Another great day on the snow. About 28cm of fresh overnight. Lots of powder to be found for people who know where to look for it. The morning was crazy busy and we waited in line at the gondola for over a half hour, but once my two kids and I got up and running, it was sweet! The winds up top were gusting up to 100kph so we spent much of our time on the lower runs. It's funny how you can find a lot of untracked powder on the sides of green runs. Countless times I was in up to my knees. I overheard someone in the gondola describe the snow as "hero's snow" .... meaning the snow was so nice, anyone could ski like a pro on it. I would have to agree. It was amazing today.
Day 21 - awesome snow day
Another great day on the snow. About 28cm of fresh overnight. Lots of powder to be found for people who know where to look for it. The morning was crazy busy and we waited in line at the gondola for over a half hour, but once my two kids and I got up and running, it was sweet! The winds up top were gusting up to 100kph so we spent much of our time on the lower runs. It's funny how you can find a lot of untracked powder on the sides of green runs. Countless times I was in up to my knees. I overheard someone in the gondola describe the snow as "hero's snow" .... meaning the snow was so nice, anyone could ski like a pro on it. I would have to agree. It was amazing today.
Day 20 - Holiday Madness
Having a great week- the snow is awesome and my kids are so much fun. I had my one Adventure Camp kid and picked up four others. Although there wasn't a lot of fresh snow that fell overnight, the conditions were still amazing with packed powder. We rode everything that was open including 3 runs from the top of the mountain all the way down to the village (over 6,000ft). I'm sure my kids will be sleeping like babies tonight as we rode long, hard, and fast.
Day 19 - I'm back!!
Let's look at what has changed in the ten days that I've been gone. When I left, I believe the snow base was 50cm. Today the snow base is 111cm!!! (woo hoo). When I left, there was a full mountain download. Today: full mountain ski out!!! (woo hoo).
Since it's a busy holiday week, Snowboard School is running a 5 day Adventure Camp program. I elected to work AC because you get the same kids for the entire week - and if you get a group of great kids who can shred the gnar like there's no tomorrow then it's really a lot of fun. Unfortunately, only 9 snowboarders signed up for Adventure Camp. I was lucky enough to take the only Level 4 kid, who coincidently I had last year in AC. Since I didn't have a full class (8 students) I had to stop by the CLC and pick up more Level 4's who were only taking a lesson for today. Anyway, I ended up with three kids who could tear it up!
About 6inches of snow fell overnight and it puked all day. (there was about 5inches of snow on my truck at the end of the day) The conditions were amazing!! (it's about time!) No more ice and lots of fluffy white fresh snow everywhere! We spent the day looking for jumps and fresh powder. You'd be amazed how much untouched snow you can find on crowded green runs just by riding the sides and through a few trees. Believe it or not, the most amazing run was Olympic off to the left. There had to be a over a foot of fresh pow sitting on the sides the entire way down the run. I just surfed it .... it was amazing. Finally!!
Cute little puppy dog with little booties
Day 18 - still so crazy cold ( -11°F )
My trustee jump building crew.
We took as many breaks as possible to keep warm. We spent an hour at the Super Carpet working on our turns. We took one lap down the ice under the Olympic Chair. Lastly, my fellow instructor, Lauren (who is on light duty because of an injury) built us a jump at the Magic Carpet so we spent about an hour "getting some air". Of course, we took our breaks in between all that.
This will be my last day on the snow for at least ten days. I'm traveling back home for the holidays but will return after Christmas. Happy Holidays to everyone following my blog and pray for snow!
Day 17 - not as exciting, but fun just the same
I say "make a funny face" and this is what I get!!
Well today brought less excitement than yesterday. WB issued a press release regarding the gondola accident citing "ice jacking" as the reason for the pole's "structural failure". Anyway, as for me, I had another shadow today. We had a class of 7 level two's .... basically the same kids as yesterday. We spent the morning practicing our turns on the Magic Carpet and I made the decision to take the kids up to the top of the mountain for the afternoon.
