos from the 2 days here. Shona then had a BASI/Snowsport Scotland Level 1 at Bellahouston in Glasgow.

We have just returned from 2 days in the Spey Valley where Shona was working at the BASI office in Grantown-on-Spey. For me it was lots of dog walking which despite the weather was very pleasant and reminded me how beautiful the countryside is in the highlands.

Now our thoughts turn to Chamonix where the summer season will be getting into full swing. If you are in the Chamonix area then keep a check on Chamonet and Chamonix.net for all the latest information.

We also plan to ski in Saas-Fee at some point during July for a photo and video shoot and to try out the new Salomon BBR skis.

Now we just have the drive to the Alps to look forward to!

Busy summer of snowsports

I have just returned from Dublin where I was delivering an IASI Level 1 Assessment and thankfully Aer Lingus decided not to go on strike so I made it home to Chamonix today. Many congratulations to John Ryan, Imogen Ryan, Derek Singleton, Andrew Doyle and Patrick Kinsella who passed their Alpine Level 1 Ski Instructor qualification. The Ski Club of Ireland’s facility at Kilternan is undergoing extensive renovation with new nursery slopes being added with snowflex matting and travelator lifts. This should all be finished in time for the Ski Club’s Instructor refresher weekend in September. Check out the Ski Club’s facebook page for up to date info. on the progress of the development.

We have a couple of days here in Chamonix before we drive back to the UK via Hemel where we will be running one of our Parallel Dreams Coaching personal performance courses. See our PD@HemelSnowcentre2011 for more details including our August dates.

Shona is then at Braehead Indoor Snow Centre delivering a BASI Level 1 while I get to run around the place catching up with people and various jobs including trying to get our flat in Menstrie rented out.

Then it’s back to Chamonix for the summer and some well earned down time although there will still be plenty going on with BASS Chamonix and BASS Megeve bookings and our early winter PD Flyer PPC Dec 11. One of the things we have done this year is put together a “Course Calendar” for all of our off piste courses in Chamonix. This will make it much easier to see what’s on when..

So all in all it’s a busy summer of snowsports.