FREESTYLE & FREERIDE CAMPS PROFILE FOR CALUM

LOCAL SLOPE: Midlothian Ski Centre, Hillend, Edinburgh

STARTED SKIING: When I was 9, my parents got me lessons at Hillend.

SKIIED IN? Scotland, France.

TRICK BAG: 5 mute, 7s, switch 360.

AIMING TO LEARN HOW TO: Switch 5’s, 7 mutes.

FAVOURITE PRO RIDERS: Michael Deshenaux - super stylish in the park; Pep Fujas - slow and stylish; Eric Pollard - crazy backcountry stuff.

FAV CARTOON HERO: Bender from Futurama… he’s funny!

WHY SKI WHEN YOU CAN SNOWBOARD?!: Skiing looks so much better in the air, more progression in freestyle skiing too.

ANY FINAL WORDS? Check out: www.toxic-ski/piczo.com.

LINE SKIS HOLIDAY & CAMP, APRIL 2006

REPORT BY CALUM

Firstly I’d just like to say thank you for making last week in Deux Alpes the best holiday I have ever been on! I really appreciate what you and the team did, I think the camp was a big success!

At first I thought that a minibus trip from Edinburgh would be hell but actually I found it OK. I was surprised at how short the journey felt. There were plenty of toilet breaks which was good.

When we got to the Alps I was a bit worried at the lack of snow but when we got to Deux Alpes I was relieved! I thought that the hotel was very nice and all the people in the rooms seemed to get on well. I thought the food was good. The big TV was a bonus too.

On the first morning I expected there to be a lot of waiting around but there wasn’t and we were soon on the snow. It was a good idea to take a tour of the mountain before hitting the Park, to get used skiing on snow etc. The first day was really good, even if I did wear far too many layers!

I think that the meetings every night were a good idea, fun and helpful. It was a chance for everyone to introduce themselves and a time to chat about what we had learned that day etc. The video analysis also was a great help and something that should definitely be included in future camps. It is very helpful to see yourself do the tricks, it shows you where you need to improve. Having people like paddy and Gaute Haaker (“Norwegian Steven”) along was a great inspiration and help. I also thought that the amount of freedom given to us was good, better than expected.

As the next few days of skiing went on I found myself becoming more and more confident. I learned how to do rail and do 270 off with the help of the coaches. I was also surprised to find myself spinning off the big kicker next to the poma which was very surprising. At the beginning of the holiday I would never of dreamed of hitting it! I got a really good adrenaline rush from that which I hadn’t felt from skiing in a long time. (This trip has made me enthusiastic about skiing again, before I was kind of going off skiing.)

I was really impressed with the coaches on this trip, they were all amazing skiers! They were really cool and not like teachers at all, more like mates you hang out with at the slopes. Before I went on the holiday I was a bit sceptical about coaching freestyle skiing, I thought you had to kind of teach yourself everything, I was wrong. Thanks to the coaches I was doing rails, getting height out the pipe and hitting the big kickers! I nearly wet myself jumping off a cliff! I thought that the fact we could choose what we wanted to do was really good and I felt that the coaches were really listening to us.

On the last few days I found myself getting tired and unfocused in the Park. I decided to work on my skiing instead. We went in a small group with Gav and skied some big lines which was really good, I really think my overall skiing improved I was using my edges a lot more instead of sliding around the place!

In the evenings we mostly just wandered around or went to the arcades, that night when some of the guys started hitting urban rail was really cool, next time I’d quite like to do some of that.

When the BUSC opening night was on, I think the group really started to bond and everyone started to speak to one another which was really good. This was probably because most of them had had a few beers but nonetheless it was a good night! I think it was good to try out nest year’s LINE skis I really like those Anthems! It was good to finally try out a pair of LINE skis, they were really good at high speed and carving and in the air; I found the Anthems a bit sticky on the rails probably because they were brand new and had sharp edges. I was impressed with the Chronic skis, they were great in the air!

On the way home the journey seemed even shorter, probably because I slept most of it. (Rick is a great driver!) I learnt more in that week than probably the last 10 months at Hillend, All in all I think this was the best holiday I have ever been on and would certainly like to come back soon, it’s well worth the money!

Calum