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DIRTTRIBE MOUNTAIN BIKING SUMMER CAMP 2007 AND TOURPARTY SKIING & SNOWBOARDING SUMMER CAMP 2007
SUMMER CAMP REPORT - LES DEUX ALPES, FRANCE (EUROPE)


["Have the Tourparty Camp for maybe 2 weeks next time!" Skier (France), 12 years, Summer Camp]

REPORTS ON THE DIRTTRIBE & TOURPARTY SUMMER CAMPS 2007

Summer Camp 2007 DirtTribe Resort France, Les Deux Alpes, 071 300 210Our first DirtTribe and Tourparty Summer Camp for Mountain Bikers, Skiers and Snowboarders was a great success this year in Les Deux Alpes, France and we would like to thank everyone who attended from all over Europe (France, Ireland, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom etc) and all the Coaches (Ed, Alexa, Chris, Glen and Will) who worked so hard to ensure everyone had a brilliant time.

Our Mountain Bikers, Skiers and Snowboarders (who were on the Tourparty Summer Camp being run in conjunction with DirtTribe) ranged in age from 9 years to 30-somethings, girls and boys, and all proved to be great fun and good company ...and now you can read all about it and see the photos to find out what you missed!

["I had a totally incredible week! I learnt loads, met cool people, enjoyed the ambience and just thought it was brilliant!" Mountain Biker (Ireland), 18 years, Summer Camp]

Firstly, at the end of all our Camps and holidays we ask everyone for their comments and feedback and assessment of how the holiday has gone, the quality of the coaching, the resort and activities etc. Please click on the link to see the feedback and read the comments from the participants on our Summer Camp 2007: Summer Camp 2007 Feedback & Comments.

Also there are some great photos of the week now available in the Galleries. To see all the photos just click on the links below, then click on the thumbnails for a larger version of each picture:

Summer Camp 2007 DirtTribe Sign France, Les Deux Alpes, 1315 200 267To give you an idea how it went and what everyone got up to during the week we gave holiday work assignments (yes, we set them some homework!) to a few people asking them to write a brief report on “My Summer Camp” describing their experience.

["Great fun, excellent people, loads to do, would highly recommend it." Snowboarder (UK), 22 years, Summer Camp]

Scroll down to read what they had to say about their week below... or click on the links to jump to the articles... and then book yourself a place on the next Camp! See you soon!

To book yourself a place on a brilliant mountain biking, skiing or snowboarding holiday and Camp with DirtTribe and Tourparty, open to people of all ages from anywhere in the world, see the information pages by clicking on the links at the top of this page (or: www.tourparty.com). There are holidays and Camps running in February/Spring, Easter and Summer.

We look forward to seeing you in Laax or Les Deux Alpes soon!

["I can only think good things! The Summer Snowboarding is excellent, the Coaches were the best you could wish for and I'd recommend the Tourparty Camp." Snowboarder (Sweden), 14 years, Summer Camp]

Summer Camp 2007 HalfPipe France, Les Deux Alpes, 266 150 150 Summer Camp 2007 SB Air Grab France, Les Deux Alpes, 169 150 150 Summer Camp 2007 SB Ski Grp France, Les Deux Alpes, 40 150 150

["It is a great experience, you meet loads of friends and you improve a lot in the sport you do." Snowboarder (UK), 13 years, Summer Camp]


MY DIRTTRIBE MOUNTAIN BIKE SUMMER CAMP - BY MOUNTAIN BIKE COACH ED BOLAM

["Go! Now! It was great fun, check it out!" Mountain Biker (Ireland), 18 years, Summer Camp]

Summer Camp 2007 DirtTribe Ed Repair France, Les Deux Alpes, 0832 250 188Once some bike issues had been sorted out and everyone was on full suspension bikes we were riding much faster and becoming more confident.

By mid-week we were going down runs that were far beyond us at the start of the week.

Fortunately we didn't have to get up quite as early as the Tourparty Skiers and Snowboarders!

After a good breakfast we would generally start each day riding trails that were easy and familiar before attempting harder and more challenging tracks later in the morning.

