by hattenburrow | Feb 17, 2015 | Snowboarding
After what seemed like the longest journey ever, we touched down in Borgata outside the Banchetta hotel, weary from a day spent in Gatwick having missed our flight due to a communication blunder by our travel company.
We were delighted to have not missed dinner and tucked into hot soup and bread before getting an early night ready for our first day on the slopes.
We woke early with excitement ready for the day ahead. From our hotel we could walk to the lift and had planned to check out the piste in Sestriere before planning the two weeks boarding ahead of us.
Martyn is a very confident snowboarder and was buzzing to get to the highest point and see how quickly he could make it to the bottom. After dislocating my arm last year I was a bit apprehensive and nervous, I had however brought elbow pads to help give me a confidence boost!
Having not been on my board since hurting my arm, the butterflies continued to rise and intensify closer to the top of the chair lift. Deposited at the top of the slope I eagerly strapped in my feet and edged close to the edge of the slope, I gingerly started my descent getting into the rhythm of toe edge, flat, heel edge, flat. I crept down the slope watching others, including Martyn, hurtle past at a lightning speed.
At the bottom I breathed a sigh of relief at getting down my first run, and by the end of the first day I was back in the swing of things.
The sun rose brightly on Monday and we headed over to the gondola to go to the other side of the mountain into Sauze d’oulx. As we reached the top the view was incredible, stretching in every direction were white peaks set against a beautiful blue sky. The beauty and exposure when you’re standing on top of a mountain is breath taking, there is no feeling quite like it.
Heading down the slope I encountered my first flat bit of road, the same type of surface where I hurt my arm. A feeling of dread resurfaced which I tried to push to the back of my mind and focused on my turns, but found myself skating down on one edge which sent burning sensations down my hamstrings. Tired from my mini panic and extra adrenalin I was relieved to stop for a hot chocolate! The rest of the day went smoothly and I soon learnt to relax on the roads looking ahead instead of at the drops off the side when they became narrow.
The next morning the fog had rolled in and the sky was releasing a soft flowing stream of snow. For the next three days the snow was relentless, a never ending flurry of white stuff. It was a surreal feeling to take a chair lift up through the snow covered trees and see the deep snow drifts.
Snowboarding in the fog is a bizzar experience, when you can’t see more than 5 metres in front of you and the sky and ground both appear in a white haze. It makes differentiating lumps and bumps almost impossible. At this point you realise how reliant you are on sight as a sense and that without it you feel very lost. This is when you have to tell yourself to relax, if you stiffen up every bump lands you on your bum! Relaxing and letting the board move beneath me I soon got into the flow of things and started to enjoy my white out experience. Everything is so still and you can hear so much more it’s like your ears become hyper sensitive to the sound of the crunchy piste or cracks of ice and the sound of others around you.
When the skies cleared and the sun came out to play the scenery was remarkable. Everything was coated in a white vale and we immediately went off –piste to enjoy the newly fallen snow. I followed Martyn straight off the side of a run and ran straight into waist deep snow! However hard I tried I didn’t seem to be able to dig my way out, so ended up taking my board off my feet, digging it out and walked to a clearing.
Once the piste bashers had groomed the slopes I felt a weird sense of un-easiness as I could now see how steep the slopes were and every lump I had in my path ahead. It was funny to think when the visibility had been awful I had completely trusted my skill level and felt my own way down the slopes, but now my eyes were looking down I wasn’t convinced I could do runs that I had done when I hadn’t been able to see anything!
After another few days of more snow falling and lots of great days boarding we felt like a change of pace and mode of transport so Martyn and I booked a trip of Husky dog sledding. I was expecting this to be a fun and less tiring activity, how wrong I was! My team of three Huskys Jack, Annie and Toffee were eager to pull the sled as we set off on our mini adventure. They worked well and listened to my commands of ‘Okay!’ meaning Go, ‘Woah’ meaning stop and ‘Easy’ meaning, well take it easy! However whenever the slope turned uphill they found a new game to play, this was called “role in the snow and sit down and let Hannah do all the hard work pushing the sled” I suppose they felt that after pulling me down the hill it was only fair I did some of the work. Despite it being not the rest day we had anticipated it was great fund and a brilliant experience and one I would recommend!
That afternoon it was back to boarding and Martyn, who was teaching himself to ride switch and 360 taught me to 180 something I am still working on!
The Milky Way ski area which is vast and covers 400 kilometres and straddles the Italian-French border. 
The resorts are staggered at very different altitudes, from Cesana at 1350m to Sestriere at 2035m meters. Sestriere is the highest resort in the Milky Way with some of the most difficult terrain, we spent a lot of time here and Sauze d’oulx where the runs were longer than in Sestriere and had a flowing feel to them which we both enjoyed.
We spent our last day in Montegenvre (1850m) over the border in France the runs here were steep and small but the scenery was beautiful and it was great fun weaving across the mountains through Italy and France for the day.
Two weeks in the snow covered mountains was awesome. I had pushed myself outside my comfort zone when the going got tough. I felt like a tiny ant in a very big world standing at 2035m, I felt exhilarated and a little scared on my first black run when it seemed like I was free falling through the air, but it all added to the satisfaction and self fulfilment of snowboarding.
There is something special about being in the mountains which makes you feel more alive. They are a place of beauty and adventure a place where you can feel free and live life to the full.
by hattenburrow | Jan 13, 2015 | Inspiration, Training
This year I have been promoted to elite and taken on a new challenge of endurance racing! Its similar to cross country with a mix of open trail and singletrack, but the distances start at around 24 miles which is a vast difference from the short sharp cross country racing I am used, where laps are around 3 – 5 miles long.
