Day 5 | gobble gobble

Another Thanksgiving Day | Another first day back at work.  We started our morning meeting discussing the new GPS tracking system that every child and every instructor has to wear.  It's called Flaik: a real-time tracking device that measures vertical, distance, speed and more.  But best of all, if a child gets lost, it will tell you exactly where he is!  It's a great addition to Ski School.  Parents can log on to their website and see exactly where their child skied or rode that day.  It's free and it's part of Whistler Blackcomb's lesson program.  The bummer for us instructors:  too many hot chocolate breaks and we're in hot water!  LOL

We had 23 snowboarders today with 11 of them being first-timers.  I was told I was going to be teaching my Manager's and Supervisor's kids today (no pressure there!).  They were both young level 4 riders.  I was pretty happy with that considering the snow at the Childrens' Learning Center (CLC) was a sheet of ice!  We headed up the gondola to the Roundhouse and started our day.

The sun was shining and the skies were blue.  Unfortunately, rising freezing levels over the weekend combined with rain had left the conditions less than desirable.  We found some decent pow off Whiskey Jack into Ego Bowl but once we hit the groomer, it was mostly a sheet of ice.  We tried to stay off to the sides where the snow had been pushed around.  Once you got below Emerald Chair, forget it!  It was a total ice rink!!

For the past two seasons, I've taught a cool Hawaiian kid named Izayah.  I saw him at check in and spoke to his parents for a bit.  He was a level three so I didn't have him in my class but at the end of the day, he gave me a box of chocolate with macadamia nuts!  Last season I remember he made me some chocolate chip cookies.  He gave me a hug goodbye as they are heading back to Hawaii tomorrow but told me he would see me next year.  That really made my day and helped me to remember why I love this job so much.

  


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