Summer Camp 2007 DirtTribe Park Sign France, Les Deux Alpes, 0842 200 150For the first couple of days we only rode in the morning as the intense riding was tiring even after a few runs but having adjusted to the physical demands of riding so much (how can you resist when you have a whole mountain to play on!) we hit the harder trails and began riding into the afternoon.

Later we would head back down the mountain to join the skiers and boarders in the afternoon activities like beach vollyeball, trampolining, golf, archery, the luge, swimming, ice skating etc. These activities were really good for everyone and as they were all located close to each other in Les Deux Alpes people could go off in groups to activities they wanted to do.

Towards the end of the week we had progressed far enough to ride some of the harder red runs. This inevitably meant a couple of crashes but this did not stop us and we were all eager to keep riding despite the bruises!

Summer Camp 2007 DirtTribe Bike Air France, Les Deux Alpes, 0221 250 165The speed of progression and technique development was clear, by mid-week we were riding sections that were previously proving a challenge.

Michael especially was working hard on his cornering and this was soon noticeable in the switchbacks.

On Thursday when the skiers and boarders joined us in the afternoon Michael was a great help with guiding the group and none were able to challenge him through the courses he was familiar with.

Marcus had also progressed a long way and was alot faster down the trails by the end of the week.

Summer Camp 2007 DirtTribe Park Jump2 France, Les Deux Alpes, 0831 250 188The last day was the best by far. We got up early (a bit of a novelty for Marcus!) and rode from lift opening until lift close only stopping briefly for a packed lunch at the top of a lift.

Having ridden the harder reds all day Michael asked to go down a black and we got down it without a problem which was fantastic.

There were a lot of steep technical sections and although there were some nerves, fear was held in check and the sense of satisfaction at the bottom once we had completed it in one piece was tremendous.

This was really great to see because at the start of the week I was questioning whether we'd be able to go down half the red runs let alone a black with a lot of steep technical sections!

["The Tourparty Camp was excellent, the best thing ever!" Skier (UK/France), 9 years, Summer Camp]

Summer Camp 2007 DirtTribe MtnB Head France, Les Deux Alpes, 1317 300 185All in all, the week was very good. The guys improved immensely and if Marcus could have started on the DH Suspension bike at the start of the week rather than having to change halfway through (his own bike having taken some punishment that couldn't be repaired in the resort) he would have even progressed further. So well done guys!

The best thing about the whole week was how, even with the natural rivalry between us, all the mtn bike riders, skiers and boarders got on really well and were encouraging and helping each other when we all went biking on the Thursday afternoon.

It was an excellent week, everyone had a lot of fun while still progressing in their chosen sport - excatly what DirtTribe Mountain Biking holidays and Camps and Tourparty Camps are all about! See you next time!

By Coach Ed (Edinburgh & Oxford, UK)

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["I had a great time, met some new friends, learned new things etc!" Mountain Biker (Switzerland), 16 years, Summer Camp]

Summer Camp 2007 DirtTribe Park Air France, Les Deux Alpes, 204 500 133

["Make it a longer Camp!" Skier (UK), 31 years, Summer Camp]


MY MOUNTAIN BIKING & SNOWSPORTS SUMMER CAMP - BY COACH CHRIS MCGUIRE AND CAMP DIRECTOR MATTHEW D'ARCY

Summer Camp 2007 All Start France, Les Deux Alpes, 0820 300 225For this DirtTribe & Tourparty Summer Camp there was a minibus from the UK for some Tourparty & DirtTribe staff and skiers/snowboarders and mountain bikers who decided against doing the sensible thing (flying out like everyone else!) but instead met at 2am at a motorway service station somewhere on the M25 near London in order to drive out to Les Deux Alpes, France!

Fortunately, despite a few issues with a temperamental bus reluctant to start (thanks again to Rob’s Dad for a midnight dash from Brighton and to Coach Chris McGuire’s Dad and Gran for bringing him and Rob down from Peterborough), everyone arrived on time… that is, everyone except for Tourparty's Ski Coach Glen Lawley who got trapped on a train from Sheffield because of a river bursting its banks in the Midlands! (He made it in the end, flying out with Ryanair a day later!)

