Day 34 - chairlifters

Here's a kicker:  I was assigned level ones.  Three boys showed up, one spoke Spanish - one spoke French - one spoke English.  I got in line around 9am and Brenda told me to switch my class with Gunner because Gunner spoke French.  Gunner also had four Lil Rippers…… (fuck my life is what I thought).  Things didn't turn out as bad as I thought.  Three of the Rippers could kind of turn down the Super Tube area and one wasn't keen to do anything so he just played in the snow.  It was kind of an easy day, especially for Rippers.

I heard the snow up top was decent.  Wind blown in many areas but nice through the trees.  Snow Forecast is calling for 45cm throughout tomorrow but with questionable freezing levels.  I was called off work so I will probably head up and check things out.

Day 33 - Muffin Sharks

Sunday is Club day and today I filled in for Tara who had three level four kids who are only six years old.  Snow has returned to Whistler and although they only recorded 1cm overnight, the snow was quite deep once you got up there.  It snowed for most of the morning and into early afternoon.  The kids and I managed to find powder between Whiskey Jack and Ego Bowl.  We also found some good stashes over in Green Acres.  Conditions were soft packed to the bottom of Emerald Chair.  Snow base is currently 263cm and 16cm fell in the last 12 hours.

Day 32 - I broke one

It was a beautiful day in Whistler.  The sun was shining, the weather was warm.  I was assigned to level one's and I only had one girl from Oregon.  Conditions in the morning were frozen corduroy so I didn't push the girl too hard.  We spent a few hours on the Covered Carpet and after five runs, she was still hanging on me instead of independently sliding on her edges.  Finally I let her go on her own, she picked up some speed and fell on her wrist.  A call to Patrol lead to her going home after lunch.  The Patroller didn't think anything was broken but she definitely wasn't going to continue on what was definitely a sprained wrist.  And with only one kid in my group, that meant I was also going home.

Day 31 - you're teaming with the enemy!

Lessons have finally slowed down and I requested to have yesterday off.  Today we had 50 skiers and less than 20 riders.  I was assigned Lil Rippers and it was the easiest Lil Ripper day ever!  No new snow overnight and warmer temps have started hovering over the area.  There was periods of sun but it was mostly overcast.  I had two brothers and after lunch I took the older one for a rip down the Village.  That helped the time pass while hanging out at the CLC area.  

Day 30 - frozen gloves

Another day, another 2cm overnight.  45 kids in snowboard lessons today as it was a Pro D Day for local schools so those kids had the day off.  I was assigned level 3's and took my time with evaluations at the CLC, then the Olympic Chair, and then a rip to the Village.  After lunch we headed up top and took about four more laps.  It was sunny for most of the day.  Runs were soft/medium packed with lots of "ice" pushed around.  Crowds have left and queues at the chairs were short.

Day 29 - Snowcrushing Tomatoes

After working ten days in a row I enjoyed my one day of relaxation and now I'm back to work.  Filled in for Sunday Club and took Pavel's class of two level one's.  Well, they started as level ones and are now low level three's.  2cm of snow fell overnight and conditions were hard packed.  Lift lines were long as this is the end of Presidents' Week and a weekend day.  The team and I managed to get in a couple of runs off Olympic Chair, a lap to the Valley and one run from Roundhouse back to the CLC.

Day 28 - Mr. M for Murder

Finally …. Friday!!!  No new snow worth reporting and I knew it would be a groomer day.  Started on Whistler where the snow was soft packed first thing in the morning.  Of course, it was hard packed under Emerald Chair.  In the afternoon, we went to Blackcomb where the snow was soft packed most of the way down Solar Coaster.  Closer to the bottom of Solar it turned spring-like conditions and wet.

Day 27 - turning from human to a cucumber

Another 10cm fell overnight and our current snow base is 265cm.  I managed to find lots of soft powder on the side of Ego Bowl through out the day.  Green Acres was soft packed first thing in the morning but the kids had a hard time getting back to the chair via the cat track.  After lunch we took the Peak 2 Peak gondola over to Blackcomb where the snow on Easy Out was nice and soft.

Day 26 - nicknames

Half way through the long Adventure Camp week.  6cm was recorded overnight and temps were suppose to rise as the day went on.  I knew the conditions first thing in the morning would be the best of the day.  We headed straight to the Roundhouse and took a couple of laps up top before heading down for lunch.  The snow that fell overnight was soft but underneath it was hard packed.  It didn't take long for everything to get tracked.  In the afternoon, the snow warmed up and conditions were hard and wet.

Day 25 - dark unicorns

20cm of fresh snow fell overnight and I was hoping to rip through a bit of soft snow at some point today.  I was given another rider from the level one class and she quickly became the best ripper in the group.  We started the morning off with a run down Olympic Chair where the corduroy was frozen.  Headed to the Roundhouse quickly after that to find fresh powder off Whiskey Jack and runs with soft packed conditions to the bottom of Emerald Chair.  Beneath green chair the snow was hard packed.  We did about three runs through the good stuff before the kids became exhausted and we called it a day.

Day 24 - Adventure Camp

It's Presidents' Week and we are putting on Adventure Camp for snowboarders.  I got a class of level two's and when it sorted itself out, I ended up with four kids who are almost level three's already.  The kids seem really cool and they entertain themselves, which is nice because it gives me a chance to chill out at times.

We spent the morning on the Super Tube.  Took a lap down to the Village after lunch.  And did a lap on Olympic Chair.  The snow from mid-station down was very spring-like, wet and slushy.  1cm of fresh snow was recorded overnight.  It started raining in the Village around 2:30pm and about 19cm is forecasted to fall tonight.  I need to get those kids up to speed asap so I can enjoy some of that powder!!