Along with my shadow, one of my other fellow instructors joined us and ten of us ventured down Ego Bowl. The snow was great actually. Powdery and fluffy. There were some patches of ice but nothing like the ice skating rink we've been having. And it was cold! Single digits once again.
It took us about an hour and half to get from the Roundhouse to the Emerald Chair. Even though they had to zig zag most of the way, the kids loved it!!! They were so excited to be somewhere other than the Magic Carpet. Most of them had been in snowboarding school since Monday (three days on the Magic Carpet can get wicked boring) so going up top was a big deal...... They wanted to take another run but unfortunately we ran out of time. Most of them are returning tomorrow and I promised them more Alpine time. I only wish Marmot trees were open. Man they would go crazy for Marmot trees ......
Day 16 - gondola tower collapses
I hope this is the one and only time that title is part of my blog. How about this one: "still bitter cold in Whistler and nothing is falling from the sky except gondolas." (stolen from someone on Facebook) - before I start with the breaking news from Whistler Blackcomb, let me tell you about my day.
Another cold one but not as cold as yesterday. I had another shadow today and we were given a class of eight level 2's. All of them were just learning how to turn. We spent the day on the Magic Carpet, but had the Olympic Chair been open, we would have ventured over there by mid-afternoon. Unfortunately, the CLC area was all we had to work with. Nothing exciting.
Conditions up top are still horrible. And when I say horrible, I mean most runs are a SHEET OF ICE! The winds have been considerable the last couple of days and those winds are blowing what little snow is there right off the runs, leaving nothing but the ice underneath.
Here's what I heard: The top half of tower four split from the botton half and the top half fell to the ground leaving the three gondola cabins that were in between towers 3 and 4 hanging from the rope. One cabin landed on the top of the bus shelter, one cabin was hanging over the creek that separates the two mountains, and one cabin landed on the roof of a house (I don't think this last one was true). No one was seriously injured.... no broken bones, just bumps and bruises and most likely sheer terror!!! How does something like this happen? One theory: water was inside the pole, froze (with the sub-zero arctic cold temperatures we've been having) - the ice expanded and crack.... there goes the tower. I'm sure WB is working on a press release. I wish I had better pictures.
Cabin resting on roof of bus shelter.
To the left of the ladder is the bottom half of the tower.
Great shot taken by Dave Steers. You can see where the tower no longer exists and you can see it resting on the ground.
Day 15 - foiled again!!
A cold spell has reached the greater Vancouver area sending 6inches of snow to the city and arctic temperatures to Whistler. Luckily, here in the Northwest, temperatures like these only last a few days to a week unlike the Northeast where sub-zero temps can last for over a month or longer. In the Alpine, the temperature today was -22°C (or 7°F) with winds up to 80kph (50mph). Needless to say, if we had too many instructors working today, I was volunteering to NOT have a class.
Now don't get me wrong, I love my job and I love working. But working in single digit temperatures is brutal.... even when you're equipped with hand warmers and toe warmers, which I was. Once all the snowboarders arrived at the CLC: I was in luck...... there were only three classes (a level one class, a level three class, and one level 6 kid) and four instructors. Sweet! I was going home to keep warm on my couch.
Not so fast! In order to have a Level 5/6 class, you have to be minimally certified as a Level 2 instructor. Remember that certification class I took last year at the end of the season? Since I was the only Level 2 instructor working, I had to take the one kid in the high level class. Rats! Foiled again! I found it quite amusing and carried on with freezing my butt off all day. It worked out in the end though ..... I ended up getting a tip from the kid's dad.
Day 14 - so close yet so far
I had a lot of errands to run today so I was hoping to not get a class and get out of work early. We had four instructors scheduled and by 9:30am we had three classes (levels 2-4). As I sauntered over to my Supervisor to let her know all classes were taken care of and I was going to be the one leaving .... she proceeded to tell me we had one more snowboarder coming up the gondola: a late arrival and a level one!!! I couldn't believe it. I was so close ..... not only that, I had already given away the upper level classes to my co-workers so I stuck myself with the guys who never snowboarded before. How's that for karma?