["Excellent - I'll try to bring some friends along next year!" Skier (UK), 25 years, Summer Camp]

Summer Camp 2007 Coaches France, Les Deux Alpes, 0845 300 225After a short delay loading DirtTribe Coach Ed Bolam’s ‘mountain bike in a box’ into the minibus, we got off to a good start with everyone on the bus getting to know each other quickly, especially when playing with a skateboard and hacky sack in the ferry port car park at dawn, and playing cards on the ferry!

With a lot of laughing and joking and a few stops for refuelling, refreshment and red bull (plus the occasional cooling ice cream with the temperature rising the further south we got through France) we made fast progress and Chris even managed to learn a few words of French when dealing with the toll booths on the motorway!

As it turned out we had some fluent French speakers on the bus, with skiers and snowboarders Patrick, Rob and Rob helping us keep out of trouble, especially negotiating the barriers at Lyon airport when we got caught out by the car park charges after stopping en-route to pick up Gabriel (Sweden) and Graham (UK) who had flown out to join us, plus Helen and Emma.

Summer Camp 2007 DirtTribe 3 Mtn France, Les Deux Alpes, 1318 300 226Meanwhile in Les Deux Alpes other participants in the first ever Tourparty & DirtTribe Summer Camp were arriving to be met by Alexa Hohenberg, Tourparty Snowboard Coach. They included mountain bikers Marcus (Ireland) and Michael (Switzerland) and skiers and snowboarders Max (Poland), Michael (UK), Jack (France), Kate (UK/France) and Mark (UK/France).

For those of us used to Les Deux Alpes (L2A) in the Winter it was a strange experience driving into the resort with no snow on the mountain slopes but it was great to see snow on the mountain peaks and to see so many mountain bikers around town and hitting the massive L2A bike slopestyle park.

After a typically warm greeting from Enrica, manageress of La Belle Etoile hotel, Coaches and participants all met up at last for dinner and the chance to get to know each other and plan the first days biking, skiing and snowboarding.

["It was excellent!" Skier (France), 12 years, Summer Camp]

Summer Camp 2007 All France, Les Deux Alpes, 0842_2 500 169

["(I will come on another Tourparty Camp)... it was good fun and my riding has improved." Snowboarder (UK), 22 years, Summer Camp]

Summer 2007 Tourparty Ski TipGrab France, Les Deux Alpes, 125 250 155With so much enthusiasm and everyone so keen to get going we set our alarms early for Sunday morning… at least, the skiers and snowboarders did… the mountain bikers got to sleep-in a bit later as they didn’t have to worry about snow getting slushy by lunchtime!

It was brilliant seeing everyone up so early for breakfast but so awake and keen to hit the slopes and pretty soon everyone on the Tourparty Camp were making the short walk to the Jandri Express up the mountain to the Les Deux Alpes glacier in under 30mins.

Fortunately we were not disappointed. The skiing and snowboarding was really good with everyone ready to follow the tips and support of the Coaches who soon got busy encouraging people to get comfortable being back on their skis and boards again.

Back at the hotel the mountain bikers were stiring and after a hearty breakfast we were getting the bikes out, checking them over, grabbing protective gear and heading out for a warm-up ride on the lower slopes and then our own trip up the Jandri Express.

Summer Camp 2007 DirtTribe Park Jump2 France, Les Deux Alpes, 0831 250 188We were immediately impressed as staff just how keen everyone was to learn from Day 1, and there was no embarrassment about trying new things and sometimes crashing in the process but getting up quickly to go again!

By 1.30pm up on the glacier the snow was becoming too slow and it was time to head down for lunch and some R&R including afternoon activities, which Les 2 Alpes is definitely not short of! The Coaches were happy to try any number of the many activities included in the lift pass, from the Luge, Archery and Golf to “Beach Volleyball”, Swimming, Ice Skating etc.

