Home as.

/
Bushwhacking near Fox Glacier on the west coast of NZPhoto: Julius Brash

Bushwhacking near Fox Glacier on the west coast of NZ
Photo: Julius Brash

Ive been back in NZ for two weeks now and it is so good to be home. Skiing in Europe is awesome and I love the adventure of it, but it is full on travelling from comp to comp almost week for week. So it's refreshing to get back home and into some other stuff, like bush missions!

Here is my season edit:


My season had an awesome and unexpected ending with me qualifying into the Freeride World Tour for 2017. That also means ticking off the biggest goal I have had as a freerider. Picking a new highest goal to work towards is interesting. Currently I am just stoked to have the chance to compete, and I guess a pretty good goal is to try and cement myself on the tour for the future. 
What ever happens it will still be a badass road trip!

Here is the official news item from Freeride World Tour -  http://freerideworldtour.com/news/2016-season-wrap

Photo: Julia Hedman 

Photo: Julia Hedman 

I am back into a full on fitness training programme now with 3 strength sessions a week in the gym plus two aerobic session. I am aiming to do some more touring during NZ winter, as well as more hiking in the off season. Basically I want to be as strong as possible by the end of the year so I can stomp lots of big cliffs in the Northern Hemi!

Day mission bush lunch on the west coast - Brie, Bacon, Tomato on English MuffinPhoto: Julius Brash

Day mission bush lunch on the west coast - Brie, Bacon, Tomato on English Muffin
Photo: Julius Brash

Julius and I went for a steep sketchy bush climb up the side of a waterfall just above the Franz Joseph glacier track. It was a laugh, and probably quite dangerous. The only other folks who had been there before us were bush pigs and possums.

Julius and I went for a steep sketchy bush climb up the side of a waterfall just above the Franz Joseph glacier track. It was a laugh, and probably quite dangerous. The only other folks who had been there before us were bush pigs and possums.

NZ winter is drawing in now, and I am getting excited for another busy one. I'll be working at Cardrona again as a ski instructor, and I have a bunch of missions I want to do. 
The most exciting thing is that the NZ Open Big Mountain has had a bit of re branding and is now an FWQ 4 star event!
That means big points up for grabs at the bottom of the world, and If we are lucky we might get to play with some new terrain!  IF we are lucky. 

Check out the SSNZ news item here - https://www.snowsports.co.nz/latest-news/welcome-to-a-new-frontier/

I am extremely grateful to all my sponsors and to everyone else who has helped me chase this goose so far, she's a hard one to catch, but I'm gaining! So thanks team!

Flying over Greenland on the way home. The white stuff is sea ice.

Flying over Greenland on the way home. The white stuff is sea ice.

By the waterfall on the Franz Joseph side mission, looking at the glacier. 

By the waterfall on the Franz Joseph side mission, looking at the glacier.