Arriving at Heathrow’s terminal 5 was this seasons bunch of NothinButSnow students heading to Big White for their season long ski and snowboard instructor course. A mixture or nervous and excited students trickled to the NBS meeting point where they were greeted by NothinButSnow Sam guarding a horde of NBS goodies for them. Eager to start the journey, everyone said their goodbyes to friends and family and checked-in. The lucky ones that were treated to a free upgrade from British Airways, due to a error on their part, meant they could enjoy the lounge and Rich took full advantage of this by relaxing with 3 curry’s and some beers. He was kind enough to pack some free drinks and snacks in his pocket to surprise the rest of the group that were waiting at the gate for him!
Arriving pretty refreshed from a fantastic flight, it was time to clear immigration and complete the final leg of the journey through to Big White. Now for the majority, immigration was a breeze, however those beefed up gun wielding mounties took a liking to Rob and Fred. Some hour or so later after a “little chat” the boys appeared through arrivals, providing some laughter.
With the transfer over quicker than Rob could put his trousers back on the group arrived at a snowy Big White. After a good nights sleep we all headed in to the village to collect season passes, equipment and complete the resort orientation. There were some cracking season pass photos with Rich definitely getting one of the worst season pass poses ever seen! Heading to Sam’s for a quick lunch the first poutine of the season was munched by Laura. A group of the boys headed off for a quick shred before the mountain closed on the first day with the remaining lot heading back to their swanky accommodation for the first hot tub session of the season.
Waking up to fresh snow and fantastic conditions, day 2 involved a massive group shred. Everyone hit the slopes to enjoy a beautiful blue bird day. Breaking in their new boots and trying out new skis.
Day 3 was meet and greet. Time to get to know our team of ski and snowboard pros from Big White’s ski and board school. Josh Foster the director of snow sports welcomed everyone to Big White, explained all about our programme plan and sent each student off with a programme outline and manual.
Lessons kicked off on one of the coldest days of the season so far. A weather front brought strong winds and snowfall, reaching a low of -30c with wind chill. Chilly was an understatement! Hasten to say, warm up hot chocolate breaks were a regular occurrence to keep everyone warm and alive! A few of the boys managed a quick après beer with the rest of the group riding straight back home to dive in to their hot tub and warm the toes.
A blue bird morning was a treat from the freezing tundra of yesterday. The skiers were out enjoying the perfectly groomed runs hopping around on their skis working on some stance and balance drills.
The snowboarders on the other hand were doing what they do best, making snowballs and throwing them at Pascal. In their defense this was a training exercise, they were working on their teaching ability. To encourage you to stand up in front of the group and teach a random skill. Kevin chose snowball making! Back on the slopes the snowboarders were learning front and back 180’s, with a focus on pressure control. The group were really happy to have a freestyle element to learn in their first week.
Lessons wrapped up at the end of the week with our weekly scheduled one 2 one feedback. There was positive feedback all round and a clear outline for improvements going in to week 2. A thoroughly enjoyable week of lessons were over as week 1 drew to an end. Time for the weekend to begin with our group dinner at Santè. The Ultimate burgers went down a treat followed by a few Friday night beers at our local HQ, Snowshoe Sams. The perfect way to end a fantastic first week.
Week 1 NothinButSnow Awards:
Craziest foot wear for a ski and snowboard resort!
Winner: Fred
Cowboy boots just don’t grip fresh pow!
Biggest poser award for a season pass photo
Winner: Rich
Now smile!!!
First person in the hot tub award
Winner: Dan
The first morning after arriving at Big White, who says a hot tub is an evening thing!