So needless to say I spent the day at the CLC on the Magic Carpet. It wasn't too bad as there were mini's (2-3yr old skiers) everywhere (see pic). I spent most of my downtime (while my class was practicing their zig zags) picking up Mini's off the carpet. They're really little and they fall over a lot. ha ha
Day 13 - blue bird skies
Wednesday, Hump Day = another shadow. I don't mind having shadows as you're guaranteed to have an upper level class. We had a class of four who were moved up to Level 3 yesterday, but as usual, they were really only level two's. Nothing we could do about it so we headed up to the top of the mountain.
We took a few runs down Ego Bowl, taking our time and showing the kids how to turn. The snow wasn't bad where there was snow, but like it's been all season, there are patches of snow and then bigger patches of ice. And again, it was crowded as only the green sections of the Emerald Runs are open. But the sun was shining strong and it felt so good on my cold face.
By the end of the day, we got most of the kids turning. In the Gondola on the ride down, the girls (three of them) decided to peel the snow off their boards and start a small snowball fight with my shadow, Morgan ( a cute young buck from Toronto). They all had fun. It was a good day.
Day 12 - snow and a shadow
Well, it snowed all day in Whistler. The snow conditions are getting better but they are nowhere close to being "Whistler good". Still icy in many spots and the traffic congestion is still insane. They only runs open are Whiskey Jack, Ego Bowl, Orange Peel to Pony Express, and Express Way down to midstation. Hopefully the snow will keep falling and more terrain will open. Very cold with gusting winds....
I had another shadow today. We took one level 3 kid and one level 4 kid. I stuck with the three who took about an hour to get from the Roundhouse to the Emerald Chair and my shadow shredded some gnar with the four. After lunch we left the three with the level 1 class as he was super tired. Got in a run down Orange Peel to Red Chair and from Red Chair down Express Way back to the CLC. Long lines at midstation to download (see pic).
Day 11 - red skies in morning
Straight out of the camera, no photoshop.
Conditions again were the same old crap. Very few runs open, icy, and lots of traffic at the merge sections of trails.
Day 10 - one and done
Slept in this AM as the weather was forecasted to be wet. I made it up to the Roundhouse around noon. Wasn't expecting much and was hoping the rain had turned to snow. No such luck. Not only was it raining but it was crowded with limited visibility. I strapped in and headed down Ego Bowl. The snow was wet and slushy. Once I made it down to Emerald Chair, I wanted to be done and headed down to the GLC for apres.
Day 9 - Training part deux
Omer pretending to fall to teach us the proper way of lifting.
Warm temperatures and rain have washed out 4cm of our snowbase. We are now down to a 41cm base with no snow in the forecast and warm temps and more rain forecasted for the weekend. If and when it finally does "dump" on us, the masses are going to swarm! This November was record setting for the least amount of snowfall. Please pray with me.
Anyway, I had another training session today. Unfortunately, it was raining in the Alpine so the two runs we did were wet and cold. On a positive note, the warm temperatures are melting the ice. But it's soooo hard to stay positive. I'll be praying to Ullr (the Norse God of skiing) for snow all weekend.
Day 8 - Ride Tribe
During my morning meeting I was sent over to work Ride Tribe. I ended up with the same kids I had the other day at Whistler Kids. We immediately rode the gondola up to the top and headed out for a day of fun. Temps were about 23 degrees first thing in the morning and the snow guns had been running all night. The runs weren't too bad with regards to ice and we took three laps down to Emerald Chair. The best part of working Ride Tribe is that you get a lunch voucher to eat lunch at the Roundhouse vs. eating at the CLC . The Roundhouse offers different food choices such as: sandwiches, soups, burgers, fries, poutine, sushi, fish and chips, and stir fry. I opted for chicken teriyaki stir fry. Much tastier than the veggie burger special offered today at the CLC.After lunch we managed to fit in about five more runs. I ran into my friend Lauren from Whistler Kids who had 2 kids in her class. We all downloaded together in the gondola.... finishing my work week off by 3pm. Nine days into the season and eight days into the pursuit of 100. Not bad.