Day 23 - Little Rippers ugh

Scheduled to float for Club but they needed no one.  Sent to Destination where I had planned to go home without a class.  Offered my services until lunch, ended up with six Lil Rippers.  Had help from a Schools guy but he was mostly useless.  Left work exhausted.
8cm overnight.  Conditions aren't anything epic and it's busy so lift lines are long.  Warmer temps and lots of rain coming for mid-week.

Day 22 - Who Are These People?

Presidents' Week has begun and the Village was hopping with people.  There were close to 200 skiers signed up in Destination and about 40 snowboarders.  I was assigned level three's and started with a class of five kids.  We stood in line approximately 45 minutes waiting to get up the gondola.  I took another Instructor up with me as I assumed I was going to have a split.

Weather at the Roundhouse was windy and cold with flurries.  8cm was recorded overnight bringing the snow base to 243cm.  Everything in the Alpine opened but visibility was bad.  There were small pockets of good snow to be found but it was mostly ice and hard packed snow.

Day 21 - wet, rain, snow, ice, sun, wet x3

It was the first day of many wet days to come.  It was raining in the Village during morning sign in.  I was assigned level four's and by the time we hit the Roundhouse, we were already soaked.  We unloaded the gondola to find winy wet snow that stuck to your goggles making visibility impossible.  We made the most of the day dodging the raindrops.  When it was raining up top, we took laps to the Valley where it was dry.  When it was raining at mid-station, we ran up top where the sun came out for about 5 minutes.  Generally it was a wet day, with wet snow….. and rain the forecast for the next five days.  UGH!

Day 20 - chicken noods

Rain is creeping in but we got lucky today and it didn't start sprinkling until 2pm.  I was assigned level two's and quickly filled up a class card of kids who were in the same level yesterday.  We started the day on the Super Carpet where the corduroy was hard packed.  We took it easy in the morning and waited for the snow to soften up.  By the time the day finished, we had boarded on the Super Carpet, by the Super Tube, Olympic Chair, and a run down to the Village.

Day 19 - half day

Back to work after a couple of days off.  Warmer temps have hit the area with substantial precipitation forecasted for the end of the week.  Today was wet but not a soaker.  I was assigned level ones and had one kid from Mississippi.  Snowboard lessons had a total of 14 big kids and 6 Lil Rippers.

It turned out my kid had snowboarded before and he was actually a level two and not a level one.  So after spending the morning on a wet Magic Carpet, I gave my kid to higher level class and made a run for the Village after lunch.

Day 18 - Slowboarders

I was tired today after shredding the pow from yesterday.  It's Sunday and on Sunday I am the floater for Club.  If someone calls in sick or needs a day off, I cover their Club class.  Jake called out sick and I hung out with his group of Level 5's … who were on average, the age of 8 years old.  Honestly, I could barely keep up with them.

Temps had warmed up by the afternoon and when I told the kids finding powder was going to be impossible, Jake told everyone he knew where we could find powder.  So we all followed Jake, low and behold, the kid found powder.  He found the best snow on the mountain.  I'll be damn!

Day 17 - 24hrs = 40cm

If every day could be like today then snowboarding would be my favorite sport.  It snowed 40cm in the last 24 hours.  The Alpine lifts never opened yesterday, which was when the storm blew through.  The sky cleared up today with sunny periods, light winds, and cold temps that kept the snow light but not cold enough to freeze your ass off when riding the chair.  In other words, it was the perfect day!!

We hit the nail on the head by waking up early and lining up at Base II around 7am.  We were the third gondola up and squeezed in two laps back down to the Excaliber Chair making fresh tracks the entire way down.  OMG it was awesome!!!

Apparently the Fresh Tracks lineup in the Village reached Lulu Lemon before 7am.  And with a Village gondola malfunction, keeping it shut for a long period time, the crowds in the Village reached the Starbucks on the stroll.  Even the Blackcomb gondola had a few issues this morning, which kept the queue at Excelerator relatively quiet for our second lap.

Yes there were lots of people standing in line making the wait on average about 15 minutes.  It wasn't too bad, especially in 7th Heaven where we found tons of fresh light snow through the trees on every run.  We didn't stay on many groomers today, it was mostly a glades day.

Snow base is currently 248cm with very very warm temperatures on tap for the next three days.  At least there isn't any rain coming.

Day 16 - what a "friday"

10cm of snow fell overnight and I was positive I would be assigned Little Rippers at work.  Today is my "Friday" and I was shocked when I learned I was given level 4's!  It was a fun day but it wasn't an easy day, as I had a full class of six.  The snow was amazing -- soft and fluffy.  We didn't go anywhere too extreme but we did shred all the fun areas and we found lots of soft powder especially in the trees.
Snow base is 210cm with another 40cm in the forecast for tomorrow.

Day 15 - Mascot

We had a total of 15 kids in lessons today and eight of them were levels four's and five's.  I was assigned level one's so it was another fun-filled day on the job working the Magic Carpet at the CLC.  It flurried all day leaving a trace of snow with another 10cm forecasted to fall tonight.

Day 14 - taking my shark for a walk

It was a beauty of a day in Whistler!!  Clear blue skies with lots of snow covered mountains, but also a bit cold.  I had one kid in level three and we shred the heck out of the blue trails.  Managed to get him up to level four.
No new snow overnight and conditions were machine groomed to hard packed depending on where you were riding.

Day 13 - back to the grind

I returned to work today and I couldn't have been happier.  It's been a long nine weeks.  I was happy to take Level 2's and I ended up with four really nice boys.  We spent the morning at the CLC working on our turns and after lunch, they had progressed enough to make it to the Olympic Chair.  Conditions under the Olympic Chair were soft packed.  I heard it was quite icy up in the Emerald Zone.
Snow base is currently 207cm.