This has nothing to do with UK boarding, but I was so outraged by what I read in The Times that I thought you'd all like to know.

Apparantly The Times reckons boarders caused the fire in Kaprun. You can read the full article at The Times website, but here's a small snipet:

Now, to hang on to tourists, the Austrian Alpine communities make huge concessions to snow-boarders, who perform their sport to the throb of mountainside techno music.

Top boarders carry small aerosol sprays to wax their boards. And boarders do not worry overmuch about the “no smoking” signs. That combination may have made some contribution to the disaster on Saturday.

Snowboarding is a lifestyle statement, a relaxed, unregulated sport that nonetheless adheres to strict fashion dictates. In Kaprun snowboarding became a way of death.

We could get angry here of course and vent our anger at The Times editor and indeed I would encourage you to do so. The author of this fiction should be congratulated on his fine factual reporting.

I don't often get miffed, but this guy is a gold plated tosser of the first order... vent away comrades.

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