Fast forward to mid way through the women’s tour in 2011 and Steph is a measly fourth with no competition wins in five events. You would assume the inevitable has happened and Gilmore has finally hit a blip in form, however this is not the case. She is being outperformed and outsurfed by the new power in women’s surfing; teenagers.

Here is evidence of that – the current standings on the world tour after five of seven events:

1st (by some way): Carissa Moore. Age:18
2nd: Sally Fitzgibbons. Age:19
3rd: Tyler Wright. Age:17 (just)

Of the seventeen girls on the elite tour nine are under the age of 21, and six of them are in the top ten. For most of them it’s their first or second year on tour. Gone are the days of turning off your live event webcast for the womens event, the renewed level of competition in this sport is making it just as exciting as the mens.

Another new power in surfing; Nike, have just released a free online full feature film called “Leave a Message”. Watch it and you’ll understand what we’re talking about…

Leave a Message Full Movie by Nike6.0 from FreestyleTV.NET on Vimeo.

Check out our:

Surf instructor courses in Morocco
Surf instructor courses in Australia

What we weren’t aware of a decade ago was the fruits of Fernie in the summer. All of us who work for NONSTOP are avid skiers and snowboarders, and didn’t expect to enjoy summertime in Fernie as much, if not more than the winter. The hiking, golf, white water rafting and most notably the mountain biking is out of this world.

The well known saying comes to mind; Come for the winter, stay for the summer.

This year Fernie Alpine Resort re-opens for Mountain biking and hiking on 25th June 2011.

When Fernie powder snow melts and the mountain becomes awash with wild grasses and flowers, people begin to explore the beautiful natural landscape of the 5 Bowls not on skis, but by Mountain Bikes, on foot and or from the Scenic Chairlift ride.

With 37 trails for Mountain Biking, the most in the Canadian Rockies, Fernie offers something for all riding abilities.

“The variety of trails offered for Mountain Bikers is un-matched in the Canadian Rockies and the hiking is out of the park…incredible”says Matt Mosteller, spokesman, Fernie Alpine Resort. “Whether you want heart pumping mountain bike ride on a gritty single-track trail, a simple 1km walk on a scenic path or just a peaceful ride on our chairlifts- it is all here for you to enjoy summer in the mountains!” adds Mosteller.

Fernie has stepped it up a gear for this summer season, with new mountain bike trail enhancements:

• NEW bridgework feature on Aggravated Assault
• Trail upgrades to TopGun
• New Advanced Level Women’s Bike Camp
• Upgrades to the Mountain Bike Skills Park
• New Scott Voltage FR 20’s mountain bikes for the Demo Fleet

Fernie is hosting some fantastic events this summer, from world tour mountain bike events to a famous annual music festival;

• Fernie Writers Conference July 17-24
• TransRockies Mountain Bike Race August 7-9
• Wapiti Music Festival August 19-21
• NOS Fernie Gravity BikeFest August 20-21

Want to be a part of it? You can stay in the heart of Fernie at the Red Tree Lodge and even come on our:

Mountain bike instructor courses in Fernie BC

Mountain bike courses in Fernie BC

Summer Activities in Fernie BC

Ski and snowboard instructor courses in Fernie BC

Our friends at www.easysurftrips.com have just published their first edition of their magazine. It’s free, and a comprehensive read with loads of photos, surf art and varied articles on different surf destinations across the world.

The magazine aims to create a forum for the world’s surfers, with content provided byworld renound surf journalists, surfers, photographers and even readers themselves.

There’s a well written piece on Morocco, with an insight on the culture and breaks in and surrounding Taghazout – the village where our 12 week surf instructor course is based. Worth a read if you want a fresh perspective on one of the most surf consistent coastlines in the world.

Surf courses in Morocco

Surf courses in Australia

GoPros have reduced in size, increased in quality (there is now the Go Pro HERO HD) and they are compatible with loads of adventure sports – conveniently including surfing, skiing, snowboarding, mountain biking.

