All the gear but...

Just days before the holiday I assembled the last required items - as I'd never been before this was all alien to me and I harassed my mate to death asking him about what I did or didn't need to take with me. In the end, the list of things to pack (aside from obvious clothing etc.) was something like this :

• Plasters
• Nurofen / Paracetomol
• Ibuprofen cream
• Deep heat
• Sun cream (yes really!)
  
  
• Board rental certificate
• Passport
• Driving license
• European Health card
• Holiday insurance
  
  
• Snowboard Jacket
• Salopettes
• Gloves
• Impact shorts
• Wrist guards
• Helmet
• Goggles
• Sunglasses (I later discovered I didn't really need these)
• Long socks
• 2 Fleeces (something else I never needed but had it been colder they'd have been handy)
  
  
• iPod + charger
• Phone charger
• Digital camera + battery charger

A couple of after-notes :

The plasters were hugely welcome on day 2 when I woke up and realised I was in danger of getting blisters - where? On my hands, where my wrist guards were rubbing - who would have though it!

Aside from that, the plasters, tablets, sprays etc. were all of little use apart from the ibuprofen gel which I applied a couple of times just in case I started to suffer (which I never really did)

Sunglasses I didn't need as I wore goggles every day, and the fleeces were also redundant as with just a T shirt and snowboard jacket I was more than warm enough (often having my jacket half zipped down for ventilation) - that said, we had great weather and had it been colder I'm sure they'd have come in handy.

The iPod was an absolute must, it made my days so much more enjoyable as I zoned into the music and the boarding and zoned out of people around me, personal preference of course but I wouldn't be without it now!

Each day I took my iPod, mobile phone & digi camera up the slope with me - the phone never got used but I guess was there for emergencies as much as anything.

Board, boots & bindings I hired from InterSport for about £85 for the week and the equipment was in great condition so that worked out fine for me (it costs roughly £60 to transport your snowboard on a plane anyway so even if I did own one, this way was definitely cost effective!)