On Monday I was privileged enough to be invited by Mt Baw Baw to attend their retailer snow day. It was an opportunity for the mountain and its staff to show everyone just what they have been up to over the last few years and to sample some of said projects. To read on (including video) click more…

I had been at Buller for the weekend and seen the kick in the guts that the unwelcome rain had delivered up there and was concerned how that had affected the coverage at Baw Baw. Because the mountain is so close I was given the luxury of sleeping in a little and checking the weather. It was an amazing day outside so I casually departed home at 8.45 for an 11 a.m arrival which ain’t too bad . Unfortunately for me, the drive home didn’t equal the epicness that was had during the day, but more about that later.

So anyway, cruise into the car park, pay $5 to park where I want all day, stroll over the poma only to get offered a lift up the hill on a ski-doo. All was going well so far. The rain had taken its toll on some of the rail features and they were stored for safekeeping, but they looked amazing. As we continued up the hill I actually wondered where we were going, then I saw this puffy pile of fun.

We only had the chance to hit it twice before lunch, but it was going to be game on for the afternoon. At lunch we were informed of the changes at Baw Baw including all the natural features, new jib features, trafiic, numbers, ski school, etc… and of course the Big Air Bag. Some of the shops represented were SHQ, Helly Hensen, GreenRoom, Anaconda, Islantis, Ski & Board World, Deja Vu, Cactus Black, Rider +, and Trigger Bros along with Industry Heavyweights Shane Carter, Darren Sulway, and Ralph Rottura.

Royal Family

After lunch we raced up to the Bag to give it a run. I have to admit that I was pretty sceptical of the bag, as epic fun as the things look, there was something a little unnerving about the whole deal. It took a few hits for me to build any real confidence and try something I couldn’t already do. Once I past that hurdle, It was ridiculously fun, and not in the gimmick way. It gave me a real sense of awareness in the air. Trying anything new can be pretty daunting when the consequences are higher and for that reason, the bag is amazing. Baw Baw has plans to have the bag set up with a real jump complete with landing right next to it.

From a progression standpoint, I couldn’t recommend the Big Air Bag highly enough, and the stupid amount of fun you have is a real bonus. Anyone at any ability level can use the thing. Get up there.

Just when I thought my day couldn’t get any better, I realised I was totally right, it couldn’t, and it was about to get a whole lot worse. I have used the new south face road a few times before and it is usually great, but something went wrong today. Driving along the dirt road, I noticed that for some reason my car kept sliding out, what the hell!? It’s a AWD beast and behaving like a unicycle. I had ignored the bumps because I was obviously on a dirt road, but after a while I had to check it out. Yep, rear tyre is knackered.

It’s getting dark and by the time I have the spare on its pitch black and getting cold. However, it’s a shitty space saver tyre and I have no compressor. Luckily for me Brian and the SHQ guys were just leaving and I know Brian is king of the gadgets. I have reception and he has a compressor, problem solved? Nope. When they arrive we pull out the compressor and the head torches they got in a gift bag from Anaconda. Good thing we did because after 20 minutes of Frisbee in the dark, the tyre is no more inflated than it was when we started.

Brian had to leave (he did leave Jay with me, thanks for hanging out) and after I called the RACV, I realised I had over an hour to kill/avoid being killed. Some interesting council workers rolled by at one stage, but they couldn’t help. I did feel safe, but only because I had a hatchet in the car (whatever animal was raping another animal in the bushes nearby, you’re lucky you didn’t mess with me). The RACV turned up and we are finally on our way, they only problem is you aren’t supposed to exceed 80 clicks on the shitty spare, and the balloon that burst inside the car didn’t exactly fill me with confidence.

I did get home… eventually… but the 2 ½ hour drive did end up taking about 7 hours.

All said and done, I’ll do it again in a heartbeat.

Massive thanks to everyone at Baw Baw. Get up there and check it yourself.