Day 7 - training
Today's training was Skill Development for Kids. It's a full day paid training session that focuses on safety and techniques on how to keep kids working on their skills through different games. I was hoping the ice from yesterday was covered with artificial snow since the temperatures have dropped and the snow guns were blowing all night. The conditions weren't the best, but the guns were doing their jobs and covering as much of the ice as fast as they could. This year's training isn't as fun as in the past since there is no terrain to shred on but we made the most of it. My trainer was a guy named Jose. I've had Jose many times for training and sessions last season. He is from Quebec and sometimes I have a hard time understanding what he is saying as he has a strong french accent but he's great as a trainer. He's a certified Park and Pipe Coach so he's always showing us different air tricks or surface tricks. What's great is that he keeps the tricks within your level so he's not trying to get me to do a 360 off a jump or something crazy (what I would call crazy) like that. Today we were practicing butters and 180 nose and tail rolls. It didn't look like there were too many kids in Snowboard School so it was a good day to get paid to shred and train. Back to work tomorrow though.......
Day 6 - 45cm Base
To give you an idea of how much snow we DON'T have, here are some statistics: November snowfall in 07/08 was 162cm (5ft). November snowfall in 06/07 was 416cm (13.6ft)! Today (Dec 2nd) we have a total snow base of 45cm (1.4ft)!!!!!Day 6, I was given a Ride Tribe class (13-17yr olds) because there were no instructors scheduled to work Ride Tribe. Reservations showed zero kids in this age group so there was no point in having any instructors scheduled. My kids showed up last minute and since we had enough instructors for the younger kids, we gladly helped Ride Tribe.
The boys were friends from Singapore and when asked to rate their snowboarding skills, like most teenage boys, they overstated their skill level. Since they told me how awesome their shredding talent was, I immediately took them up to the Alpine only to find out their abilities weren't quite up to the skill level needed to ride the trails up there. Not to mention, the snow in the Alpine was a complete sheet of ice! Even I didn't want to be up there.
Luckily the guys weren't too thrilled with the ice either. After one run, I asked if they wanted to head back to the CLC where the snow was much softer and where we could practice turning. They were both interested in doing that. Thank God.
**Note: I teach at the Children's Learning Center. It is about 1/3 of the way up the mountain. It's a great teaching area (when there is snow) as there are many small bunny hill type trails to learn on. The Alpine is almost at the top of Whistler (over 6,000 ft). Here your skills need to be up to par as an advanced beginner or higher level. There are no bunny hill type trails in the Alpine.
Day 5 - what month is this?
Warm temperatures and rain over the last couple days has washed away more snow. As you can see from the pic above, there was dirt and rocks showing through the bunny slope where the kids would practice. Not to worry as only 4 kids showed up for snowboard school today. I think we had more instructors than kids. Most of us got the day off.
I volunteered to head home early and headed up the gondola to see how the trails in the Alpine were holding up. There was snow up there but it was warm and soft like it was April or May. The Thanksgiving crowds have gone back home so it didn't feel very crowded. I wasn't wearing a neck warmer, goggles, or a hat and I was perfectly comfortable. That was nice. I took one run down to Emerald Chair and then headed back to the locker room. I would have rode longer but I was still in uniform (I worked for two hours) and Whistler Blackcomb frowns upon instructors wearing uniforms without a class.
Whistler Village Dec 1, 2008
Where is the snow??
Day 4 - team teaching
Lauren and I split the Level one snowboarders today. A total of 11 kids who never snowboarded before. Conditions are horrible as it rained most of the day. Unfortunately it rained all the way to the top of the mountain so what little snow we have is slowly melting away. Funny: for some reason I was singing the guitar solo to Barracuda all morning. One of our students came up to me and asked if I play Guitar Hero. I said, "yea I play Guitar Hero on my PS3". He told me that he knew I played Guitar Hero.