Other options included downhill mountain biking (all the skiers and snowboarders joined the mountain bikers riders for a brilliant afternoon of biking on the Thursday afternoon), a pool tournament and 10 pin bowling and we managed to do it all over the week as we got stuck into the regular programme of skiing, snowboarding and biking in the morning, a big lunch back in the hotel and then more mountain biking or activities in the afternoon and evening… normally finished off with crepes in town!

Summer Camp 2007 Activities Kate Mark France, Les Deux Alpes, 1332 200 171By the end of the week everyone had progressed massively and even the younger skiers on the Tourparty Camp were not slow to show off their skills hitting big kickers etc.

For example on the ski side it was cool to see 9 year old Mike doing rails and coming off switch, 12 year old Jack almost dialling 270 on to rails and 12 year old Max charging at everything and showing up a lot of the older riders in the park! Not to be shown up by the younger Campers Mark and Kate were throwing it down too by Friday, with Kate doing a huge 3 off one of the bigger kickers in the park!

Summer Camp 2007 Activities Chris Dog France, Les Deux Alpes, 0861 200 150We finished in typical DirtTribe and Tourparty tradition with a prize giving party on the Friday night followed by midnight Crepes!

Having met earlier to talk about who should get a prize the Coaches had decided that everyone deserved recognition for their role in making the Camp such a success, so plenty of t-shirts were given out, many people thanked, and everyone promised to keep in touch via Faceparty and see each other again soon!

We'd love to see you on a future DirtTribe or Tourparty holiday or Camp sharing in the fun, dates have been announced and booking has opened for holidays and Camps through to September 2008 - book now!

By Chris (Spalding, United Kingdom) and Matthew (Brighton, United Kingdom)

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["(Compared to other Camps/holidays this Tourparty holiday was...) totally different, a lot more fun and laid back." Skier (UK), 31 years, Summer Camp]

Summer Camp 2007 Nite Out France, Les Deux Alpes, 1298 500 150

["(I will come on another Tourparty Camp)... because it was so good!!" Snowboarder (Sweden), 14 years, Summer Camp]


MY DIRTTRIBE MOUNTAIN BIKE SUMMER CAMP - BY MOUNTAIN BIKER MARCUS (18 years, Ireland)

["It was absolutely awesome!" Mountain Biker (Switzerland), 16 years, Summer Camp]

Summer Camp 2007 DirtTribe 3 Bikes France, Les Deux Alpes, 0835 300 225DirtTribe was, basically, incredible!

Everything about the week was perfect, from the organisation to Les Deux Alpes to the people on the DirtTribe and Tourparty Camps.

As a Mountain Biker, every morning we would take the Jandri Express ski lift up the mountain and spend the afternoon flying down!

Summer Camp 2007 DirtTribe Ed Marcus France, Les Deux Alpes, 1324 200 258The mountains were beautiful and there were incredible riders everywhere!

The coaching with Coach Ed was excellent and very personal, I really learnt so much!

In the afternoon we either went riding again up the mountain or in the incredible freestyle park or we did activities with Ed and the other Coaches Alexa, Chris, Glen and Will.

We did all kinds of things, from ten-pin bowling to beach volleyball, and generally discussed the day, all positive things.

So despite a few crashes from both the snow folk and the mountain bikers, the week was incredible, the people were incredible and DirtTribe was incredible!

I'd recommend it to anyone!

:)

By Marcus (Dublin, Ireland)

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["It was good and a really really fun Camp." Skier (Poland), 12 years, Summer Camp]

Summer Camp 2007 France, Les Deux Alpes, 0856 500 158

["Offer a two-week option - I couldn't get everything done!" Snowboarder (UK), 18 years, Summer Camp]


MY TOURPARTY SNOWBOARDING & SKIING SUMMER CAMP - BY SNOWBOARD COACH ALEXA HOHENBERG

["It was so good, you should definately do a Camp like Tourparty sometime!" Snowboarder (UK), 13 years, Summer Camp]

Summer Camp 2007 Ski Grp France, Les Deux Alpes, 0859 300 225Day 1 - Saturday

Saturday saw everyone arrive in time for dinner, settle-in, join forces and construct the jokes that would set the tone for the week to come!

