Day 82 - ? ? question mark ? ?

I'm not really sure I can count today as an actual ride day. I had 6 Level one kids who never left the Magic Carpet. I took many a ride down the baby bunny slope but I didn't take a ride anywhere else. I'm going to count the day as Day 82 but only because I have a feeling I will ride more than 100 days this season so this day really won't matter anyhow.

Day 81 - back to the Magic Chair

I was thrown over to Ride Tribe today. Normally I work at Whistler Kids.... 7-12 year olds. The teen riders who want group lessons go to Ride Tribe. So I headed over to Ride Tribe and did my lesson back on Blackcomb. My group was two 15 year old boys who had never snowboarded before (Level 1). We took countless runs on the Magic Carpet then headed for the Magic Chair. One kid was literally turning 45min after he learned how to pendulum on both healside and toeside. This guy was incredible. After lunch we took the gondola up and he was turning on Cruzer!! Cruzer is a blue run!!! Just to give you some idea: normally it takes people around 3 solid days before they learn how to turn. This kid was turning after 2hrs.... and he had never been on a snowboard before. Tomorrow he'll be in a Level 3 class. Day 81 complete.

The sun was shining and it was super warm today. Naturally I was working on my goggle tan.

Day 80 - Over the hill

I can't believe I only have 20 more days to go on this fabulous quest of mine. Today was a good day. The temps were brrrrr because the sun stayed behind the clouds all day. No snow but no rain either. I was up the Alpine all day with three Level 3 kids. We hit some greens and blues. The tree runs were all frozen over so those were no fun. Nothing too exciting to report. Just another day (80) at "the office".

Day 79 - Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Day 79 was a gorgeous winter day on Whistler. -- (or is it spring already??)-- The sun was shining and the views were incredible. Best of all, I had one kid in my group today. Since I called in sick yesterday, all of the Adventure Camp kids were already paired up with instructors. I ended up with a Level 3 girl who was with my boss yesterday. We spent most of the day in the Alpine. I don't know where all the tourists were today but they weren't skiing or snowboarding. The runs were bare. Today was one of those days when I shake my head in disbelief ...... I can't believe I am so blessed to live and work here.

Day 78 - Fresh Tracks II

I somehow convinced Kevin we should do fresh tracks today. In order to guarantee that we would get out of bed before 5am, we invited a co-worker of Kevin's (and his family) to stay at our house so they wouldn't have such a long drive to Whistler in the morning. The plan went off without a hitch as we were standing in line at the gondola by 7am. (breakfast buffet, yum yum)

There was only a trace of new snow overnight, but Symphony had been closed for the last two days and a ton of snow fell since Friday. We took a few powder runs through Harmony then headed over to the amphitheatre. We discovered that taking the Sun Bowl from Harmony down to Symphony was the best way to get there. We took countless fresh tracks this morning and got stuck in powder that was up to our waist. Day 78 was an insanely great powder day!!!

SE7EN SE7EN

Day 77 was a great day and kind of a crappy day at the same time. I had 3 awesome Level 3 kids who were just shredding it through the trees and down some pretty tough blue runs. We stayed up top and rode from Emerald Chair up. The downer? The wet conditions. It was snowing in the Alpine, however it was a very very very very WET snow! Wet and heavy. It was also raining right below Emerald Chair. Needless to say, by the end of my day, I was ready for a hot shower.

Day 76 - Ahhhhhh................

It snowed all day today. yippee. I had a couple of girls returning to snowboard camp and they were Level 3's, which meant I got to enjoy some of the fresh snow up top. The day wasn't without its mishaps though, someone mistakenly took my girl's snowboard instead of their own (all the rental boards look alike but we put stickers on the boards with the kids' names so they can tell them apart ..... that is, if they bother to check). So she had to spend the afternoon on a board that went up to her chest instead of her chin. She managed but she wasn't happy. Day 76 was pretty sweet, especially after the last three hectic days.

The birds in Whistler prefer to be hand fed.