To stop this sounding like a GoPro sales pitch here are some videos.

There is something mesmerising about this shot, everything is perfect; wave size, wave shape, no crowds, surroundings. I’ve found myself going back to watch this clip every month or so…probably because I can’t just go and get barrelled in real life…believe me it’s harder than it looks.

Cy’s Sunrise Lefts from www.KORDUROY.tv on Vimeo.

Downhill mountain biking in BC. Fernie has very similar terrain to this.

GoPro HD HERO camera: Mountain Bike Clip from GoPro on Vimeo.

And finally our very own JF with the new GoPro we’ve recently bought for NONSTOP, ripping up currie bowl on a powder day.

If you now fancy putting yourself in their shoes, why not take a look at our:
Surf courses
Mountain Bike courses
Ski courses
Snowboard courses

It’s a great quality production and well worth a look. Also, keep your eye out for NONSTOP’s own Dave Richards and family hiking through the woods!

Check out NONSTOP’s courses and holidays based in Fernie: Ski courses – Snowboard courses – Mountain bike courses

Fernie Trails and Ski Touring Club will be hosting a guided ride and barbeque on Saturday, July 31 to introduce riders to the trail. This ride will involve a 20 kilometer shuttle (800 meters free vertical) and a 25 kilometer cycle back to Fernie. Hardcore riders can cycle the entire 45 kilometer loop. Fernie Hotel will be hosting the pork roast roast and beer. Details will be posted here in the next few weeks.

www.nonstopadventure.com

www.fernietrails.com

And it’s not all just about the surfing, there are some of the most world famous windsurfing and kite surfing spots found along that coastline too.

Tagazhout is a small fishing village close to Agadir in Southern Morocco and it’s here that you can find every type of wave known to man (and woman!) whether you are looking for beginner sand beaches to fast right hand barrelling point breaks, there is a wave for all levels of surfer.

Here are the waves on offer:

• Devil’s Rock is a fun beginner’s wave with a sandy bottom.
• Crocodiles is just round the corner and offers perfect gentle waves to learn on. It is a great spot to go for a horse ride as the beach stretches for 8km all the way up to Taghazout.
• Panoramas has two sections, the reef take off point that peels into a fast barrelling right hander. Once you have moved off the point there are a couple of learner sand bars ideal for surf schools.
• Hash Point is right in the centre of Taghazout and, although inconsistent, is a fun wave for those that can’t be bothered to walk up to Anchors.
• Anchor Point is the holy grail of Moroccan surfing. Anyone who has got the dawn session with big barrels and thigh achingly long rides will never forget this great wave.
• Mysteries is a reef just a little bit further from Anchor Point. A big take off and fast walls of water make Mysteries a great wave for anyone comfortable surfing reefs.
• La Source is another reef break just in front of the apartment blocks.
• Camel Point, Desert Point, Draculas, Boilers and Tamri are all a little bit further up the coast, but offer some serious right and left hand waves just fifteen minutes drive from the surf camp.

All of these superb surf spots are within 15km of Taghazout – a town that has a rapidly growing reputation amongst Europeans for amazing winter surf.

At NONSTOP Adventure we have recently launched our 12-week Moroccan Surf Adventure.  The perfect oportunity to spend 12 weeks in the sun and sea on a Gap Year or Career break.  You’ll be coached by the best surf instructors, gain surfing qualifications yourself as well as immerse yourself in Moroccan lifestyle by learning French, helping renovate local schools and teaching English in a Moroccan School.  You’re accommodation is on the sea front so whether you fancy a quick dawny session before breakfast or a sun set surf before dinner, you can have it all simply by stepping out of your front door.

Fall in love with Tagazhout, the Moroccan locals and the chilled out surfing lifestyle.  Take yoga lessons at sun set, eat tasty Moroccan tajines or just chill at the surf camp with a book.