Day 2 - Sunday

After a full night’s rest there was great enthusiasm for the first day on snow, and we got up early to a banquet of cereals, fruit and charcutrie. Energy levels peaked in anticipation of the treasures that awaited us on the glacier: the pipes, the park, the occasional pixie… Day 2 promised to be full of surprises!

After a Jandri Express ride up from the resort, trying to spot Marmots on the mountainside, we stretched our muscles into action. Taking the T-bar up the slope we rode to the chill out area or “Cool Zone” as the French call it, to drop our bags.

Summer Camp 2007 Mtn Grp France, Les Deux Alpes, 0851 300 225Jumps were rode, icy patches were ollied, and the box called us for our first session of the week.

Never has a Coach been so proud of her students!

Graham styled it out with a 50-50, Big Rob raced to each obstacle with glee, Patrick made up new tricks contorting his body to bring his board around in weird and wonderful way...

...Gabriel managed several perfect boardslides, and lil’ Rob quickly tired of his comfort zone, proceeding to try everything switch.

Wow, what a first day!

That afternoon everyone wore big smiles reflecting the morning’s achievements as we went en mass for an expedition to the Golf Driving Range.

The ‘Happy Gilmore Challenge’ revealed two young budding sporting stars as Gabriel and Marcus pounded the back pylon with their unassuming golf balls. Even the Italians with their strange golfing outfits and matching gloves were impressed. A new career possibly boys?

Summer 2007 Tourparty Ski Invert France, Les Deux Alpes, 146 250 164 Summer Camp 2007 Tourparty Ski Air France, Les Deux Alpes, 173 250 186

["Make it a longer Camp with time off." Skier (UK), 25 years, Summer Camp]

Summer Camp 2007 Tourparty Friends France, Les Deux Alpes, 198 250 232Day 3 - Monday

Never before have a team of Campers sat at the top of the big half-pipe so full of enthusiasm!

I was a bit apprehensive on their behalf but confident that everyone in the group could drop down the halfpipe’s walls safely.

Having given them some tips they set off one by one, pivoted on the pipe’s side and road confidently to the next wall popping a perfect 180 back round again…”tip and tail…..yeyyyyy…that’s the one….whoooooo hooooo”.

Shouts of applause came from the Spanish Campers nearby, though I think they were more motivated by their jealousy than anything!

Off we went to the wall ride… Rob found his new passion for girl’s snowboards and I filmed the day’s shenanigans.

Summer Camp 2007 Activities On Tramp France, Les Deux Alpes, 238 300 225Having Will Burrows along as a Ski Coach was great but made even better back down the mountain that afternoon when he proceeded to teach everyone the art of getting upside-down on a trampoline.

We had a new recruit ‘Anaud’ join us and we quickly befriended him as he had high hopes of joining our ‘Trampo-competition’!

It was great to see everyone getting some good airtime.

That evening we all got together in our hotel for a video review and analysis, reliving great moments, and a few slams, and sharing tips and techniques for improving our riding the next day.

["I learnt to Downhill Mtn Bike really well within a week." Mountain Biker (Switzerland), 16 years, Summer Camp]

Day 4 - Tuesday

Summer Camp 2007 Activities Grp Table France, Les Deux Alpes, 1331 300 200The wind, oh the wind!!! Being blown across the glacier whilst practising our basic flat-land tricks was an experience not to be forgotten. Skiers Max and Jack almost did a full circle on the chairlift whilst fellow Coach Chris and I battled the wind to release its grip on our snowboards and skis.

After Monday’s session and with the feedback from the previous night’s video analysis still fresh in our minds, everyone was amped to ride bigger, better and faster so we took to jumps with grabs, spins, and tumbles. Upping the ante on the box again, we tried the whoop-de-whoop rail… I cheered as my class of near shred-head experts showed me up!

