For a change in scenery yesterday we decided to escape Sydney and head up into the Blue Mountains. Though they sit quite close to Sydney and can been seen from many places around the city I rarely seem to visit this beautiful area. This is something that I plan on rectifying over the next few weeks. Continue reading →
A new image in Germany’s Skiing magazine. The shot is of Candide Thovex, taken while skiing around the Rendl side of St. Anton in Austria. The rest of the mountain was a complete whiteout and even down below the tree line the light was very flat, but such good snow. This is a secret little location tucked away in amongst a few trees. When the visibility is poor you need to head to the trees for some definition and contrast.
A shot of Candide Thovex for Skiing Magazine, Germany
The winter season of 2008/2009 saw German snowboarder Aline Bock make her entrance into the Womens Snowboard leg of the Freeride World Tour. Her smooth and easygoing style led her 2nd overall in the 2009 season. This season she is looking to step it up a notch and take the top spot……so long as it is all in the name of fun.
Aline Bock, St. Anton Am Arlberg, Austria.
Nationality:
German
Home Mountain:
Innsbruck/Nordpark
Sponsors:
Roxy, Völkl, Deeluxe, Ortovox
Favourite board:
The new Völkl Freeride Freestyle Board – Eco Cashew 157
Favourite spot:
Arlberg/Austria
What other sports are you into?
Surfing (Longboarding)
You are surfing regularly in summer these days. Is this something that you are looking to pursue further or something that something that is just for yourself?
I would love to compete in a Longboard competition soon and see if I can perform well….
That would be so much fun, I think… But I will take my time for that as I really try to never become last
Aline surfing at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia
How did you first get involved in snowboarding?
My whole family (one sister and one brother) were somehow always into sports. My parents were ski instructors in former times, so we always went to the mountains to go skiing, biking, hiking etc…
When I was 12, my dad bought me, my sister and my brother a snowboard for Christmas…we were all really excited…… I started snowboarding two years later (1997) and I loved it….!!! I always went snowboarding with the guys from my hometown Überlingen – unfortunately there were no other girls who wanted to hit some kickers. But I did not care, I was addicted and loved riding with the guys!!!
Since then snowboarding is a big part of my life (13 years now), a passion, a hobby, a job….
I started with freestyle halfpipe competitions when i was 15 years old and changed to slopestyle some years later. It has always been fun to travel to different places and parks to meet other riders, to compete, take photos or film etc., but there was and is nothing better than a powder day with friends at home .
I never heard a lot about freeriding competitions until I entered my first Freeride World Qualifier in Austria/Montafon 2 seasons ago. It was just too much fun riding some nice faces in perfect conditions. The fact that you can express yourself and your riding style being creative with choosing a line took my full attention. So here I am now, being a rider of the Freeride World Tour trying to integrate my freestyle background in my runs. It went really good so I ended up 2nd at the overall Freeride World Tour ranking.
Aline Bock, St. Anton Am Arlberg, Austria.
Do you think your freestyle background helped you on the Freeride World Tour?
I definitely think it helped me a lot as I love to jump off some cliffs and do tricks. My goal is to integrate more freestyle tricks in my runs in the future. In Sochi/Russia I just focused on some jumps in my run and I think it was the reason that I have won. So I keep on riding with the passion for some freestyle. I hope it will work out.
Aline Bock, St. Anton Am Arlberg, Austria.
Will you be going on the tour again this year?
YES, that´s the plan for now
Any plans to compete in any freestyle or halfpipe contests again?
I think it is almost impossible to do both, as I have a really tight schedule with the tour. But I am totally fine with that, as a freeride competition is also a freestyle competition for me. -As long as I try to integrate some tricks in my runs.
What’s your Favourite Country?
As I haven’t discovered the world yet, I cannot tell…But I really like Portugal as I have spent some time there just now. I actually love the ocean and the beach, it motivates me a lot and gives me energy that I need to refill after a long season.
A country with a wonderful beach, no tourists and great waves gains definitely more points
Influences:
My family and my friends…
Motivations:
The ocean and some waves, the first snow in October and my friends who cannot wait to go riding again in Autumn… It also motivates a lot if I see some big fat snowflakes coming down on my face…
Plans for the future:
My future plans are competing at all Freeride World Tour Stops again. Plus there is an ALL GIRLS extreme sports movie planned. Fingers cross that we can make it happen.
Aline Bock, St. Anton Am Arlberg, Austria.
Best Moment:
My parents surprised me at the Verbier Extreme -The final World Tour Stop – last year. I had tears in my eyes when I saw them… It was a great feeling to get their support!
Worst Moment:
Every injury is an awful moment in my sports career!
Last Words:
Don´t take it too seriously, it’s just snowboarding
What a weird time it has been here of late in Australia. In the last 24hrs the Australia has experienced a massive dust storm, bushfires, 2 earthquakes, hail the size of cricket balls, a windstorm and a tornado.
Being a bit short of mountains here in Sydney I have had to find myself another sport to shoot other than skiing and snowboarding. I figured that I should stick to something that is close to my heart, skateboarding.
I met a group of guys who are setting up floodlights around there favourite bowls and skating them at night. Here’s a couple of shots of the action.
| The last week was a wonderful week. I spent the last 10 days travelling around the North Island of New Zealand and visiting some of the most amazing landscapes that I have seen. I had the chance to catch up with some old friends and meet some new ones but best of all I had the time to relax and get a lot of shooting done. Due to some ignorant people though the trip almost never happened. |  The impenetrable forest along the edges of Wanganui River |
