Welcome to Feel the Edge

Festive Fun- Christmas in Argenti�re

Adil Latif | Snowboarding-Mont Blanc glacier Descent | ON 24th December 2006 | 0 comments

24/12/2006: 2am London: Still have not finished packing. Spent most of the day travelling around the UK trying to pick up a set of Motorola walkie-talkies. Eventually picked them up at Ellis Brigham in Tamworth, who kindly provided them for free together with some base layers. My snowboard is sitting on the bed looking irresistible. It is a pure white Icon Wallpaper edition, with the board make stencilled in an overlapping fashion across the middle between the bindings and wrapping around the...

The Snowboard asylum Helps me out

Adil Latif | Snowboarding-Mont Blanc glacier Descent | ON 28th November 2006 | 0 comments

When snowboarding first came on the scene, refined personalities and some of the more genteel skiers may have had the opinion that it was a sport consisting of badly dressed adrenaline junkies partaking in high risk ventures, resulting in hold ups on the slope and every so often the descent of a stretcher carrying the unlucky risk taker. Increased research into the sport and the diversity of clientele ranging from Management Consultants to Ministers has slowly shaped a new image of snowboarding...

Talk to my friend as the blind man ain't listening...

Adil Latif | Snowboarding-Mont Blanc glacier Descent | ON 28th October 2006 | 1 comments

An interesting phenomena most blind people face and indeed most people with an obvious disability face, is people refusing to speak directly to them and opting instead to speak to who ever is accompanying them. After a few cool looking runs on my first day with Grant we were approached by a snowboarder. Random snowboarder:“So is he blind?” Grant: “Yes he is”. Random Snowboarder: “So how long has HE been riding for?” Grant: “Why don’t you ask HI...

New Instructor for the UK

Adil Latif | Snowboarding-Mont Blanc glacier Descent | ON 27th October 2006 | 0 comments

Eventually getting back on the indoor slope I had a new instructor as Daniel Lloyd finished up with me for the moment as he has recently become a Daddy to a lovely baby boy. I got a Scottish lad called Grant Gallacher. He is of the same instructing calibre as Keith McIntosh and has ridden with him in France. He narrated a little story of him and Keith riding back country. On approaching a small cliff he seen Keith in the most calmest of fashion perform a beautifully executed back flip off the ...

BOARD BALLET

Adil Latif | Snowboarding-Mont Blanc glacier Descent | ON 27th October 2006 | 0 comments

This post refers to the system through which Grant taught me to get rhythm in my turns. The goal of our session was for me to turn myself without his prompts, so basically going from left to right to left (without obviously hitting the pillars on the right when I go right and without hitting the wall on the left when I go left). At first Grant told me to count after each turn.. so we would go left and then I would start counting 1, 2, 3, 4 and then I would turn right and count 1, 2, 3, 4. After...

A bit small but when has size mattered

Adil Latif | Snowboarding-Mont Blanc glacier Descent | ON 24th June 2006 | 0 comments

The indoor slope was good for my technique building. The SnoZone in Milton Keynes allowed me access. So who was my instructor? Daniel Lloyd, an investment banker from the city. I didn’t tell him though I didn’t like bankers as I personally feel they can at times exploit the financially illiterate. He was no ordinary banker though, he was a BASI qualified snowboarding instructor! Daniel stayed calm during my falls and struggles. I thought I was quite good up to the point we began to...

Chamonix Training session 2-more advanced snowboarding (April 8th to 11th 2006)

Adil Latif | Snowboarding-Mont Blanc glacier Descent | ON 8th April 2006 | 0 comments

Day 1 on the slope 08/04/2006 First morning in Chamonix. Arrived last night after 1am in the bunk house. I was all prepared for the late arrival. Philip one of the owners had provided me with the security code for the door, I was also instructed to look for a note which would have on it a room number. I had the bus driver Martin help me enter the code, we entered it and turned the leaver to the left, for a moment of panic the door didn't open, when Martin turned it the other way...voila we ...

Chamonix Training session 1-Atempting to Snowboard (Feb 25 to March 3rd 2006)

Adil Latif | Snowboarding-Mont Blanc glacier Descent | ON 25th February 2006 | 0 comments

First few days on the slope 25/02/06 - 27/02/06 Didn’t break anything yet, apart from sweat. I'm not yet ready to go up the poma lift so have to resort to a hike up the beginners' slope every time. The poma lift is basically a pole, the top end of which is attached to a cable and the bottom has a plastic plate attached to it. You place the plate between your legs and squeeze your thighs and you get pulled up the slope. Biggest problem when I snowboard is that when I attempt to...

Living it up in Lake Placid

Adil Latif | Snowboarding-Mont Blanc glacier Descent | ON 19th December 2005 | 0 comments

First day of training has come to an end together with my freezing fingertips and I could swear my nose must have fallen off as I can't feel it any more! Obviously fell many times including one close encounter with a pole. Whiteface resort provided me Brendan, who is a qualified instructor and had a fantastic attitude to adapting his training methods for me. Whiteface also fully kitted me out with a snowboard, helmet and the worlds most comfortable snowboarding boots. Lake Placid Day2 2nd day...

New York New York- Drive to Lake Placid

Adil Latif | Snowboarding-Mont Blanc glacier Descent | ON 18th December 2005 | 0 comments

As I am in New York for business purposes I thought I'd take the opportunity to begin the training for my Mont Blanc challenge here! Beginning at the same place where the first winter Olympics took place, Lake Placid. I met up with my contacts and the journey begins. In the car with Anthony and Doug driving from New York City to Lake Placid . Anthony is the kind camera man/ production man/comforting sage with a cool attitude. Doug is a marketing guru and an extreme sports junky wit...