It was also great to see the skiers sliding to the end of the rail and even coming out switch. Ski Coach Glen Lawley, trapped in the UK when his train was caught in the flooding, arrived just in time to see some very stoked and rather sunburnt campers! His energy raised the bar again.

Summer Camp 2007 Tourparty SB Air France, Les Deux Alpes, 175 250 182 Summer Camp 2007 Tourparty SB Air France, Les Deux Alpes, 135 250 269

["(Compared to other Camps/holidays the Tourparty Camp was...) more relaxed, we were more free to ride how we wanted." Snowboarder (UK), 22 years, Summer Camp]

Day 5 - Wednesday

Summer 2007 Tourparty Ski TipGrab France, Les Deux Alpes, 125 250 155A 7.30am start was no problem with everyone so keen to get on their skis and snowboards.

We rode the pipe with Coach Glen and then went to the little kickers; lil’ Rob was eager to land that Frontside3. By 11am all had subscribed for a weekly freestyle competition run by the locals!

On hearing that it wasn’t on the smaller jumps we had been practicing on, not even the line of three biggens…. but on the really big left-hand kickers, the ones the guys with their clothes waaaaaay too big for them rode…

...I waited for a sign of apprehension from the group but it never came! Not an eye lid was battered, not an eye brow raised. Everyone gave it their all and raced to the starting line.

Summer Camp 2007 Tourparty Prizes Rob France, Les Deux Alpes, 196 200 15014 year old Snowboarder Patrick, a third the size of the jump himself, got applauded by everyone as he kamikaze’d his way to the cheese wedge.

13 year old Skier Max made everyone stare with his laid-back style.

20-somethng Snowboarder Graham showed the comfortable style of a veteran kicker rider.

I still can’t believe I saw 12 year old Skier Jack grab the nose of both of his skis as he went airbourne!

Summer Camp 2007 Tourparty Prizes Gab France, Les Deux Alpes, 194 250 141Everyone took their level up a notch or two and oh-my was I proud of them all.

Prize giving meant we missed lunch back in the hotel as the French took the best part of the afternoon to organise themselves!

It was worth it however, who needs lunch when your team win that many prizes?! Off we went to ‘Le Take Away’.

10-pin Bowling that evening was fantastic. Not because Skier Kate and I managed to thrash the boys at every turn, but because we also found out how painful it was for them to lose to us! Hehehe! Can’t wait for tomorrow…

Summer Camp 2007 Activities Skatepark France, Les Deux Alpes, 227 500 155

["(I will come on another Tourparty Camp)... to meet other people keen for the same stuff!" Skier (UK), 25 years, Summer Camp]

Day 6 - Thursday

Summer Camp 2007 DirtTribe Mtn Bike Grp France, Les Deux Alpes, 1320 200 269It was always going to be hard to match a day as epic as Wednesday.

We rode pipe and videoed the rails. Learning butter tricks on the piste, we pressed our way to glory on the rails.

The style master lil’ Rob did it switch, Gabriel got it perfect though was never satisfied (the sign of a true champion as he would always strive to make it better), Patrick aced it and came off switch, Graham stole the show with the best nose slide we had seen all week, and big Rob bent his knees while making jokes…. surprising how he can multi-task so well!

Summer Camp 2007 DirtTribe MtnB Grp LIft France, Les Deux Alpes, 1310 300 189Whoop whoop mountain biking!

That afternoon we joined the team of strong and experienced bikers on the DirtTribe Mountain Biking Summer Camp (running in conjunction with Tourparty) to tour the trails of L2A.

I’m not sure what was scarier, the pace that everyone descended or Gabriel’s bloody nose at the base of a steep turn! “That was so much fun” he shouted, pointing to the ditch that he had just head-butted! A sigh of relief came from Mountain Biking Coach Ed, Ski Coach Chris and myself.

Mountain Biker Michael then left us in a cloud of dust!

This is one sport that I am definitely going to take up, I have to be able to catch up with Michael by next year!

