We Move to Slide, but also to...
We do travel to slide, but we also travel to experience the new, to place ourselves outside of our norm. Be it a bizarre taste, or an abrasive language, with travel there’s always an assault on your senses. It can often feel like a slap around the face, but on occasion it feels like a lovers embrace and the beginning of a new obsession.
Winter 2020/21 was a long and hard season, many of us sat out the winter away from the slopes, and for me personally it was my first winter without a single turn in well over 20 years, something I hope will never happen again, well not until I’m so long in the tooth that I need a blanket over my knees and a fine single malt on a intravenous drip.
But my torment of last winter wasn’t just missing the snow, painful though it was, it was the new I missed most. I love hitting a new resort, country, restaurant… We all have our favourite resorts and bars, places that always deliver, but it’s the comfort of the familiar that sometime holds us back, and that’s why I love to travel, and to travel to spiltboard even more.
Yurt Life, Kyrgyzstan.
In Japan its the smoked whiskey cocktails, in Georgia its the wine and Khachapuri, in Turkey it was the 16th Century Kiliç Ali Paşa Hamami (which by the way will have you feeling so good that it probably add a few years to your life), in Kyrgyzstan it was the yurts, post tour, that remain in my mostly addled thoughts the most.
Piste-Side BBQ, Tetnuldi
Khachapuri Lunch at Hatsvali
The winter of 21/22 holds great promise, border restrictions are lifting, chairlifts are reopening, and boards are being waxed. The Backdrop Crew are heading to Kosovo and the Picos de Europa, alongside as much Alp time as we can grab. Many of the crew are trying to remain flight-free all winter, with the train high on the travel agenda (check out Rail Europe for some of the best fares). But whatever way we move towards the mountains this winter, its with a passion to meet new people, try new things, to grow the Backdrop Journal community, and to ride as much powder as we can.
Ride, Connect, Stay Safe!
Market Mestia, Georgia.
Kılıç Ali Paşa Hamamı,