The Mountain Echo

What with it being St. Patrick’s Day this Wednesday there was only one name on our list for this Kit Review. If you’re one of the few to know his real name then congratulations on knowing before we published it as to most people in resort he is simply known as Irish! His career advisor told him to either go to uni or end up robbing post offices, tarmacing driveways or selling gates so he came to France to pick up empty glasses in Saloon instead.

Skier or Boarder?
Well I started out as a bobsleigher on the Irish bobsleigh team in a bob that was carved out of a giant potato. I didn’t get very far with that so I’ve now switched to being a boarder. Sadly I’m not on the Irish boarding team.

Board
I bought my first board in Aldi before I came out here and I had it for about two months and then one day after a good session at Folie I kicked it away from me and lost it in the trees in La Daille. I got a rental from Precision and then two days later while I was skiing through the trees I found a board buried in the snow. It wasn’t mine but a Ride Society 157. I’ve still got it and it’s an awesome board.

Bindings
I’ve got the bindings that I found on the board which are Burton custom bru bindings. They’ve got a bottle opener on the heel plate so I can open beers while doing backflips.

Boots
I’ve got Salomon David Benedict boots which I bought practically new for 70 Euros off a random punter when I worked at Tocade. He was just some random rich kid who sold them to me at the end of his holiday but they’re a bit broken now so I’m in the market for a new pair.

Clothing
Everything I wear is courtesy of Saloon lost property. I had two weeks without gloves while I waited for someone to lose a pair and not claim them from the bar.

Potatoes
I’ve eaten a good field’s worth of potatoes since I’ve been here: potato milkshake in the morning, potato soup for lunch, potato fondue for dinner and potato soufflé for desert followed by another milkshake before bed. The best potatoes can be found at a stall outside the Moris on a Monday. They are the best in resort by far.

Apart from potatoes?
I mostly eat Yum Yum noodles. You know what I’m talking about, and if you don’t then you probably work in a chalet!

St Patrick’s Day
I’m looking forward to Paddy’s day and will be found in Saloon drinking a small child’s worth of Catalina wine mixer because Teddy drinks all the Guinness.

Avalanche Kit
The only thing I’ve paid for apart from my boots is my brand new Arva axis transceiver. I don’t understand how people can go off-piste without all the right gear and, to be quite honest, my new transceiver is the cat’s pyjamas.

Technophobe
I don’t own a phone, watch, wallet or a bank card. It’s a small town so why bother?

Gypsy
Home is where you park it. I love a good caravan!

Daisy is in her 6th season and has spent the last four and a half years living here all year round. That makes her a very familiar and friendly face around town. She’s often seen serving you your drink in the Blue Note. Since leaving school at 18, she spent one summer at home in Jersey working behind a bar, and then came straight here for winter. She’s been on skis since the age of three when she broke her leg (she’s always been fairly hardcore!) and has skied all over the Alps on holidays.

Ben
Daisy met Ben back in 2006 and they got married
two summers ago in Jersey in a full Val wedding.
They are quite the pair and, despite the age gap,
are one of the best couples you’ll meet.

Alcohol
Daisy also has a fondness for the odd drink and
has been known to be spotted rather tipsy on
occasion around town. At the same time she
seems to be on the hill more than most people I
know. It’s either through commitment or the fact
she has youth on her side.

Skis
Liberty Phil Larose 171 – “love them; have others but all the rest are dead or simply not cool, although having a husband working in Snowberry helps me try a lot more; been using Al’s Line Elizabeths (Lizzy& Beth) recently”.

Suit
SOS and Peak gear – “has to be quality kit as all the cheaper, cool brands break after two months. You get what you pay for. Wearing blue and red atpresent, bright but not fluoro – I’m not a clown!”

Helmet
Black Dainese – “definitely my most important bit of kit. I won’t go on the hill without it. Everyone should wear one.”

Poles
Leki hot shots – ”you can hold vodka in them. Simply screw the tops off and voila! So much cooler than a Camelbak”.

Riding Crew
Coach Alex Allan, Naomi, Lou and Sara. A newly formed group with a lot of fresh converts to skis. “I love them all. Riding is all about your mates, although we are awesome skiers. A big thanks to Phil from TDC for making us sick!”

Blue Note
“My second home & family. Work is a very loose term for what I do. I think Lou just pays me to hang out and drink.”

Last season
This is Daisy’s last planned season. “We’re staying for summer to do everything we haven’t done here yet, then back to Jersey to start a new life”. (We’ll see in a year, but good luck!!)

End of season BBQ
Always the day after the lifts stop turning, at her place. If last year is anything to go by, it’s not to be missed. “Everyone’s invited for the final one. It’s going to be a biggie”.

Jonny is someone we suspect a few of you will know from having your feet inspected by him in Surefoot. A native of North America, he’s now on his 2nd year out here in Val d’Isère. If you see him on a piste then you’re probably just imagining it, or someone else in Val has impressive sideburns too.

Skier or Boarder
I’m a skier and these days I only really ski big mountain. I’ve been concentrating on that for most of the past 8 years so it’s my main focus.

Skis
I’m sponsored by Dynastar so I only ski their equipment. I’ve only got the one pair out here in Val that I ski on which is the Big Dump. It’s their flagship big mountain ski and mine are 192 in length and 120mm underfoot so they are pretty big.

Boots
As you can imagine my boots are fully custom fitted by Surefoot. Mine were fitted here in Val d’Isère. The first time I got boots fitted by these guys it made my skiing immediately go up a level so I won’t be changing any time soon.

How long have you been with Surefoot?
I’ve been working for them for about 6 years on and off. I took a year or so in the middle to do some filming and competitions and then came back. Working at Surefoot really developed my skiing, especially freeskiing, so it’s helped open doors for me.

Competitions?
Yeah, I did the freeski world tour and other things which is where all my sponsorship came from. At one point I was the US freeski champion and came 2nd in the world finals as well as being ranked 3rd on the world tour. Those kinds of results opened up filming and sponsorship opportunities to me.

Films
I’ve worked with a few production companies doing extreme sports films and ski movies which has been cool, though people don’t understand how long it takes to make them. I’ve spent 2 months skiing with a company for a 3 minute edit.

Headcam
I wear a full helmet fitted with a contour HD helmet cam. I always feel photos don’t really do skiing big mountain any justice and the camera gives you a real sense of what you’ve done and the line you took. I should really edit together some of the things I’ve filmed but I just can’t get round to it.

Other Sponsors
I’m sponsored by North Face, Smith and Hestra so I wear North Face soft shell gore-tex outer layers, these great Hestra Seth Morrison half mittens that I really love and Smith I O Goggles which have a great field of vision and lenses that work for all conditions.

Avalanche Gear
I don’t ski with an ABS bag. I did look into getting one but haven’t, though I do have the usual shovel and probe as well as an Orthovox S1 transceiver. Having said that, I’m usually the first skier down the line, so I’m probably going to be the one being dug out rather than me having to find anyone else.

Most Essential Bit of Kit
My mouthguard. I feel naked without it. I’ve broken my jaw and 14 teeth so it’s a pretty essential piece of kit now.

Best Days on the Mountain
The best days are when you go from one end to the other, from Le Fornet to the Grand Balme. Most of what I ski involves hiking. Now I’m on my 2nd season I’m getting a bit more adventurous out here, experimenting with different lines and entrances, so I’m always finding something new.

Personal Maintenance
I don’t really have any kit to maintain my sideburns, they are gods gift and just grow naturally this way. As for my shiny white American teeth, well that just takes a good electric toothbrush.