Archive for November, 2009

Last week I loaded my Xtrail with my riding gear and Leysin mate Al and we headed towards Austrian Tyrol.

A few hours later we reached Pitztal valley and its magnificents glaciers.
The snow conditions were really nice. Wide groomed pists and only few riders. We eventually met with Max Zipser, FWT #3 and shared a couple of runs.
How good it’s been to be back on snow last week…
My feelings on the board were amazing, just like if I never stopped riding.

Now we’re all waiting and praying for a solid winter just like the two previous years…
So now pray 4 snow and check out the vidz of my return to the snow:

If you like to discover some cool runs down several of les Portes du Soleil resorts, be part of the “Cyril Neri back to the roots” event in Morgins.
I learnt skiing (1977) and later (1986) snowboarding in Morgins, Portes du Soleil with my parents and brother. As of winter 1993 I worked part-time as a snowboard instructor at the Snowline Snowboard School & Shop. In 1994 after finishing my apprenticeship and the mandatory swiss army, I finally went to Morgins to spend some seasons up in the snow.
I worked part-time as a snowboard instructor, skiman, DJ and snowpark shaper which let me most of my days free to go riding and so I discovered many untracked spots all around Les Portes du Soleil which soon became my second home…

on Dec. 20th I’ll be back in Morgins town to meet you guys. We’ll spend a day of cool riding together.
Don’t expect me to show you ALL of my secret lines… but be sure you’ll have the chance to ride much more virgins spots than you usually do…

Check out the entire worldsnowboard day program and my special “Back to the roots” day

Last season started like a dream with tons of powder in November and ended like a nightmare in February while crushing a vertebrate…

November was insane. It was the best early season I witnessed in the past 20 years I am snowboarding. The snowline was low, at approx 1000m which offered us the opportunity to track unusual runs going down to low altitude. From November till mid Feb when I got hurt, I rode more powder than any other regular season.

In January I moved to Krasnaya-Poliana, Russia to take part in the first lap of 2009 FWT. I rode as I did back home with my mates. Without any pressure, for the fun of it and… I won that first race!

Back from Russia I spent a week shredding Leysin and Diablerets tree lines with my good mates. One day, while filming in Diablerets I made a mistake. A hump located at the very bottom of a line sent me flying way above a parking lot… I tried to stomp the 25ft drop-to-flat but one of my vertebrate didn’t like that at all and decided to collapse.

I spent 10 days at Lausanne University Hospital and went back home with a plaster cast. I had nothing else to do but be patient and accept my state. Love the pain, cherish all of my cell to help them recover quickly. Two month later I was fit enough to hop in the cable car to reach the mountain tops. Not that I wanted to ride yet, but to enjoy my second passion: model gliders.

What started like a game when I was a kid became a real passion. I love the thrill of flying those models with no other engine but the wind. Hear them whistle as they pass by a foot away from my ears at 70mph. Concentration, precision and coordination. It’s a kind of meditation.

Anyway I enjoyed life as much as I could.

Then I got the cast removed and I was ready for weeks of physiotherapy. I finally was fit enough to go hiking all around my beloved mountains, bike and eventually surf in Italy. And guess what- I am super strong now and ready to rock again!

The latest good news is that winter seems to be coming in from the west which is the best scenario for my home resort of Leysin…

see u soon on snow!

Here is the video of my latest seson. Enjoy