X-rated

Snow sports are one of the only redeeming features of the cold, wet winter months. And it doesn’t take much to set the pulse of your diehard skier or snowboarder racing, lifting them out of London’s damp smog and dropping them into an alpine paradise of blue skies and snowcapped mountains.

Shows such as The Daily Telegraph Board-X Snowboard festival and The Daily Mail Ski show, are supposed to have this effect. The Ski Show, held two weeks ago at Earls Court Olympia in London, featured a jump contest, but it was a sideline to the more important business of selling skigear. Olympia was crammed with stalls selling clothes, skis, holidays, even the latest four-wheel drive Subaru hotrod – perfect for flying round icy hairpins driving to the mountains. Claustrophobic venues such as Earls Court hardly bring back ski holiday memories. The merchandise on sale had hardly changed since last year, but cosmetic tweaks still lured in naive punters who had to have the latest kit. You were left with a bad taste in your mouth. The exhibitors had taken your favourite hobby and turned it into something crass and commercial, and you were just a pawn in their dirty little game.

Board-X, staged in London’s Battersea Park from 10-12 November, is different. It will host the London Big Air jumping contest for ‘boarders and “nu skool” skiers, a public trial slope, DJs, a skateboarding contest and an exhibition selling all sorts of brands, from US giant Burton to skate brands such as DC Shoes, Vans (a co-sponsor of Board-X) and Etnies, all of which have successfully crossed over and are now producing snowboarding gear.

Board-X, founded by Mark Adams and Andrew Mattle five years ago, understands that skiing and snowboarding are not about buying the latest gear and poncing about in it. They are about getting out on the slopes and trying it, or, if you already participate, beating yourself up trying to get better. This is why exhibitors are providing a public trial slope and a travel centre, so if you want to try snowboarding you can, and then you can even book a holiday.

This kind of convenience may provoke a cynical sneer – surely Board-X is capitalising on poor suckers who get drawn into the addictive atmosphere and decide there and then to book a holiday (Thomson Snowboarding is a co-sponsor of Board-X). Wintersports paraphernalia is part of selling a dream lifestyle for those of us that work in an office for nine hours a day, five days a week. By buying the brands, we think we can be a little bit more like the pros that supposedly live like rock stars and get paid for playing in the snow every day.

Last year the highlight of Board-X was not the latest snowboards, it was US pro Travis Parker pulling a Rodeo 900: that’s a jump off a ramp and spinning round two and a half times, upside down. This year the jump, designed by Creative Leisure, will be 80m long, and will use 150 tonnes of snow: big enough for the riders to try their biggest tricks. This will enable Adams to “showcase what snowsports mean to the youth market. Snowboarding, music and keepin’ it real. No cheese. We want to provide the ultimate visitor experience for anyone who wants to find out more about the way of life”.

The youth of today may wear their wool beanies pulled over their eyes but they still know when they are being exploited, and if all there is at these shows is stall after stall crammed with merchandise and eager salespeople bent on trying to separate the punters from their hard-earned cash there will be one, unanimous response: the target market will up and leave.

The Daily Telegraph Board-X Snowboard Festival runs from 10-12 November in Battersea Park, London SW8. Check out the website (www.board-x.com)