Snowriders Explain Themselves

The people responsible for the top Snowriders pics tell us how the situations came about

12 years ago

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. I promise not to start an article off like that again, but we got in touch with the people behind the top Snowriders pictures and they told us the story behind them. We managed to squeeze four pictures into under a thousand words, so clearly that adage hasn’t stood the test of time.

4th – Alex Boardman

“It was a day that featured many outrageous acts as none of the group had even come close to sobering up from the night before.

After having the bright idea of attempting backflips twice – Unsuccessfully – I needed to restore my ego. There was a small-ish tree to the side of the piste which I thought would be funny to climb to the top of, and subsequently sway until it broke under my weight. This did not work for a number of reasons, so I turned around and saw quite a large fir tree that was just begging to be climbed.

Off came my skis and up I climbed – which I’d just like to point out is no mean feat whilst wearing ski boots. Upon reaching the top of the tree, I realised that my friends had all buggered off so, I just made myself comfy and awaited their return. This being a Snowriders trip, it then seemed like a good idea to strip off.

With the piste in front of me and a chairlift behind me, there was no shortage of praise/disgust received from passers-by. When the cold had got the better of me I decided to dress myself and descend to the slopes below.

Only to realise that I’d left my gloves at the top of the tree, so back up I went…”

3rd – Tilly Allen and Hannah Cohen-Smart

“The two of us knew about the competition before the trip, and as a keen photographer, I was keeping a look out for good opportunities.

Dicky – our infamous rep from outgoing – knew us as the most civilized flat, primarily as we were all sitting down to dinner whenever he came by. What perhaps he didn’t see was the amount of wine consumed (suppose that does make us civilized), but with a drunken slip of the tongue my friend (the model) proposed she would go so far as to stand naked on top of a mountain so that I’d have a decent photograph. She was swiftly ‘moralled’ and the deal was done.

With the week wearing on and still no picture snapped, we wondered if we’d get a chance. However, on the last day of skiing we raced the sun back over the mountain to catch the sunset, and realised that this would make the perfect backdrop.

The best view over the valley was where a 70 man cable car frequently deposited unfortunate, (for us, fortunate for them) onlookers. We deduced that we had a 7 minute window in which to get naked and take a decent photo.

In the end, after a dithering off-piste snowboarder and some frustrating German tourists who lingered, Hannah managed to be naked and freezing for almost half an hour.

I promise I did take pity, but she was determined.”

2nd – Federica Pipolo

“Ok, so my nickname for Snowriders is Fedex. Why? Well, my first name’s Federica, and last year – for my first ski trip – I put an ounce of weed in a Nutella jar and brought it with me on the coach (therefore Fedex – like the international delivery company).

Well, the Nutella jar accompanied me this year too, and upon finding out that our apartment’s bath also had a Jacuzzi built-in, I thought it’d be silly not to combine the two.

There were 22 of us staying in the house in total, so after a hard day’s skiing, I knew I had to be fast: the first thing I did was run the bath and then roll a spliff.

Now usually I’m quite good at handling my shit when I’m high, but this time, for some reason, I thought it’d be a good idea to put some bubble-bath mix in… whilst the Jacuzzi was on.”

1st – Sam Judd

“My mates and I were pre drinking before a night out, and whilst we were talking about going on the pull, I boldly claimed that I’d bring a girl back, turn out all the lights and just go to work on a banana – as girls aren’t really my thing. Obviously, this being a snowriders trip, I got immediately moralled to do so by my mates.

As a result, we proceeded to get sufficiently drunk and there we were: on the pull in Mayrhofen. Much to my disbelief, I was apparently far too drunk to attract the attentions of any snowrider ladies and came home empty handed.

However, upon returning home, we found the beautiful Emily (pictured) waiting for us, and she was to be the lucky lady to receive my banana; with pictoral evidence to accompany it.

Afterwards we exchanged our thankyous and went our separate ways. I often wonder where she is now…”

David Pratt