Blink and you would have missed it. Week 3 disappeared quicker than a fresh krispy kreme doughnut. With so much fun being had during this past week all people could think about is that there is only 8 weeks left of the course! Not a bad thought though, two more months of shredding would put a smile on anyone’s face.
Continuing on from where everyone left off last week, week 3 brought a focus on teaching skills as well as terrain exploration and rider improvement. During the first half of the week the snowboarders hit up “happy valley” (aka nappy valley learning zone) where they practiced and practiced “quick ride” (the system designed to get beginner snowboarders up and riding as quickly as possible), working on their demos and teaching techniques. The skiers followed a similar focus for the week practicing their teaching skills working through their FTTP (fast track to parallel) exercise. This is the system skiers use to get their students up and skiing.
Our broken student Laura was back on her board this week determined not to let a slightly fractured arm stop here from working through her training. Our very own NBS rep Sam (qualified snowboard instructor) dedicated some one 2 one training time for Laura to assist her with general riding improvement and demos. Laura benefited greatly from the private tuition with visible signs of improvement made within the first few hours.
Week 3 again delivered on snowfall, with a few legs feeling the burn from all the fresh powder that had fallen. Full advantage was taken to enjoy the snow, skiing endless fresh tracks during lessons. British Columbia has just been one powtastic province so far this season, with epic snow conditions for everyone to enjoy. Even the dumps of snow didn’t put off the crazy Aussies here at Big White as they celebrated Australia day in style boarding and skiing in no more than a pair of board shorts! Chilly!
Our group meal on Friday was a big treat. Our super talented skier Freddie treated us all to some piano action. Playing away to the entire resturant he wowed us all with his quick finger skills. With the snow still dumping everybody enjoyed a few drinks to catch up over the week and headed home to get a good nights rest to enjoy a free ski the following day.
Waking to even more fresh snow, Saturday was a really enjoyable day for the entire NBS crew. It was nice to see everyone out skiing and riding the mountain feeling relaxed after an intense week of lessons. With one last week of tuition before exam time a relaxed weekend was just what the doctor ordered.