Snowboard Canada Women’s Annual: Airmiles
Snowboard Canada Women’s Annual 2008
Travelling all over the world is one of pro snowboarding’s best perks. While the rest of us are lucky to squeeze in one trip per season, pro riders spend their winters gallivanting around to all sorts of places. Glamorous as it may seem, this privilege also comes with its share of hazards. Evil airline staff, homicidal hall-mates and death-defying drives are just some of the crazy situations pro riders Marie France Roy, Dominique Vallee, Spencer O’Brien and Sachi Tanaka have found themselves confronting over the course of their travels last season. Throughout the winter, we spoke to each rider about their most unusual destination and what it takes to travel to some of the farthest corners of the world.
RUSSIA
Rider: Marie-France Roy
Destination: Krasnaya Polyana, a resort about an hour’s drive from Sochi, host city of the 2014 Winter Olympics
Why: To shoot footage for Oakley’s all-girl film Uniquely
Russia may not be filled with the Intrawest-style ski resort villages that we’ve come to expect in Canada, but it is home to some of the most stunning mountain vistas in the world. Unfortunately, as Marie France Roy found out, it is also home to a pretty serious police force and airline staff who don’t like it when your passport looks like it was dragged behind your car all the way to the airport.
Roy’s trip to Russia this winter started off badly and only got worse as it went on. First, she didn’t have a visa and ended up leaving Canada four days late. Then, a delayed flight out of Vancouver made her miss every other flight on her itinerary. When she finally arrived in Germany en route to Moscow, she was told in no uncertain terms by the airline that the condition of her passport was unacceptable. “They were like ‘You’re going back home and that’s the end of the conversation,’” she says.
On the verge of freaking out, she tried another, more lenient, airline and bought a new ticket for a mellow $1000. Then, upon her arrival in Moscow, she realized that she didn’t have the paper ticket for her final leg of her trip. This critical document was waiting at a hotel near the airport, left there by her team manager four days prior. The problem? Marie France didn’t know the name of the hotel.
Not knowing what to do, she stepped out of the airport to see what hotels were nearby. There was not a single one in sight. So (and this is a ‘don’t try this at home’ situation, kids), she decided to see if she could find one on foot—in the dark, by herself, and with an accidental detour through a construction site to make things exciting. She stopped at the first hotel she saw, and, no thanks to inept hotel staff, found her tickets behind the front desk. For a flight she had just missed. One more new ticket purchase later, she was on her way.
It would be nice to say that her trip, after such an arduous journey, was filled with powder and sunny days. But it was not. It poured rain, right to the top of the mountain, almost the entire time she was there. Had it not rained, says Marie France, the resort would be an epic place to ride.
“It’s a really sick mountain,” she says. “When we got there I only got two or three days of riding because it was pissing rain all the way to the top. But then on the last day we were there, we finally got snow and sun. The terrain there was really impressive—if it didn’t rain lower down, there would be some amazing tree riding… wow.”
It will be an experience that many snowboarders will have in 2014, as Sochi (and Krasnaya Polyana) is the site of the 2014 Olympic Winter Games. Located about an hour from Sochi, the mountain resort is among Russia’s best and is undergoing massive changes in preparation for the Games. It will soon be a pretty serious destination resort, Roy says, and will definitely be worth a visit as it improves.
But although the mountains were amazing, says Roy, the general attitude of the populace left a bit to be desired. Case in point: the crew were walking around Sochi, filming and goofing off when they spotted a tank (yes, a tank) in someone’s yard. They took a few pictures and left to go riding again. Later, they found out the police had been looking for them all day—they had inadvertently filmed some sort of dignitaries’ home. The police interviewed them, inspected all their passports and ultimately let them go. The downside? Their personal chef did not have her passport and was in the country illegally. She and her boyfriend were immediately deported. Gnarly!
SOUTH KOREA
Rider: Dominique Vallee
Mountain: Sungwoo Resort, South Korea
Why: 2008 FIS Snowboard World Cup
Even for the most seasoned pro snowboarder, South Korea is a pretty out-there destination for a trip. But thanks to global nature of the FIS, snowboarding’s governing body, that is exactly where national teams from around the world have gathered for the past two years to rack up World Cup points and prep for the 2009 World Snowboarding Championships, which will be held at Sungwoo Resort.
A couple hours drive from Seoul, Sungwoo is one of the most popular resorts in the country. It’s a resort in transition, says halfpipe rider Dominique Vallee, as the resort transforms itself for the World Championships. This is a good thing, notes Vallee, because her first trip there in 2007 was pretty much disastrous from a travel-experience point of view. Her first night there is the stuff of which creepy campfire stories are made:
“We got into the resort hotel about around 1:00 a.m., and they gave me my own little room, which was cool,” she recalls. “But in the middle of the night, at like 3 a.m., there was noise in the hallway. So I get up and there’s a huge ruckus in the hallway front of my room. The hallways were like The Shining: Redrum! Redrum! So, I guess, two or three days beforehand, a man had killed his wife, his mother-in-law, and his kid and he was caught bringing down the last body—the body of his wife.”
“The elevators,” she concludes wryly, “were really slow.”
The trip was crazy enough that she swore she’d never go back, but when the opportunity to again in 2008 rolled around, Vallee found herself getting on a plane once again. But this time, she says, she was prepared and the resort was in much better shape. The rooms had been renovated, she packed a cache of energy bars in case the food sucked, and thankfully, no one was killed in the room across from her.
