AOTEAROA
The Land Of The Long White Cloud
by Isamu Kubo
Mt Hutt is a great mountain for Snowboarding on- and off-slope. The road leading up to the ski-resort is adventurous but once up there you can enjoy greatest views to many peaks of the Southern Alps on the North-Western side and down to the city of Christchurch, the Rakaia River and Rakaia Gorge and to the Pacific Ocean on the South-Eastern side.
by Isamu Kubo
New Zealand is a good place to go for Sport and Nature on the one hand. But what makes a stay in this country unforgettable is the relaxed way to enjoy life. And so it happens that mainly people of common spirits come here to life or just spend some time for their holidays.
A few days ago there was a pretty scary situation when a strong earthquake woke me up in the middle of the night. Fortunately I was ok and the earthquake caused only damages but no casualties. So the trip tis time turned into a kind of adventure. I have visited New Zealand three times during my snowboard-career and I am sure I will come back again already next year. Cheers!
PS: As I am writing these lines another after-shock (5.2) of the earthquake shakes my room 😉
…and another one…
EARTHQUAKE IN NEW ZEALAND
Unusual wake-up-call at 4.35 am – NZL earthquake
Last night at 4.35 am I woke up as my bed, or better the whole room and house were shaking like mad. The earthquake approximately 25 km from Methven had the magnitude 7.4 and was the strongest here in NZL since years. Fortunately there were no casualties but in the city of Christchurch many houses were seriosly damaged. Also here in Methven some houses had to be closed due to security reasons as big cracks appeared on the walls after the quake.
Originally I planned to start riding and filming on Mt Hutt at 7 am in the morning but the strong earthquake caused some rock- and avalanche-slides covering the road so the mountain stayed closed until 11 am. Then I finally got onto the mountain and it was a sweet snowboarding day with lots of great runs – the circumstances kept many people away from the skiing today. Empty slopes – more fun!
In the end I left the mountain in late afternoon with a big smile on my face:
Snowboarding = The Best!
EPIC DAY ON MOUNT HUTT
Snowboarding 9-4
One of the best days since long time yesterday on Mt Hutt / NZL. Snowboarding all day long from 9 am to 4 pm. Great carving with Vic Wild and Koji Sugimoto and his crew of Japanese riders. Molly-san shooting for the snowboard-video "Installer" and Sam-san taking nice shots – they were happy too – to be shown soon!
MISTY DAYS IN NEW ZEALAND
After a few days here in Kiwi-Land I got only a few runs in Cardrona, Mt Dobson and Mt Hutt. The weather has been poor so far but therefore it is a lot of snow here on the mountains. Probably one of the best winters here in Canterbury-Region around Mt Hutt ski-resort since many years. Today’s riding was very adventurous as it was extremely misty and so visibility was too poor to even make one shot of riding. That’s why I decided to take a picture of our bad-weather-programme: Having a cup of tea and playing chess in the Cafe Primo here in Methven. The Cafe Primo is the place to join and enjoy in town. It is a mix of Cafe/Bar serving homemade organic food and an antique-shop which creates a unique relaxing environment playing great music too. Tomorrow however it is going to be great snowboarding day as it is clear and cold tonight with the stars shining brightly. Boards are prepared and waxed – can’t wait to shred!
TANGO ARGENTINO + MEETING MY OLD BUDDY JANNE
EXTREME SAILING EXPERIENCE
See for more pics >
SIGI AT THE IRONMAN AUSTRIA
SAVE THE DATE
I found the first banner announcing the Snowboarding World Championships 2011 in La Molina – the road is open now!
CHEERING KAYAK TEAM AUSTRIA
WildwasserKajak WM und ich als Fan dabei!
MEETING AN OLD FRIEND
Simone has become Freeriding-Champion in his home-resort Cortina d’Ampezzo last winter and we want to do some Freeriding-Projects together in the future.
…more to come, stay tuned…