So uni games, uni holidays where to start?? Just got home last night, didnt ride yesterday and I cant walk let alone ride so it was obviously a good week. Started off riding hutt on the saturday on the way down, did lots of wildcats and back rodeo’s off a cool lil wind lip, then boosted down south. Big props to the dairy on the south side of geraldine for the best milkshakes this side of Wanaka. Saturday night was the opening party for uni games but it wasn’t all that great- glad I sober drove and shredded cardies hard Sunday morn, as the wweather turned to crap for the next two days, lots of time was spent in the cardies cafe. But luckily the clouds parted tuesday arvo, so we went and rode a snowpark night session, so so cool, the jib run has real good flow and it was actualy light for ages. I don’t think they need the nights till about 6:30 at the mo. Loved getting the jib on again, all the features were set up with the usual snow park steez. I wanted to go ride snowpark again on Wednesday but I didn’t really have a slope run sorted so I got up early and spent the day i the park at Cardrona. It’s set up real well, even if it does get a little tracked out in the arvo. I pretty much did my slope run for the whole day, until 2 then went and did some fun freeriding with some mates over in captains. We went back to the park a around 3:30 I knew it was too late to be riding hard, but I wanted to change something up in my run. I had being doing front 5′s off the toes on the first jump and been coming up short on the rotation quite a bit so I decided I was going to change t up and take off my heels for the slope comp. I knew that was the only thing I was thinking about but I still decided to my rail tricks on the way down, I was doing gap cab 270 front boards out forwards on the flat down rail at the top of the park. so this late arvo run I over comitted to the 270 meaning I was never going to be able to pull it back out forward (the rotation is in the opposite direction of hw you spin on to the rail), but for some unknown reason I didnt just flick it round and come out switch, instead I just left it landed completely square and got knocked the hell out catching my heels on the landing. So that brought an abrupt end to my day, I was all a bit dizzy and couldnt drive down the hill, but all was good after a few panadol. Thursday morning was slope which meant an early start and lots of rails and jumps. Was a bit dissapointed to find a some stairs with rails on top in the run to the first jump on the slope course. What is this you say, isn’t slope style meant to be full sweet slides mixed in the with aerial activities of jumps, well yeah but it kinda sucks when you don’t have enough speed straight lining from the rail into the jump. Souloution to the problem= gap taps. Which are a set of manouvers done more over than on rails where you fly through the air maintaining speed for a jump and tap the rail on the way through. Apart from that the comp was fun, I came seccond to Chris Hutchings who did the biggest back 7 on the second jump, and Tom Groeten who was killing everything but didn’t quite put a run together. I kinda stuffed up my rails in one run and my jumps in another so was pretty disappointed- I still think it could have gone either way and I think I was only one point behind Chris but I always knew I needed to do my run to win. That night was my good buddy Charlie Lyons 21st, great times but bad tasman bitter. Friday was a very hungover start to the day, got to the hill at 11 but didn’t get out of the truck til 12. Big air practice started at 12, I hadnt even did a whole run, I hit three jumps on the way to the big air kicker and straight aired them all. Got the big air jump and hiked for an hour, didnt hit the jump regular once, went cab5, cab7, cab9 first three hits. Was good to be doing 9′s again, I did a whole bunch in practice but I wasn’t getting them clean so I decided to stick with 7′s for the comp. That worked out good I got another silver, Tom Groeten killed it with a massive front 7 tail, and Christ Hutchings ensured it was the same podium (but with a different order) to slope with another large back 7. I have to add one thing about big air I was in a polar bear out fit, will load photos in the next few days. That pretty much bought to an end the hardest week or riding I have done for ages. So as I say I cant walk but I can smile and remember all the good times. See everyone up at hutt for some spring shred laters Tim