Ummmmm a Chocolate Crepe a day keeps the doctor away. This amazing day finished with a sugar injection of Nutella from the resort”s finest fast food establishment. DirtTribe rider Marcus was late getting there, from practising his marriage propositions to our waitress back at the hotel!

Summer Camp 2007 Activities Archery France, Les Deux Alpes, 286 150 150 Summer Camp 2007 Activities Bowl France, Les Deux Alpes, 1296 150 150 Summer Camp 2007 Activities Bike Grp France, Les Deux Alpes, 1310 150 150

["It was great fun and you can improve a lot!" Snowboarder (UK), 15 years, Summer Camp]

Summer Camp 2007 Tourparty Group Sno France, Les Deux Alpes, 39 300 225Day 7 - Friday

The last day on the glacier saw all inhibitions left at the hotel door that morning.

3s were spun, perfect 180s from Patrick, the smoothest grabs from Graham, and a ‘Frontslide3 to Face’ from me as I landed badly only to have two remedials from a distant European destination hit the kicker after me and come down on my head!

I proceeded to watch from the sidelines as everyone battled with their speed to make the landing of the kicker.

Big Rob went so fast I think he hit the landing of the kicker below! “No fear”… is what I like to see!

Summer Camp 2007 Activities Volley France, Les Deux Alpes, 1321 250 188We descended and regrouped for a game of beach volleyball in the baking afternoon sun.

This was to be one of my fondest memories of the Camp. The Spanish contingent challenged us to a jewel of skill, timing and teamwork. We lost. Badly.

Look-a-like Rob Schneider joined us and took his position as veteran volleyball extraordinaire shouting “You can do it!”, “Where were youuuuuuu” and ”NOOOOOOO not like that, like theeeeesssssssss”.

I think we cried with laughter. I certainly did. Which was why I couldn’t hit the ball back! Or was it big Rob and his jokes?

We put the Kommunity Camp off their game next door… besides they were far too good and, well, we were far too funny!

Summer Camp 2007 Tourparty 3 Ski France, Les Deux Alpes, 099 250 196Following the beach volleyball it was time for the evening Prize giving… what the heck, we decided everyone should get a prizes so all those on the Camp got to leave with a free t-shirt!

What a way to end a great camp with great people!

Day 8 - Saturday

Saturday was sad but the jokes are still living on the Tourparty Facebook page.

Jagapo we love you!

Rob and Marcus you should be a double act!

To our waitress…. you broke many hearts!

Signing out until next year xx

By Coach Alexa (Les Deux Alpes, France)

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["It was my first time skiing in the Summer, I learned a lot and it was really fun." Skier (Poland), 12 years, Summer Camp]

Summer Camp 2007 HalfPipe France, Les Deux Alpes, 266 250 200 Summer Camp 2007 Ski Table, Les Deux Alpes, 278 250 200

["(Compared to other Camps/holidays the Tourparty Camp had...) more time in the Park, better activities, better food, in-depth Coaching!" Snowboarder (UK), 15 years, Summer Camp]


MY TOURPARTY SNOWBOARDING SUMMER CAMP - BY SNOWBOARDER ROB (18 years old, UK)

Summer Camp 2007 Tourparty SB Table France, Les Deux Alpes, 181 250 323After a long but not unenjoyable bus journey with the true hardcore boarders and staff from the UK to Les Deux Alpes we arrived on Saturday evening at our hotel in the resort. We were introduced to our very excited Snowboarding Coach Alexa Hohenburg and we knew from that moment that our experience was going to be a good one!

On the first day we had a nice early 6.30am start (!) for breakfast and were up on the glacier by about 8am. We spent the morning getting used to the snow (which varied considerably depending on the time of day) and the feeling on the board. We took a few small jumps and Alexa gave us some tips on staying balanced in the air (worked so well) to start the week.

The second day we hit hard and fast - getting up again in the early hours and going straight up. We started sessioning a small box in the park and spent a lot of time on rails which was really useful for our overall confidence on them.

