Belle Brockhoff on board for ski ride of life

IT may be her greatest fear but boardercross is also her biggest drawcard.

For Belle Brockhoff, one of Australia's brightest snowboarding talents, her win in the boardercross at the New Zealand Winter Games last month was a giant relief.

Boardercross - known as snowboard cross in the Olympic Games - involves a group of snowboarders (usually four) who start simultaneously atop an inclined course, then race to reach the finish line first.

Brockhoff, 18, gave away the discipline two years ago after a few nasty falls.

"I had a number of crashes that gave me a real shake-up," she said. "Boardercross is my biggest fear and now that I've done that race recently, I've overcome that fear." Read More

Another big winter?

La Nina is forming off the equatorial Pacific. That sets up the possibility of another big winter for Tahoe-area ski and snowboard resorts and a strong water year for lakes and rivers for 2012.

The National Center of Environmental Prediction issued a long-term forecast for a return of conditions similar to last winter, when a strong La Nina delivered high-powered rain and snow to the Sierra Nevada. Scientists predicted the likelihood of a colder winter with above-normal precipitation in the Pacific Northwest and a continuation of drought in the desert Southwest. Read More

No surprises in LG Snowboard FIS Halfpipe World Cup qualifier

Japan's Ryo Aono had the run of the day in the qualifiers of the LG Snowboard FIS Halfpipe World Cup at the 100% Pure New Zealand Winter Games scoring a total of 92 points. In the women's field it was Xuetong Cai from China in the top spot with an overall score of 87 points.

Two heats of 21 men each, representing 19 nations, competed today with the top three from each heat going straight through to finals and the next six in each heat going to a 12 man semi-final. The top six men in the semi-finals will then progress to the final. Read More