Day 75 - one crazy week!

Let's see: Monday we had over 50 snowboarders, Tuesday we had 67, and Wednesday (today) we had 72!!! The weather has also been crazy all week: pouring rain all day, beautiful warm sun, and blustery snow. What else has been crazy? Well, I started Monday with 11 kids in my group, I've already called Ski Patrol 3x, I've had to repair 2 sets of bindings. KNOCK ON WOOD! ..... about the only thing that hasn't happened this week is a lost kid. Day 75, over and out.

Day 74 - sun

(Forgot the camera.) The sun was shining all day. Oh it felt so good, especially after all the rain yesterday. Olympic runs today. Started with 7 kids, ended with 5....... two calls to ski patrol, two sprained wrists, and mega-paperwork to fill out. Day 74 in the books.

Day 73 - H : E : double hockey sticks!!!

Being a snowboard instructor isn't all guts and glory! There are days when the temps are freezing, super freezing! And then there are days when it's wet with rain..... really wet. Today was one of those super wet days, not to mention, super busy. On average, about 10-15 kids show up for a day of snowboard lessons. A busy day for snowboard school is 20 snowboarders. Today we had 55 snowboarders signed up!!! Yes, 55!!! What about that rain? It rained at midstation today.... it poured all day. It rained so much that the tops of my socks .... I said, the tops of my socks were drenched (really weird). I could literally wring out a glass of water from my gloves by lunchtime. Luckily I wore a helmet so my head stayed pretty dry. The Goretex also kept me fairly dry. But it was cold, it was wet, and I was miserable. Day 73 totally sucked!

Day 72 - Happy St. Patricks Day

Well, a rainy warm front has made its way to WhistlerBlackcomb. Kevin and I headed up on Friday night to meet with a client who wanted to buy some new skis. We were hoping for a dump-load of snow overnight since we were already in Whistler on Saturday morning and it would have been a great opportunity to do fresh tracks. No such luck. So we slept in, ordered some room service, and finally headed up to Blackcomb around 10am to see if the conditions were really as bad as everyone said they were. Oh boy! The fog was dense and it went all the way down the mountain to half way up the Jersey Cream chair. Not to mention, it was raining .... We slowly picked our way down Blackcomb. Once at the bottom, we thought maybe Whistler's visibility and conditions were better.

It was kind of clear at the Roundhouse and instead of rain, it was actually snowing. Peak Chair to Symphony seemed like the most logically place to try and find some good snow. MISTAKE!!! The wind was blowing like crazy on the peak and the visibility was a complete whiteout. We actually walked (carried our boards) the cat track from the Peak Chair to the Saddle run that took us back down to the Peak Chair. There was no way we could have made it over to Symphony and with no visibility, what was the point? In fact, by the time we made it back to the Peak Chair, the fog had completely covered the Roundhouse. It was a long way back to the village but we made it. Day 72 ended on a good note as we met back up with the client and had some apres at the Longhorn. Kevin has had two bad weekends in a row, he's dying to shred up some good pow. Hopefully next weekend will be a little better.

Day 71 - Gotta love getting paid to shred

Today I was lucky enough to get a Level 3 class (with two repeating kids from the beginning of the week). This basically means that instead of staying at midstation and below, we're able to shred all over Whistler. I started with 5 kids: lost 1 to his parents at lunch: picked up 2 from a lower group: sent 1 to an upper level after lunch. How many is that? I think I ended my day with 5 .... I couldn't keep track.

Anyway, it was a nice day weather wise. It was cloudy but cold. Perfect visibility and the snow was still pretty good. No powder though. As I carved my way down Lower Whiskey Jack on Day 71, I couldn't believe I was actually getting paid for this.

Day 70 - The End is in sight!

