Plate of Neste or maybe not...

I was driving in Helsinki and I saw and shot this plate just in the Mannerheim Street (E12) and Vihdintie crossing. (place of very busy traffic)
Text in English:
Neste Oil
Palm Oil- Diesel
Rainforest- Destruction

Plate looks like advertisement of Neste, but actually it is plate of opposition.
It put me and maybe some other people to think some green values! Cool!)))

Some links for conscious people:
http://ran.org/palm-oil
http://www.greenpeace.org/finland/en/What-we-do/Neste-Oil--driving-rainforest-destruction/

Cable-wakeboarding has not so big environmental impact than e.g. wakeboarding by boat, but how electricity is produced for cable-park and which are effects to landscape? Yes there are not right answers!
...okay now somebody will tell: Kiteboarding is the answer. ;-)))

Finally winter arrived!

About 2 weeks period minus degrees (C°) and it starts to look winter.
Snowguns are "singing" at slopes day and night.

Short period of daylight and this kind of landscape are getting some people to feel seasonal depressive.)))
Check picture below!
It's snapshot nearby slopes in Korobicino village.

Scary yeah, but we have fun at slopes.

We can't tell we have big-air kicker, it's still quite mini-air, but some fun anyway.

Picture below: If you really TWEAK your indy grab, then even your board is torsionally twisted. ;-DD

Calendar 2012 January

Yes I know, I'm little bit late, it's already 4th of January, but...
Every month I'll publish new page for 2012 calendar. Save it, print it and tape to your wall! ;-)))))

Our winter in season 2011-12 has been so unprecedented. I mean no snow and no minus degrees.((
So I have to use the last year picture from ZolDol Spring Games.

Why it couldn't be also from January?
We have some sunny days sometimes, but it's not possible to ride in hood like in this picture,
because sunny day in January means at least -20C and you need down jacket for sure!

Riding in swimming pool...

This is what I'm doing in the evenings!

Visit in Home country

I visited in my home country and home town Nokia.

Belive me, Nokia is really city in Finland. http://www.nokiankaupunki.fi/matkailu/foreign_visitors/

Yes I know Nokia is producing also "some" mobile phones and networks, but everything started from Nokia city by rubber and paper industry and much later with mobile phones.))

If you don't know, where it's situated, maybe you know neighbouring cityTampere. It's little bit bigger and about 200km to north from Helsinki. I was just studying in Tampere University 3 days and hadn't time to do anything else.

Well yes some photo shooting only, my photos are from Tampere.

This nicely situated "cottage" is one landmark, it's old shot tower.

Another land mark of Tampere is Näsinneula the highest building in Finland. (almost 170m)

From the walking bridge of Tammerkoski you can find "Love-locks". Who ever can just fasten their lock to there and the most of them are with engraved names. Nice idea! If you feel so, bring your lock to Tampere.))

Returning back to Russia wasn't so nice! I made it by car.

There was huge queue on the border-crossing and even that I passed really unjust way about 300 cars I still spent altogether 3,5 hours in queue (( ...no Duty free shopping, I just sat in the locked car, I scared that those who I passed will beat me up.)) Queue didn't move at all!!  

Yeah next time by train!!!

Couple snapshots in ZolDol...

What's going on? I ordered already snow and minus degrees, delivery times are delayed or what?
I'm still waiting for big air kickers, half pipe etc...
Jibbing is not so lot of my area, so I was more shooting.

Snowboard season opened

Золотая Долина = Kultainen Laakso = Golden Valley

Золотая Долина has been my home slope already 5 years. Slopes are situated about 100km to north from St. Petersburg.

This weekend I really went there, even that the weather looked so bad in the city, again raining etc...
Well I have already 5 years' experience, that everything is better over there and really raining changed to snowing and landscape was white for snow, something totally different than in the city, where everything is so dirty, dark and depressed.
On the way to slopes I shot this photo, white landscape with Giant Hogweeds (Гигантский Борщевик = Jättiläisputki). Yeah quite strange landscape!

We haven't had so lot of minus degrees and they opened only one slope, not real kickers etc..., but it's great chance to get back a touch of snowboarding.
So I've not yet any great big-air pictures!)) Will be for sure, it was so great again to ride!

Link of my home slopes!
http://www.zoldol.ru/