Haka

The dakine Vipers are the dogs; nice tight fit, well padded and super sticky. About £25 from their web site. Haka

Where did the pencil come from? Haka

Who the hell fixed your ankle mate? Not a great job but i'k sure the thing will fix!! Most of the screws are too short and the fracture hasn't been reduced properly!! Haka

Anybody seen this boarding fick? It was on last night on Skys Extreme Sports Channel about 11.30pm. Absoloutly mad as hell. Even had some, and dare I mention it, tethered flying!! These guys were about 100 foot up over the water, looked incredibly dangerous to me. Anyway if you get a chance to see this film give it a go, it covers all styles from surf to wake style and there is a clip where they power a boat with an LEI and also a surfboard with a chair attached to it!! Haka

Jump with 3.5 Bullet in high winds = Broken ankle and no kites for 3 months. More lateral pull than lift. Gets you up but dumps you back down , HARD. Haka

Have got Nats number etc in Tignes if anybody wants it. He finally replied to my e-mail after 4 weeks. Sounds like he must be ripping it up in all that lovely new,deep powder. Lucky Bugger!! Haka

I e-mailed Paracademy a few months ago and they took ages in getting back. Heard from them about 2 weeks ago and they gave me their phone number in Tignes. They do daily sessions i.e either am or pm for £50 inc kite hire. These are run on the lake and glacier in Tignes and on the glacier in Val. Where you planning on staying? Am in Val with the Mrs and some mates as of 29th Feb. Will find the number these guys gave me and pm it to you. Maybe see you out on the slopes Haka

Mate, Am off to Val on 29th Feb!! Gonna spend a few days with X-kite, a branch of Paracadamy. Yhey have a website. Give them a ring and they can give you the details. About £50 for a half day inclusive of kite hire. (They have afull range of LD's and Gurrillas!) Maybe see you there? Haka

No, really guys, these things are amazing!! Warm , padded over the boney bits, great fit, and pretty cheap, ohh and they look cool as well. Will post a pic if I can get my digi cam to work Haka

Just got myself a pair of Da Kine Vipers. They are sold as lightweight spring snowboarding gloves and they are Bl00dy ace. They are made from cotton, neoprene and rubber and are quite thin so you don't loose any sensitivity. They also have super sticky palms on them making hanging onto a bar dead easy and comfortable. Doubt they would be any good on water, but for land based stuff they rock this world. Cost about £25 or so from Nigel up at Northen Freestyle, but sure you could prob get them from Snow and Rock Haka

Would say that the wet siui material is probably more durable than the camping mat stuff as it it usually lined with a fabic to give it some strength. Thinking about stuuf, fins would probably give you a more stable ride and stop the board planning laterally, buit would probably be harder to switch, 180 etc. Don't know 'cos I haven't ridden one. Send us some pics of " The Haka" to show us how it's coming along Haka:D

Think "The Haka" is a much cooler name for a board!!! Haka:D

Marine ply from B and Q. 16mm ( could laminate some thinner bits together if needed) Foot pads out of old wet suit. Foot straps out of old windsurfer straps. Fiss - don't know Rails not sure either - sorry Haka

My 3.5 flys real nice on a bar, but beware, if you are used to handles you may struggle when you start, due to lack of brakes. The bar has a hole going through it, which the brake lines go through( Attached to a nylon cord) this is then attched to a length of bungy and then a wrist leash ( just like the ones on the handles) If you wanna bail out let go of the bar and the kite with collapse. It is possible to reverse launch the kite by holding the bar with one hand ( the one with the kite killer on) and pulling on the brake lines with the other. Takes a bit of practice but can be done. As for landing, either fly it to the edge of the window, give the break lines a tug or let go of the bar. Haka

Should be okay, just sounds like a bit of wear and tear. I get the same thing when I haven't skied for a few days. Just take things easy whe you start back, a brace might help. If your knee keeps clicking then you need to go and see you GP. You may have a bit of bone or damaged meniscus floating around in your knee and need an arthroscopy. Haka

Still dumping, but due to turn to rain early next week, then back to snow!! Winds are gonna be high though so wouldn't bother with the kite unless you have an ozone imp!!! HAka

Broke my damn ankle on my first jump so didn't have time to be scared, just in pain. Haka

Try snow-forecast.com. Excellent web site for piste reports, forecasts and web cams. Haka

Am based up in Newcastle I'm afraid but if you ask your GP to refer you, you should see an elbow specilist. Hope that helps Haka

Not really what causes Tennis elbow I'm afraid. It's to do with an abnormality in the biomechanics of the forearm, causing the tendons of the extensor muscles of the forearm to rub against each other. This caused inflammation which is transmitted to the boney origin of the extensor mechanism, the lateral epicondyl. This is what gives you the pain. Repetitive strain predisposes to this condition. Shinsplints is totally different, it's caused by a transient raise in the pressure of the anterior compartment of the leg, whta we call compartment syndrome. The only thing that it has in common is that both conditions are caused by repetitive stress. Your physiotherapist/ sports therapist is wrong. Haka

Rodger- Whiplash is a laymans term for a soft tissue injury to the neck, very rarely used by doctors as it has certain connertations to the patients, and legally. It basically means you have strained a muscle in your neck. You have muscles at the front and back of your neck, any of which you may strain by foreced hyerflexion or extension. This will settle down , but will get worse before it gets better. Lots of gentle movement, painkillers and it should be fine a week. DO NOT PUT A SOFT COLLAR ON, this will make things worse and give you a chonic stiff and painful neck. Snowboard- Would ask for a second opinion from another GP, or a direct referal to an orthopeadic surgeon. Inability to fully extend at the elbow i.e straighten your arm IS NOT NORMAL. You may have a bit of bone in the joint or some scar tissue blocking it's range of movement. An MRI or an elbow arthroscopy would sort this out and get to the bottom of things. Any other symptoms like pain, locking or clicking? Write back and tell me how things go, Haka

Attach it to a Blade III 4.9 !! Haka

It sounds like tennis elbow or lateral epicondylitis to give it its proper medical name. It's caused by inflammation of the muscle insertion over the outside of the elbow. Usually precipitated by repetitive movements or strain. To cure it you must stop all activites that cause irritation. You can buy a clasp which changes the pressure exerted on the muscles around the elbow. these sometimes work. If not you may need a local anesthetic and steroid injection which hurts like hell for about 4 days and then settles down. If this doesn't work then you may need an elbow arthroscopy ( keyhole camera) just to make sure that there isn't another cause like a bit of bone in the joint or early arthritis. Sympathise with you as have just got over a nasty attack and also know how to treat it as I'm an orthopeadic surgeon!! PM me if you want any more advise. Haka

Solution - Get a nice rice missus!! Haka:D

I have one! It fits in my car, costs nothing and even launches on verbal command. I call it " the Girlfriend" Haka:D