Rock On Snowboard Tour. Seasoned Snowboarders (and those not so well seasoned) may remember the Mondial du Snowboard events, which became a fixture of the French snowboarding scene. Well, the guys who put the Mondial together have moved on to the Rock On Snowboard Tour, 12-13 December in Avoriaz. It’s a bit like a shortened ‘Brits’, but adding a vast board test into the mix – a big ol’ Music/Snowboard Test/Comp extravaganza.

A crazy 12m long double bump rail slide thing in the shape of a Gibson Les Paul electric guitar simply has to be seen to be believed. There’ll be snowboard films, including Esperanto, Bloody Board and B Movie. To give you a taste of the type of music the tour will have click on this> RockOnSnowboardTour Radio

The Big Plus is the chance to test top 2010 kit. Just look are the picture, sure makes your mouth water. The FREE test pulls in 1000+ boards from 25 manufacturers, including the likes of: Bataleon, Santa Cruz, Lib Tech, Burton, K2, Salomon, Forum  and Allian. Not content with that, the guys have also pulled in a selection of the latest boots and bindings. If your French is up to anything have a look at the Mag, or just look at the piccys.

The Tour takes in a few European venues, but we’re looking at the Avoriaz stop. Being part of the Portes du Soleil (covering some 12 resorts, in France and Switzerland!) you’ll have over 650kms of piste to playon plus an enviable amount of powdery off-piste. There’s also The Stash snow park if your needs tend towards more man-made obstacles.

Some say that Avoriaz can feel a bit soul-less as it’s a purpose built resort, but the ability to get a roast chicken at what seems like any time in the morning can sway the decision! My preference is to use Avoriaz and the Portes du Soleil for it’s terrain, but stay in Morzine: a ‘proper’ living village, and just at the bottom of the lift. Doing this also gives easier access to the hillarity that is the Les Chavanne, as well as Les Gets areas. It even has a full Olympic size Ice rink, and the full compliment of bars, supermarkets and night-life. Alpine Elements do have some availability, but the chalets are filling up fast> Avoriaz/Morzine.