Week 7 came with a gift from the heavens, for the past 10 days we have averaged 10 cm every day. The snow has been incredible.
Everybody welcomed the snowfall as it was much needed due to 2 weeks of bluebird, which is nothing to complain about, but it is nice to have fresh snow. The guys wasted no time making sure they tracked out the mountain as much as possible.
Monday and Tuesday had its usual routine with all the guys and girls meeting for a morning coffee before hitting the slopes with a new instructor. Week on week the intensity is growing as we get closer to the Level 2 exam. It is incredible to see how much our students have improved, we have seen a complete transformation in their ability from when they arrived to now.
Wednesday would see the arrival of some new students who were coming to Big White to take part in the 4 week Level 1 ski instructor programme. They would be going in to one of the houses with some of the 11 week students and like troopers they all stayed up till 01.30am to greet their new housemates. After the introductions it was off to bed. What an arrival for the new students, plenty of pow, they were extremely excited to see all this snow, a full meter over the past 10 days.
Thursday the new students were given their village orientation and made sure they got any equipment they needed, lessons for them started the following so they need to be fully prepared. After everything was sorted we all headed home and the new students were eager to chill as the previous day travelling was taking its toll. The 11 week students on the other hand enjoyed the fresh snow that had fallen.
Friday brought some pretty hectic conditions up on the mountain. Within 2 minutes your goggles were frozen and you were forever taking your hand out of your glove and placing it on your lens to melt the ice. Due to the conditions, the snowboarders headed to their instructors house to talk about the Level 2 exam and also do some practice analysis and improvement sessions, something they will need to demonstrate during their exam. Instead of heading to the classroom, Alyn the instructor thought it would be beter to head to his for a more relaxed environment, where they could openly discuss tactics and watch videos on the CASI Level 2 exam. The skiers went in search of shelter, which they found down at Happy Valley where they worked on some Level 2 teaching techniques and demos. In the evening it was off to Santé for dinner as a group and to welcome in the new students. A few beers later and it was like they had been here for the past 7 weeks, everyone was chatting away and filling the new guys and girls in on the previous weeks antics. A great week and some new faces kept it fresh.