"How did you know I play that game" I asked. He said, "because how else would you know that song Barracuda?" I just laughed to myself and said "yea, I know that song from the game" and thinking to myself: little does this kid know I've been singing Barracuda long before he was even born!
Day 3 - mmmm..... cookies!
This morning I was greeted at my morning meeting with fresh homemade cookies from my Hawaiian kid. Nice surprise. We had a whopping 15 kids in snowboard school today. A far cry from the 50 we had last season. My group was a Level 2 class which included my kid from yesterday and two other boys both from Washington. The shredders were a little too good for the beginner area so we went to the Roundhouse and tried learning how to turn in the Alpine. It was crazy crowded on the limited trails available but we managed not to get hurt, lost, or kill anybody. It wasn't the most desirable terrain to learn how to turn (too steep) so we did a lot of freeriding (just going straight and fast). Kids love that! It snowed in the Alpine all day but the snow was pretty wet at the bottom of Pig Alley. I guess any snow is good snow so I'm not complaining. All in all, I would call it a successful day.
Day 2 - Happy Thanksgiving!!!!
It's American Thanksgiving and my first day of work. This season's ski school bookings are well below normal. I don't know if it's the economy or the lack of snow. To my surprise, the cool little Hawaiian kid I taught last year returned. He was the only one in my class. In fact, there weren't many kids in snowboard school at all. 12 to be exact. The snow guns were firing as much as possible today at the CLC (Children's Learning Center). If you look at the photo of the Magic Carpet above, you'll notice lots of plywood. Normally, the snow is up to the plywood. We couldn't run the Magic Carpet because the kids would fall off the sides. And although that would be amusing, the kid's parents probably wouldn't appreciate our lack of babysitting skills. So instead of standing on a moving carpet to get up the bunny hill, the kids had to walk up. Needless to say, after two hours of that, they were all exhausted.
Shred Day 1 - Season Three
My alarm went off at 6:30am. Four hours later I was strapping my bindings on and starting another season on the snow. (You didn't think I got out of bed that early, did you? I shut my alarm off and rolled back over!) It turns out people started camping out around 3am in order to be the first up the mountain and by the time the gondola starting going around and around at 8am, the line up was through the maze and all the way back to Zog's. I'm glad I went back to sleep!
Not much was open today: Gondola, Red Chair and Emerald. There were plenty of fresh tracks to be found off the groomers but you had to watch out for the tops of trees and the occasional rocks. Naturally the Peak was closed but about 20 die-hards hiked up Shale Chute and hit fresh down Shale (not an easy hike). I found myself somewhere on G.S. I fell trying to make my way through the tops of trees and then it was all over (so to speak). Once you fall, good luck pulling yourself back out when the snow comes up to your waist! I managed to make my way out, huffing and puffing and dripping with sweat. Time for lunch.
Ran into a couple of guys I work with and took an hour lunch break. One more run through the easy powder and my legs and feet were toast. It wasn't the best conditions but by no means was it the worst conditions. A successful opening day in my eyes. Now it's time to get back to work!
Season 08/09 getting under way!
No snow to speak of in October, unlike last year when Patrol was skiing a foot of pow on Oct 7th. I wonder if we'll open on schedule. Looks like something might be starting today. My fingers are crossed.
Day 106 - passed
Final day of being on course for Level 2 certification. It was all business today as we were being tested on our teaching and riding abilities. We jumped on the gondola and immediately got started. In the morning we taught carving turns and in the afternoon we taught sliding turns. I felt equally confident on both of my lessons and my fellow course takers gave me positive feedback. I also felt my riding had improved since Monday and was up to course standards. Everyone in our class of six passed. I'm glad the course is over. I'm a bit sad the season has come to an end. It feels like it just got started. I had big plans on what I wanted to do this season and I feel like I didn't do anything but work. Oh well.... can I really call this a job anyhow? I do remember a few great pow days when Alli was in town. Blackcomb is open until the end of July for skiing and riding, however, I doubt I will be making any more turns this year. Bring on the bike park!!