Beautiful day on the mountain. It snowed a bit overnight and the sun was shining all day. The kids were great, the sun was warm, and the snow was amazing. If you stick to the sides of those easy green runs.... the ones I'm usually stuck riding all day..... you can find a lot of pow there. Most people on those runs tend to stay in the middle of the trail. Day 70 was a nice easy day with 4 kids who were Level 2 stars. We hit the Roundhouse for a run from top to bottom. Nothing exciting.

Day 69 - didya say sixty nine???

Once again, the morning started off as a sheet of ice. Today's forecast was for clear skies but it snowed for most of the late morning and into the afternoon. Our snowboards were buried in the light fresh powder after lunch. It was sweet. It didn't take very long for the light fluffyness to cover up the crap from the weekend. Unfortunately, the freezing levels are expected to raise back up to the peak for the weekend and more rain is coming.

Day 69 was a group of Level 2 hearts who are starting to link some turns on easy green runs. These guys (and one girl) were really into learning so I never heard one whine about practicing on the long magic carpet for most of the morning. As a reward, we headed down to the village after lunch and did some free riding. Kids love going through some easy tree runs and practicing some jumps. I think most of them are coming back tomorrow. It should be fun.

Day 68 - Iceskating anyone????

It rained all the way to the top of the mountain on Sunday... for the entire day. And not a little bit of rain, we're talking buckets of rain. Sunday night / Monday morning, the temps drop .... and poof!.... instant ice rink. When I stepped off the magic carpet this morning, I started slipping back down the hill (in only my boots!) and literally could not stop. I slipped half way back down the bunny slope. This was at midstation. I didn't talk to anyone who went up to the Alpine, but I am assuming it was the same crappy conditions.

Imagine how the Level 1 kids felt trying to learn in these conditions. When they fell, they fell hard. ouch! Day 68 was nothing exciting. A few runs on Olympic. I had 8 kids in my class today, only 1 is scheduled to return on Tuesday. I hope the conditions improve.

Day 67 - getting tired

I was very close to calling in sick today. The only reason I went to work was because one of my girls from Adventure Camp said she was coming back for lessons today. I knew there was a 50/50 chance she wouldn't show.... but I decided I should go in just in case she did want another lesson. She was now a Level 3 rider and I knew she needed to continue working on her turns.

We ended up with another girl in our class today too. So on Day 67, we took the gondola up to the top (the snow was amazing by the way) and did some green runs all the way down. The day went by pretty fast and my cold seems to be going away so I'm glad I decided to work. I'm also glad it's Friday. I'm thinking about taking the weekend off from snowboarding. I'm pooped!

six six

At the end of my shift yesterday, someone told me to report to 10am training on Thursday instead of my regularly scheduled shift. Being the worker-bee that I am , I went to my desk job at 7:30am and put in a couple hours there before this so-called training. Keep in mind, I had no idea what the training was for, no idea if I should dress in uniform, bring my snowboard, helmet, etc. I can tell u I was hoping for a quick lazy day in a meeting room since my throat has been feeling like it's on fire for the last couple of days. But a nice fireside training session was not in my future for today.

Let me explain my riding level. I am a Level 4..... maybe a Level 5 snowboarder. I never realized there were so many technical aspects to snowboarding until I got to Whistler. My definition of snowboarding was to strap on my board and head to the "groomiest" blue runs. Up here: people snowboard on powder, double black diamonds, bowls, moguls, tree runs, runs you can hike to, virtually every kind of run you can think of..... including runs that aren't even on the trail maps!

You can imagine my surprise when I was told I was signed up for Basic Survival Training 3 (Day 66), ESPECIALLY when I never took a Basic Survival Training 2 course! I took BST 1. That was easy and was done on green runs. I assume BST 2 takes place on blue runs because BST 3 was on black runs!!! Not only was I heading to territory I was already intimidated by but I was heading with a few of my colleagues who are probably Level 12 riders!!!! I mean, one guy was riding half way up the side of a mountain and then jumping back down over the cliff! And here I was sideslipping my way down to my group who had already been waiting for me for about 5 minutes. It was kind of a humiliating day. My only hope is my boss still believes I am qualified enough to teach Level 1's and not a complete moron who has no business working in Snowboarding School.

