WORLD SNOWBOARD CHAMPS
This trip ticked off many firsts for me. I had never been to a World Snowboard Champs and I had also never been to Quebec, Canada. I was travelling with the NZ Snowboard Team and we got put up in Quebec City for the week.
It was an early start to a long day of travelling | DIA Terminal Building
We were put up at HOTEL PUR for the week. Beautiful modern design.
The first thing I noticed driving into Quebec City was the inherent history and rich culture that is often unseen in North America. Quebec City is a European settlement with French being the 1st Language. I was fortunate that most people are also fluent in English, as my French crash course wasn't going well.
The first day we took the opportunity to explore the city and to inspect the slopestyle course at Stoneham Mountain Resort. It truly was a small field but the course was looking pretty good. The only issue was that it had been raining all day at the mountain but the temperature was forecasted to drop down to -25 celsius. This meant LOTS and LOTS of ICE!
Stef Zeestraten and I took the opportunity to explore the Old area of the city that night. There are fortifications around this area dating back to 1694. It truly was a small taste of Europe right in the heart of Canada.
Porte. St Jean Gate.
The next morning we headed back up to Stoneham for the first day of practice. We had 2 hours on the course and I just took my time making sure I got used to the course while staying in one piece. There was an issue with the top of the course so it was changed overnight. Stef and I both put down some solid runs so it was a good first day!
View of the Slopestyle course. (Note the distance between the top rails and the first jump YIKES!)
The second day of practice was even more fun. The course was less icy and the sun was out. I had a good day and landed an even better run. They changed the course up and put an extra rail at the bottom. The course was flowing a lot better and I had started getting used to jumps that were a far cry from Breckenridge Jumps.
I had Qualifiers the next day and the weather wasn't so great. They cancelled the Girls in the morning but the wind managed to die down for the Guys. I crashed a front 10 on my first run so decided to play it safe on run 2 with a front 7. I had to wait nervously on the bubble in 5th in my heat but managed to make the top 20 semifinals. I was pretty stoked because I had never made it to semifinals in a World Cup Slopestyle. Stef also managed to make it through to semis.
I woke up to this view for finals day.
Due to the cancellation of the girls the organisers were forced to turn Mens Semifinals into a straight final. I had a good practice but unfortunately I couldn't quite put a run together. Speed became an issue for everyone, which was a bummer. I finished up 19th and Stef also unable to land his ideal run finished 15th. I was gutted I couldn't land a run but it turned out to be my best result ever!
We scored tickets to the Fashion Show. Not a bad way to unwind after a busy week.
We had a typical early departure the next day but the one thing we hadn't checked out yet was the nightlife in Quebec. Always a must in any new city! We started things off with the fashion Jam where everyone was hanging out. A few drinks later and all things fashion related were coming to a close.
We became a herd of sheep strolling through the streets of Quebec until someone managed to lead us to a nightclub in the heart of the city. I didn't expect much as Breckenridge didn't really have nightclubs but man was I wrong! This club had 3 floors and it was PUMPING!
Good times with good friends.
Back to Hotel Pur for a few hours sleep and then it was straight to Montreal Airport for another long day of travel.
Next trip on the roster is RUSSIA. Watch this space.