Day 105 - Brrrr.....!!!!!
Third day into my CASI Level 2 course .... the day started off great as the sun was shining and all the runs were groomed with perfect corduroy. By noon, the clouds covered the warm sun and I was shivering like crazy. Luckily the sun poked in and out during the afternoon so it wasn't as bad. Snow is amazing for this time of year. I was nervous coming into today as I knew we would be working on carving and I didn't think I could carve. We spent most of the day in 7th Heaven. The basic agenda of the course goes like this: instructor teaches us the 5 basic snowboarding skills for the turn we're working on ..... in today's case: carving. We break for lunch and in the afternoon the students practice teach the skills we were taught in the AM. In between, our riding is evaluated throughout the day. I did surprising well with my carving as I was given mostly high praise. I'm hoping to continue that into tomorrow which is nothing but testing for the entire day.
Day 104 - did u say 15cm overnight??
Second day of my Level 2 course and everyone was pleasantly surprised to find 15cm of the fresh stuff, especially since we are almost into the month of May. After yesterday's rain, we were all stoked to ride. We took a warm up run and found some awesome fresh tracks through the terrain park off into some trees. The conditions were great in the morning. The sun even peaked out here and there for a bit. We quickly had to start getting into the day's agenda which consisted of tactics for sliding turns. Our instructor taught for the first part of the day and then we all taught a skill in the afternoon. If we had to end the course today, I believe I would pass with no problems, however, we are going to get into carving tomorrow and my confidence is going to drop big time. Who knows, maybe the instructor has some great carving tactics to show us and I can "fake" my way through the day......
Day 103 - on Course
First day of my CASI Level 2 certification. I'm geared up for 4 full days of riding.... joy. There are 6 people in my group, 4 of which (including myself) work for Whistler Kids. We got a great instructor who also works for Whistler Kids. It's nice having people around you that you know vs. talking and teaching to perfect strangers.Conditions today were wet, cold, snowy, rainy, and wet. It rained up to Jersey Chair then turned to snow about a third of the way up. We spent the entire day taking runs down Wishbone practicing intermediate and advanced sliding turns. The snow was slushy and slow. My gear was cold and wet. I felt my confidence go up as the day went on. No teaching for us today, just riding evaluations with feedback. Hoping to improve every day as the week goes on. I pray the soft conditions don't turn to sheets of ice .....
Day 102 - not in the mood
I've been out of work for a week now, spring has sprung, and I am officially tired of snowboarding. I do, however have my Level 2 course coming up so I figured I should get my butt back up to the snow and make sure my legs were still in shape. I made my way up the Blackcomb Gondola (the only thing running at this time of year) to take a warm up run down Honeycomb back to the Jersey Chair. My friend Alex showed up with her roommate and we headed up Glacier. A third of the way up, we ran into dense fog ... certainly not the type of weather I was hoping for. Ran down the piste and back into the sunshine. Conditions were pretty nice considering it's late April but ... it's late April and I'm just not in the mood. Another couple runs down from Glacier and I was ready to head home.
Day 101 - last day of work
I reported to work late and groggy this AM as I had no motivation to spend my day in the unseasonably cold temperatures. I was hoping to be sent home with a "thank you" for the season. No such luck as the eight kids signed up for snowboard school made up 4 different classes.Once again I had my Korean kid who was now a low level 4. We headed straight to the top first thing in the morning. I wouldn't have thought the 5cm of fresh snow overnight would have changed the cruddy/icy conditions of the week so I was pleasantly surprised to find a lot of fresh powder on the groomers (the pic is my fresh tracks by the Chic Pea on Lower Whiskey Jack).
After lunch we tagged along with my other favorite Korean kid in the level 5 class. Took a few runs down to Red Chair, killed some time at the Tree Fort then called it a day. It was snowing like crazy in the afternoon so conditions for Saturday might be fairly tolerable.
