February 10th – It was the second day of ski school today because we started our 5 day lessons on Sunday to have Tuesday off. We regrouped back again in the village at 9.30am to concentrate on ski improvement, using the versatile terrains as we played in the fresh 10cm of snow which fell over night. We skied in and out of the trees all day due to the bad visibility but absolutely enjoying the moderate -7 temperature allowing us to make the most of the ideal snow conditions. At the end of the day we finished with a pep-talk so we knew what we would personally be concentrating on again when we reunited with our instructor on Wednesday.
Tuesday we were left to our own devices. The snowboarders still had lessons so the NBS skiers got together for an adventure. East Peak being the goal, the highest summit in the resort. East Peak, located on the backside of Big White being included in the long term master plan of the resort. The day was enjoyed by all; we were blessed with bluebird conditions making the 45 minute hike up being absolutely worth it for the run down and the stunning views. Everyone survived the cliff drop despite my housemate being caught in a minor avalanche; he managed to catch it all on his go-pro so later afternoon we huddled around his laptop with butterflies in our stomaches; is was not anything major so thankfully no injuries. Later in the afternoon some of those who had not had enough adventure went onto jump the homemade NBS road gap at Snow Pines. No one afraid of hurting themselves because of the fresh powder laid out to cushion their fall.
Wednesday was straight back into ski improvement, skiing hard and focusing on the skills and competencies, preparing ourselves for our level 2 training to start the following Monday. Wednesday night was fun and games again with wings and tacos in the village- our midweek treat. It was a pretty late night, everyone getting absolutely involved in the evening and taking advantage of the ‘free ski’ week.
Thursday was relatively similar to earlier in the week, building our confidence on more difficult terrain and using the powder to our advantage in regards to being more aggressive on the slopes, knowing it was there to soften our (unfrequent) falls. Friday, Saturday and Sunday were spent on a CSCF Race Coach Course. We had an early start all weekend, skied hard and played in slaloms on our own private slope, cornered off for our use only. The instructor was a real character- 63 years old and still going strong. He made us feel so included and eased us into racing effortlessly on the first day, sharing his best and favourite tactics with us.
Sunday was a good day! Everyone on the course qualified as CSCF level 1, so as you can imagine it was a pretty big night. We had our presentation, received some photographs of our weekend and then went on to celebrate right away! Spirits especially high for Sunday doubles.
Hannah