Day 65 - Rain then Sun

Last day for Adventure Campers: Day 65 of the quest for me. They all graduated to Level 3's and I think a couple of them are coming back for the rest of the week. We practiced our basic turns in the morning, had some lunch, then hit the lower slopes in the afternoon. Unfortunately, it rained all morning and the temps were well above freezing so the snow was really slushy and wet. Horrible conditions to practice on so I let the kids freeride for the afternoon. We were all highly entertained by Jacque (the kid from Montreal). He was a joke teller, a party dancer, and a rock star all rolled up into one! Very entertaining kid. I wish I had a video camera to follow him around all day because I know I would win $10,000 on America's Funniest Home Videos with him on film.

Gore Tex is my friend!

Day 64 - much better

Day 64 was a better day with the kids. My group of four started out as Level 1 hearts (basically, the beginning of the beginning) and ended the day at Level 2 hearts (working on basic turns). Even my "crazy go fast" kid named Jacque (he lives in Montreal but was born in Trinidad) worked on his zig zags and then linked about 20 turns on the Olympic Run. I guess his butt was so sore from yesterday, he decided to practice today. tee hee.

Day 63 - ugh!

Day 63 .... ugh! It's going to be a long week. I had a group of Level 1's who have never snowboarded before and the only thing they want to do is point their snowboards down the hill and GO! (most of them are around the age of 7). We spent the entire day on the Magic Carpet. No one was really progressing so I thought going to the Olympic Chair would help. NOPE! Can you say OUT OF CONTROL!!?? Fortunately, the worst of the "downhill pointing" boys will not be returning tomorrow. I hope to gain a little more control tomorrow and get these kids doing some real snowboarding by Wednesday but it's going to be a long week. On another note, it rained all day at midstation. Snow is forecasted but not as much as forecasted earlier.

Day 62 - A Bust!

We woke up this morning hoping for another epic afternoon like the one we had last week. Unfortunately, Day 62 was a bust. Temps have risen resulting in soft spring like conditions, even on the Alpine. With Symphony closing around noon, the crowd made its way to Harmony and we didn't feel like standing in a long lift line for conditions that were sub-par. Boy, have we gotten spoiled!!! It's powder or nothing for us I guess. We headed home after a couple hours and decided to take the dog for a nice long walk. On the positive side, the forecast calls for 40cm of snow by mid-week! woo hoo!

Day 61 - Sam I Am

I showed up for work this morning only to find we only had 3 snowboarders signed up for today. Seconds before my boss was about to send my butt over to Ride Tribe, Sam showed up. He had been in my Adventure Camp Mon-Wed and asked if I could be his instructor for today. Luckily for us, he was the only Level 2 rider so it was a private lesson at the price of a group lesson for little Sam on Day 61. Sweeeeet!!

It's Not All Fun and Games!

At the beginning of this week, one my kids fell backwards and his helmet smacked straight into my shin. It's a pretty bad bruise. Thank God the kid had a helmet on. Sucks for my leg though.

Day 60 - Back to schools

Today, Day 60, was nothing exciting..... as far as riding goes. I worked back at Base 2 for Schools and my group was Level 1 high school kids. I started with 10 in my group. One kid immediately got sick (puked) and one girl cut her finger pretty bad on the edge of her snowboard. So I was down to 8. These kids were great. I kept them on the Magic Carpet for most of the day working on side-slipping. By the afternoon, we took three runs down the "bunny hill". One kid worked really hard on his riding and wanted to do a 180 jump. He took about 5 attempts at it but didn't land anything. He had a blast trying though. At the end of the day, the kids all said they had fun and they all learned something. Apparently, last year, some instructor stuck them on a snowboard, pointed them down the hill and said come back up on the Magic Chair. They all said they quit after an hour. I think I succeeded in renewing their interest in snowboarding. They want to get a season pass for next year and come up once a week.