It seemed like the season just started and it has now come to an end. Well, the work season.... technically, Whistler is open until Sunday and Blackcomb is open through the end of July. In the meantime, Whistler turns into a bike park/sightseeing mountain.
Day 100 - woooo hoooooo!!!!!!!!!
Well, it looks like I did it. Another 100 days. The 6 month season of Whistler Kids is over (in one more day for me) and it feels like it just started. But I'm tired of snow, tired of the cold weather, tired of snowboarding. I'm still working and still riding for a couple more weeks so I'll still be counting some days.Quite chilly for a mid-April day. I was given one level 3 kid. I actually had him in Adventure Camp at the beginning of the season. He must have been tired of a long winter too as he wasn't too stoked to ride today. We took one run from the Roundhouse down to the CLC. He wanted to spend his time on the Olympic Chair for some reason... who was I to argue? After lunch we took a couple runs down to the village with the level 2 class (just because I wanted to hang out with the level 2 instructor) and my kid wasn't complaining so what the heck. It was the second to the last day of the season. We then headed over to the CLC and did jumps for the remainder of the day. Well, the kids did jumps while Lauren and I took goofy photos.
Also had a fun time with a mini and his lion helmet cover. He was too cute. Check out his pic and his video. ROAR!!!
Day 99 - last day of Adventure Camp
Only one of my Adventure Camp kids showed up today... the other is still limping from butt pain. Anywho, we took the gondola up to the top first thing in the morning. The green runs were groomed nicely with hard packed snow but the blue runs were almost sheer ice. We took a long cruiser down the backside down to the village and then in for lunch.The only thing my guy wanted to do today was continue with his 180 jumps that he finished with yesterday. Fine by me as the conditions were crappy. We built a jump by the Magic Carpet and we spent the next 3hrs doing 180s, grabs, etc. We even got into a game of P-I-G.
Last day of Adventure Camp for the 2007/2008 season. As usual, it seems like it just got started. We had a lot of fun times and the snowboard crew this season was awesome. I took a lot of pics to help remember the good times. Oh, and the video is Tim trying to do a backflip off a very small jump.
Day 98 - aren't we suppose to be snowboarding???
I started the day with a Level 2 star kid and a Level 3 star kid. The difference between the two is fairly significant .... one can turn easily down green runs and with confidence, one has a hard time turning and usually falls a lot. I had the level 2 kid yesterday but he fell so much that he quit after lunch. He's been in lessons for the last 6 days and some other instructor told him he was a level 3 (no way he was) ..... but I felt bad putting him back down to a lower class so I kept him. Boy was that a mistake.Half way down Whiskey Jack, he started crying and saying he was bored with s-turns and wanted to go home. I calmed him down and told him he could pendulum the rest of the way and once we got back to the CLC we would ride the box. He was okay with that until his legs practically gave out at the bottom of Olympic Run. In order to make it the rest of the way down, we both took off our snowboards and walked about a half mile.
During lunch I put him with a lower class but I believe my Supervisor ended up calling his parents to pick him up. I wonder if he is going to return tomorrow for the last day of Adventure Camp.
In the meantime, I picked up a kid from another class who was turning confidently. We took about three runs down the family zone before he fell on his butt super hard and again.... I was walking a kid down another run.
Day 97 - crud
Apparently the weather was "spring like" on Saturday ..... warming up and melting all the great pow I left behind last week. Then the temperatures dropped back down below freezing Sunday night, leaving nothing but a frozen crud for my return on Monday. How depressing.
It's the last week of snowboard school for the 2007/2008 season. I have one level 3 kid in Adventure Camp so I will be working for the next three days. Can't say I had fun today as the snow conditions were horrid and my kid didn't say three words all day.
