freestyle josh

OK, so after being badgered into hosting more pictures of my new son Josh, here is one from the weekend. I tried to get him in his helmet for about 30 minutes and all I got was tears, it seems he didn’t like the Donald Duck sticker on it. Anyway back to more normal pursuits in the coming days with a couple of trips to the local glaciers.

Josh Benjamin Brown - 3rd May 2009, Innsbruck, Austria - skier

As a child in maybe 1977 I remember the life changing experience of clipping into plate bindings and pointing skis down the dry slope at Rossendale dry ski slope – I can say without bravado that things have never quite been the same since – the smell of Toko wax still sends me wild with excitement just at it did 30 years ago. A couple of years after my time on Rossendale and down in Gloucester I bought a pair of ski poles so I could practice the racing tuck position in my bedroom. Near death experiences followed with the sub-zero temperatures and rock strewn pistes across the Scottish highlands. Then came Ellmau – February sunshine, skiing through farm yards and exposure to a ski culture that left me mesmerised and has captivated me ever since.

Some 20 years ago all that mattered to me was the next swell and the hope that our Cornish beach party had finished in time to get straight enough to paddle my surf board into glassy dawn waves. Some more years out of the mountains followed in Australia and New Zealand, which were also dominated by water sports, mainly canoeing and diving. Then followed a year in Whistler-Blackcomb and Vancouver – the over-riding emotion from British Columbia, Canada was never again; never can I go so long again without snow underfoot. 9 Innsbruck winters later and I have stayed true to this commitment. Work has absolutely dominated the last couple of years, sadly at times very much at the expense of other quality of life pursuits. And now the biggest, best, most life changing experience of them all – Josh Benjamin Brown, born 3rd May 2009, Innsbruck, Austria. He is healthy, wonderful and he is a skier. Until the time he can say no to its dad, he is a skier, Josh Benjamin Brown was born to ski; I just live in hope that I never hear the word snowboard coming from my new hero:)

Bob intends to offer the skis to his wife but did not confirm whether this was to be in the form of a present or a passed on prize. Maybe Bob can confirm?

…..and the Tirol goodies are heading to the north of England to M. Irving, as they were drawn 3rd.

ineedsnow snow and resort search

Our press release is going out on Tuesday announcing this new development – you can see it first right here:

With growing numbers of skiers / boarders, a changing climate and more independent travellers, the new and unique www.ineedsnow.com snow search allows users to match the best and latest snow conditions to their preferred airport or location.

“Please find us a resort that is snow-sure near Salzburg, we have already booked flights.”

It was from endless enquiries like the above, that the ineedsnow snow & resort search was conceived.

2 steps to snow:
Need snow next week, next month, next year?

Snow next week- resorts with forecast snow
For the ‘Powder Hound’ with a week off work and in need of powder. The search is powered by live weather data to allow a user to find all resorts near an airport that have snow forecast in the following week, sorted in descending order of distance.

Snow next month – good existing snow
Designed for the ‘mid season booker’ who are flying into a regional alpine airport and want resorts with good snow depths. The snow search allows the user to find the resorts with the best snow depth in the region around the airport.

Snow next year – high resorts / high lifts
For the ‘early bird’ booker who wants to book in advance and need either a high resort or high altitude lifts to ensure good snow.

Priorities beyond the ‘white stuff’
Need a family resort, après ski resort, advanced skiing, ski-in, ski-out resort? The ineedsnow search also finds these resorts near regional alpine airports, with resorts listed in descending order of distance from the airport or by user rating.

© ineedsnow.com means we have filmed, photographed and yes have been to all the European destinations that we feature! We have offices in Innsbruck, Austria and the UK and write all our own content, host all our own images and video. But what do we know? No better than visitors who write and rate their own experiences on our site. We offer equal prominence to user ratings and comments. The ratings also go to power aspects of the resort search.

more information – www.ineedsnow.com
more company information – http://www.ineedsnow.com/more/about-us/about-us.html

The ineedsnow snow and resort search is a 2 step process. First select the feature of a ski holiday that you want and then select an arrival point. The search can be used to find either snow or resort criteria. For those looking to book a ski or snowboard holiday some time before departure then select high altitude skiing or high altitude resort and your arrival point. Some weeks before a planned departure then the current snow depth option is probably the best indicator of snow conditions. For those looking for certain resort or skiing requirements then the further search options are designed to cover most requirements.

Note – For feedback submitted after 20:00, I have a bulging folder of nonsense that will never enter the public domain. And advice to those Austrian colleagues / contacts / acquaintances venturing wisdom: drink with more restraint and spend less time admiring farm machinery