The third day started slightly later than the rest - Glen Lawley (one of the Ski Coaches) had arrived and we decided that the snow conditions very early on were just too icy to be of any great use. We practiced butters on our boards (where you slide on the nose/tail) and this helped with our balance and tweaking. Once we had accomplished that we moved on to applying the theory to rails and we started to look pretty good.

["It was great fun, sign up!" Snowboarder (UK), 15 years, Summer Camp]

Summer Camp 2007 SB Group France, Les Deux Alpes, 0845 300 225Unfortunately halfway through the day one of the straps on my board binding snapped and I couldn’t ride any more.

Alexa lent me her board to practice wall rides which was really good fun but I had to go back down to the town early to get my board fixed.

We had been discussing the prospect of us all entering a local ski and snowboard competition during the week and Wednesday presented the perfect opportunity - it turned out the good people of Les Deux Alpes (L2A) run a great weekly competition for all amateurs interested in competing.

Amazingly the competition was moved onto a kicker much larger than any we had attempted thus far - giving us a ridiculous amount of airtime compared to what we were used to.

Summer Camp 2007 DirtTribe Park France, Les Deux Alpes, 0837 200 267Despite this we still all had a go and we all managed to come in the Top 10, this was no mean feat against the locals, and given some of us were as young as 9 years old!

Two of our group even placed in the Top 5 - incredible! We won a variety of prizes including backpacks, beanies, and fanny packs.

The last two days we spent doing similar things - our aim was to solidify our style overall with some great tips from Alexa. We wanted to ride pipe smoother, hit bigger kickers, and tweak out our rails for some serious steez!

I think we all managed to attain a higher standard of riding than we brought with us to the Tourparty Summer Camp and I know I speak for everyone when I say that the whole week was immensely enjoyable both on and off piste and we couldn’t have achieved what we did without the help of our incredible Coach Alexa.

Thank you for a great week Tourparty, I will definitely be back next year!

By Rob (Brighton, United Kingdom)

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["It was wicked and awesome!" Skier (France), 12 years, Summer Camp]

Summer Camp 2007 Rob Thumb France, Les Deux Alpes, 1325 150 150 Summer Camp 2007 SB Rob Graham France, Les Deux Alpes, 0821 150 150 Summer Camp 2007 Ferry France, Les Deux Alpes, 0845 150 150

["I've never been Summer Snowboarding (before) and never had even close to this good coaching!" Snowboarder (Sweden), 14 years, Summer Camp]


MY TOURPARTY SKIING SUMMER CAMP - BY SKIER JACK (12 years old, France)

I loved it, I thought the mountain was excellent, the activities were brilliant. The skiing was really great. I think Les Deux Alpes is the best snow park I have ever been to. The jumps were challenging but fun, and there were some small ones to start on. I am a good skier but I hadn't done much freestyle. Just a bit. By the end of the week I was a regular expert. Well, nearly! I was really happy because I managed to do rails which I have never done before.

["Have two weeks instead of one... (offer) longer Camps!" Snowboarder (Sweden), 14 years, Summer Camp]

Summer Camp 2007 Activities Luge France, Les Deux Alpes, 096 500 163

["It was great fun and very useful." Skier (UK), 31 years, Summer Camp]

Coaches Chris, Alexa and Glen were the best teachers I have ever met, they always listened to my ideas and comments even when they were absolutely mad! Chris taught me how to do rails, he was really cool. fun to ski and be with, and up for anything.

The best bit of the whole week was hanging out with fun people. The other boys on the Camp were great. We skied every morning and then played all afternoon - trampolining, swimming, bowling, biking etc. It was just a big party with lots of skiing. What could be better?!

I will certainly go back to every Tourparty Camp available - if they let me!

By Jack (Chamonix, France)

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["Make it a longer Camp!" Mountain Biker (Ireland), 18 years, Summer Camp]

Summer Camp 2007 Tourparty Pipe France, Les Deux Alpes, 262 500 150

["(Compared to other holidays the Tourparty holiday had...) lots of people I hadn't met before - more interesting!" Snowboarder (UK), 18 years, Summer Camp]


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