As this is going to be a big change for me I decided to hire a coach to help me plan my training and focus.
So far this is working really well. Mark Grange at Velo Coaching writes my weekly programme and we use Training Peaks to log and monitor my training. The system links directly into my Garmin making it simple and easy to use.
Like most people I work full time. I usually train 5 days a week, which is a lot of hours to get in! I also run my own coaching company on the side so sometimes trying to fit in time to spend with loved ones and training all seems a bit much.
To balance out this training load I have started training before work starting around 6.30/7.00. I am able to get a good hour or two of training in at a time when I would usually be tucked up in bed! Being an early bird this doesn’t affect me and as long as I’m in bed by 10.30 I haven’t found that the reduction in sleep has impacted on me.
Getting up early is about mental determination and also preparation the night before. I get all of my stuff out and ready. Clothes on the radiator, shoes at the door, lights on the bike, then its just a case of rolling out of bed and getting out of the door!
The other part of this is having a clear goal, especially when its dark and raining, going out with no really clear goal is tough. Therefore having a clear training plan and knowing exactly how long and what I have to achieve in that time makes it easier to get up and go.
There is a certain joy to training early. When I first roll out of my driveway its pitch black and the only noises are my breathing and my bikes wheels turning. If I am going through the countryside then ill often meet the odd runner or dog walker but apart from that everything is still. Slowly the birds start to come alive and the sky turns from inky blue to a lighter more brighter shade. It’s a peaceful and pretty time to ride, run or walk. So, if your struggling to keep to your New Year’s resolution to go to the gym or go to a class because of time, then try an early morning run or ride you might just find this is a good time for you too!
by hattenburrow | Nov 8, 2014 | Kit Reviews
I have had the pleasure of becoming a Grip Grab local hero and will be wearing and testing out their kit in all weathers for racing and training.
So far I have worn their SuperGel XC glove for riding in several times and found them very comfy.
I have rather long skinny fingers and a small palm which makes getting gloves which fit very difficult. I used the Grip Grab sizing chart and ordered the best fit. To my surprise they fit very well the Doctor Gel pad is super spongy and helps when the ground becomes ‘bone shaking’.
The gloves have a handy Velcro fastener which keeps them fromruck ling up under your palm something I have had issues with in the past with other gloves.
These gloves have a mesh front to help your hands breath which is great, although in the depths of winter a thin under glove may be needed to keep the chill out.
The touch screen sensitive finger works very well and is so handy when your half way up a trail and your phone rings!
All in all these are a great pair of gloves for mountain biking. I look forward to trying them out throughout the winter. #Neverloseyourgrip
by hattenburrow | Nov 5, 2014 | Biking Adventures, Training
Today I officially started my winter training after a couple weeks off. Winter training means lots of endurance miles and strengthening up my core ready for the new season in March.
With a clear weather forecast I opted for the slightly more fun off road ride. Starting in Petersfield I headed out to Queen Elizabeth Country Park (QECP). A good road warm up climb brought me to the back of QECP and yes another climb this time a fire road climb which are the down pour over the last couple of days had left leaves sprawled out over the chalk making for slippy riding to say the least!
I headed further up and onto the new blue trail which weaved through the trees, its a good blue great for beginners as the corners are nicely spaced and the gravel surface is beading in well to make a hopefully winter resistant trail!
Making my way onto the red trail it was great to be out on my bike again, the air was cold but from all the climbing I was toasty warm as my bike swooped down the steep red sections. Dodging puddles as I went, partly not wanting to get wet and partly as my tyres were pumped slightly too hard for sticky wet riding.
Working my way back to the top of QECP the sun shone low through the trees making seeing far ahead difficult so I had to slow down. This gave me time to take in the scenery the stunning colours of the leaves burnt orange and golden brown contrasted against the bright green moss.
The trails always look different in the winter, more severe, as the leaves retreat and the trees are left bare. Winter riding brings new challenges, not only how to keep warm but the clear line through the trail has now vanished and in its place is thick layer of mud ready to swallow your back wheel should you enter a corner with too much speed. The opportunity now presents itself to be the ‘black sheep,’ as following where those other bike tracks have gone is going to end up in the goo, so the game is now find the line around the mud that is still on the trail!
With the red completed it was now time to head back up the blue and on home. The sun was fading quickly which pushed me onwards and upwards towards home.
Finishing the blue climb I took a slight wrong turn and ended on a gem of a singletrack run which soon spat me out onto the road lower down than I expected in the village of Buriton. Rolling into my drive it dawned on me how much of the trail seemed to still be stuck to my bike!
2 hours 18 miles, a good start to the winter.
by hattenburrow | Nov 2, 2014 | Biking Adventures
Not posted for a while been having a mini biking break trying surfing (badly) and coaching some great juniors more about mountain biking, more on that soon! At pedal2pedal.co.uk
Went exploring north of our house at the Devils Punch Bowl in Surrey some great trails and singletrack with my Dad.
I hope you enjoy it!
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXOuZ89-Os0]
The resorts are staggered at very different altitudes, from Cesana at 1350m to Sestriere at 2035m meters. Sestriere is the highest resort in the Milky Way with some of the most difficult terrain, we spent a lot of time here and Sauze d’oulx where the runs were longer than in Sestriere and had a flowing feel to them which we both enjoyed.