So, what can one expect from a trip to Sungwoo? Well, Vallee says, the coolest thing is that snowboarding is so popular there, you feel like a rock star when you are competing. Two, English is very easy to get by on. Most young Koreans speak English and are totally stoked to exercise their skills in a conversation with you. Three: if you stick the to vegetarian dishes, you’re all good, but be aware they do eat some “unfamiliar” meats there, so exercise you own judgement. Three: if you want to do big-mountain riding, go to Japan. But if you’re already in Korea in the winter, check out the mountains. The people are super friendly and it’s fun to ride in such an unlikely place.
“I’ve kind of grown to like every part of it—even the shitty parts—because that’s kind of what goes with travelling to Korea,” she says. “For me, food is a really big part of it. I’m not picky, but if the food is not that great, well… but this time I brought a lot of food with me, like energy bars that I like, that kind of thing. It was really easy compared to last time. Maybe I knew more about what to expect this time.”
NEW ZEALAND
Rider: Spencer O’Brien
Destination: Wanaka, New Zealand
Why: To compete in the Burton New Zealand Open
New Zealand is like the magical land of snowboarding. It really is. Huge, majestic mountains stretch in every direction, the locals are super cool and there are tons of resorts to choose from. It’s where many of the world’s best snowboarders go in the summer to get some off-season shredding in and it’s where you could find our own Spencer O’Brien this summer, just when it was peaking at a sultry 32 C in Toronto.
Unlike the adventures of Marie France and Dominique Vallee, O’Brien enjoyed a mellow sojourn in the land down under with nary a murder or deportation to be found. The only close calls she had, in fact, were with New Zealand’s notorious back roads. Think the Sea to Sky highway, only with no guardrails, bigger cliffs, narrower lanes and totally insane New Zealand drivers. The roads are so bad a famous rally car driver died on one of them by driving right off the edge of a cliff.
But once you get to the top of the mountains, the perilous drive there is totally worth it, says O’Brien. The scenery is simply stunning.
“It’s so beautiful there. Wanaka is really cool. It’s this tiny little town that’s set on this amazing lake and there’s all these crazy, Lord of the Rings mountains all around it. It’s a really beautiful town and it’s quite rural—I didn’t see a Starbucks or a McDonalds for weeks!”
Although New Zealand is dotted with 17 major ski resorts (plus numerous heli and cat operations), O’Brien’s trip was centred on Wanaka and the resorts surrounding it. Her main place of play was Snow Park, a terrain-park-only resort that hosted this year’s Burton New Zealand Open. (It is also the home of super-high ticket prices. A life ticket to this one-chair terrain park is $75. Yikes.) “If you like to ride park, Snow Park is heaven,” says O’Brien. “There’s one chairlift and like three different runs and a Superpipe and you just do laps all day. It’s super fun and they change things up all the time.”
You could do a lot of snowboarding in New Zealand if the conditions are right and you have a whole summer to spend there, she says. The only downside, in fact, is the cost-of-living there. Since New Zealand is pretty much an isolated, import-based society, things cost a lot there.
“It was a lot more expensive than I thought, food especially,” she says. “I was spending like $50 or $60 a day in food if we were eating out. I tried to buy my food and eat in as much as I could, but they have some pretty good restaurants too, so I did want to go out some nights.”
Her only regret, on such an idyllic trip? Only staying for three weeks. In the future, she says, she’d like to stay longer. “It’s so mellow and nice there. It would be cool to explore the rest of the country.”
CANADA
Rider: Sachi Tanaka
Mountains: Whistler, BC
Why: To spend a winter living in Whistler, BC
Last winter, Japanese pro rider Sachi Tanaka arrived in Whistler looking forward to a season of learning to sled, riding the backcountry and living the Whistler shred life. She settled in for a long winter in Canada, buying a sled, a car and finding a place to live. Unfortunately, on a trip back to Japan to compete in the Nippon Open, she badly injured her back, and facing months of rehab, decided to remain in Japan for the rest of the season. Before that happened, we had arranged to get Sachi’s take on life in Canada as a counterpoint to our Canadian riders’ trips all over the world. During her rehab, she kindly put together an account of her three-month stay in Whistler. Here is her story, as written in her own words.
I left Japan in November to spend the winter in Canada, for the first time in my life! There are so many reasons why I chose Whistler. I’ve participated in winter and summer camps so I know Whistler has magnificent the slopes and plenty of snowmobile points. I was also looking forward to ride with famous local riders in Whistler.
Of course it’s not always easy to get started with a new life overseas. I faced challenges when buying a car, a snowmobile and looking for a place to live. Everything was so new to me, I felt to troubled! But people in Canada were so kind and gave me a warm welcome.
After adopting to a new lifestyle and participating in some photo shoots, I started feeling a sense of accomplishment. Natasha [Zurek], Ryanne, and Mary—they gave me strength!
A film crew came all the way from Japan to film me in Revelstoke, where we travelled in a camping car. Snowmobiles are so difficult to drive! But the more difficult it was, the more enthusiastic I became. I didn’t want anyone to think that the Japanese girls are demure and weak.
Just when I was starting to enjoy my Canadian life, I came back to Japan for the Nippon Open. It was such a big shock when I injured myself there because I was looking forward to more excitement in Canada.
It will take half a year to get back to a normal life. Even then I need to rehab for half a year more. A huge mental shock attacked me! But now I’m taking everything positively and rehabbing.
Reasons for my positive thinking? There are so many undone things and undiscovered challenged waiting for me in Canada. I must go back to experience the greatest mountains. So everyday I create a mental image in my head that I will be back in Canada soon. I’m so looking forward to it.
Next winter, you will find me riding with my team on the Whistler slopes. There’ll be a big smile on my face, then!
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