The Telus Ski and Snowboard Festival is going on: http://whistler.mtv.ca/
"the biggest annual celebration of music, arts, sports & culture on the planet. For 10 days and 10 nights, Whistler turns up the volume with 50 live concerts, major pro ski and snowboard comps, legendary arts events, endless nightlife and the best spring skiing & riding in the world."
Here are a few pics of the machines tearing down the jump for the Big Air contest. It's a great way to celebrate the end of a fantastic season.
Day 96 - snow in the village
Another day with my AC class. A few cm of fresh snow overnight made for some good conditions above the Emerald Chair. I wasn't up for much "teaching" today so we snowboarded all around Whistler hitting jumps and drops and finding powder. I guess we would call that "freeriding". I call that Day 96 in the books.
Day 95 - The Home Stretch
Things are winding down for the end of the season but snowboard school was surprisingly busy with over 50 riders. I continued my work week with an Adventure Camp class of Level 3's. Only four in the group and their speeds and abilities are all comparable so its a good class.We started the morning from the Roundhouse where the snow was fresh packed powder. Good conditions for this time of year as I'm not expecting much more in the way of snow storms anymore. As the day rolled on, my kids all improved their turning skills. We hit some hard blues, the Marmot trees, and even found a bit of fresh pow. Overall it was a good start to a short work week.
Day 94 - Spanky's Ladder
Spanky's Ladder is a 15 meter bootpack that you must hike to access the Blackcomb Glacier Valley, home of the Gemstone Bowls of Garnet, Ruby, Diamond, and Sapphire (all single to triple black diamond runs on Blackcomb). I've read and heard about the amazing powder in the glacier but I had yet to venture that way until now. I was taking another level 2 prep course and, after lunch, my instructor decided to hit Spanky's Ladder to Ruby Bowl and Playland (my first double black diamond chute). As I stood on top of the chute, my heart was pounding and my hands were shaking. I could have easily zig-zagged my way down but I was in a training class with my peers..... zig-zagging was not an option. So I took the advice of the instructor, listened to her instruction and away I went. Turning heelside was easy, it was the turning onto toeside that played with my mind. This chute was steep. In fact, it was the steepest run I have ever been on. I took the chute one turn at a time, each time completing the toe side and saying to myself: "that was actually pretty easy." Only to find myself scared to death once again when the next turn came along.
It was the perfect situation to be in having never been to this area of the mountain before: guided through with an instructor who knew where to go and had the trust and confidence in me to push me past my comfort zone. If you've never been there, words can't quite describe the terrain, steepness, snow conditions..... let's just say it was amazing and super scary at the same time.
Day 93 - hard packed crud
I was suppose to get my review today so I was given a class of Level 3's. For reviews, my Supervisor follows me around all afternoon and makes sure I'm actually teaching the kids something and not just snowboarding around all day. But when lunch came, my Supervisor was busy so she rescheduled for tomorrow... Spent the day with four kids on the top of the mountain. They were low level 3's so I spent most of the time fine tuning their turning skills. The conditions this week are hard packed. Even the Marmot trees were icy and cruddy. Hopefully we'll get more snow before the season ends.
Day 92 - fun in the sun
Well it was another day of level ones. Nothing exciting to report except for the fact that I had almost all of them turning on the Super Carpet by the end of the day. For most of my day I stood around in the sun ..... and worked on my goggle tan. It was gorgeous and soooooo warm (I even took my jackets off). Oh, and baked potatoes were the special for lunch. yum yum
Day 91 - boring
I've been sick for the past four days so I didn't get an Adventure Camp class this week. Therefore, I was stuck with the daily "leftovers"... which means, level one kids who never snowboarded before and are only in snowboard school for the day (not three days). There were 5 level ones today, those kids could have made up one class but I got lucky and was able to sneak two of them for my very own. Basically it means: I was able to work today. JOY! I spent the entire day on the Magic Carpet with two kids who are basically sideslipping on their heels and toes by the end. It was a long day, but the sun was shining so I was able to work on my goggle tan. BONUS! I'm sure there is more of the same in store for me tomorrow. BUGGER! I mean: JOY!