If you like the sound of any of the above then why not check out our: Surf Camps & join us in Morocco or Australia.  We have 2-week beginner & improvement surf camps, 3-week pro waterman and surf instructor courses in Australia and the ultimate 12 week surfing course in Morocco.  We look forward to hearing from you!

They’ve got a range of summer and winter stuff from brands such as Helly Hansen, Salomon, Animal, Petzl and Lifesystems.

Check ‘em out: www.outwoodsports.co.uk

Surf camps

Mountain bike holidays

Ski instructor courses

Snowboard instructor courses

Needless to say it was a massive shock to the system and didn’t make surfing head high peaks any easier. Still, it was great to be back in the water and the new Excel wetsuit I picked up in October kept me amazingly toasty. On Tuesday I surfed in Harlyn, Cornwall in small but fast waves. The water may be Baltic right now but it doesn’t stop people – it was pretty packed out back with loads of surfers in the water.

If you want to surf warm water waves in Australia this summer check out our surf courses, ideal for a gap year of career break.

Parapenting basically involves running off the side of a mountain with a large gliding canopy attached to you, in a parachute style. There’s no freefall involved though, this has a far closer relationship with hang-gliding. Not being the best with heights, this might not have been the most sensible thing to sign up to, but I don’t like to let vertigo get in the way of new experiences!

D-day was beautiful and sunny, so I was sure to have some amazing views. I was a little concerned with the wind that seemed to be building on the run up to my flight, but my pilot, Jean-Charles, cheerily put my worries to rest and told us that we’d have an amazing flight.

Unfortunately there was a lot of time for tension and nerves to build as I stood on the side of a cliff in Brevent and watched JC prepare the canopy. As far as I was concerned he could take as long as he wanted making sure that it was safe… seeing as it was going to be holding us a kilometre and a half above the valley floor!

Everything happened very quickly once JC called me over to strap me in. He gave me simple instructions about taking off – something along the line of “run, then run… then when you can’t run, keep running” – and we were away. The ground disappeared below us before I could really register and we were sailing very quickly towards another cliff. Thankfully, it was apparent from the start that I was in very good hands, as JC gracefully navigated us around and swooping back over our take-off point for a nice little photo opportunity.

I was then given a lesson about the thermals that are key to hang-gliding and parapenting, when we hugged the rocky side of the mountain and used the hot winds coming off the rocks to propel the canopy upwards. This was a very strange sensation that I wasn’t expecting. It really felt like you were being blown around like an empty carrier bag on a blustery day. It certainly did the trick though as we reached our cruising altitude at around 2,500m.

This was the point where we left the cliff faces and glided out into the centre of the valley (1,500m below) towards the Bosson Glacier and Mont Blanc. This gave a completely different perspective of Chamonix town, which I had gazed upon hundreds of times before from the valley walls. It’s the kind of perspective that could only be seen otherwise by helicopter, and it was stunning. As we slowly drifted downwards, JC asked if I’d like to “do some tricks” towards the end. Although my knuckles were already white from clinging on for dear life, I had to say yes, not wanting to miss out on an experience.

The pair of us lent from side to side in a rhythm, as JC steered the canopy. Within seconds we were flipping from side to side in an inverted figure of eight fashion. One instant we were level with the canopy, the next we seemed to be above it and facing the ground! It felt like the craziest rollercoaster.

Landing was a sudden as the take-off (with a similar running principle) and although the flight time was around 25 minutes, the whole experience seemed like it lasted no time at all.

So, I can highly recommend parapenting (excuse the pun). It’s certainly one thing that I’m please to have crossed off my list… next stop skydive!

There are plenty of companies to go parapenting with in Chamonix, but I had a great experience with Les Ailes du Month Blanc, Jean Charles was excellent and the lady in the office was very helpful (and spoke very good English).

Would you like to spend a little more time in the mountains or beaches? Check out NONSTOP Adventure’s programmes:

Ski instructor and improvement courses

Snowboard instructor and improvement courses

Surf instructor and lifeguard courses

Mountain bike holidays and instructor courses