Day 96 - four days short of one hundred

I was on the schedule to work and assigned to level threes today.  With only 6 kids signed up for lessons, I was happy to work but I was also happy to not get work.  Between the amazing snow conditions and a new bike sitting in my living room, I knew I could find more fun things to do.

Once all the kids signed in and were sorted, it turned out there were no level threes so I was off for the day (and the season).  I headed up to the Roundhouse to take a quick lap.  If I was smart enough to bring my ski jacket, I would have easily spent much more time up there ripping around in the best pow of the season but the only jacket I had was my uniform and I didn't want to ride in uniform.  So I dropped into into the powder from Whiskey Jack and enjoyed a soft packed rip down Olympic where it was fresh corduroy the entire way.  I met with Georgi a half hour later and ripped Tunnel Vision on the new steed.  That's it, that's all for 2014/2015.  Pray for snow in 2015/2016!  

Day 95 - winter arrives

Whistler Blackcomb reported only a few centimeters of new snow fell overnight.  It snowed all day.  In fact, it was a blizzard for most of the day at the CLC.  In the last 24hrs, we received 10cm of snow but I think that is a highly conservative number.  I was at the CLC all day but I overheard people, who had an opportunity to ski up top, say that the snow was amazing and it was a proper powder day.  The snow base is officially 207cm,  the highest its been all season.

Ten kids came into snowboard lessons today and I had two from England who were never-evers.  They were both 12 year old high level skiers wanting to give snowboarding a go.  I thought they would do well and I was correct.  By the end of the day, they were both turning down the Covered Carpet.  The day went by quite quickly for having level ones.  Both kids were quite athletic, highly intelligent, and very engaging.  I enjoyed teaching them.

Day 94 - final weekend of Club

Cloudy and cold with snow.  That was the weather today.  7cm of snow fell overnight.  It's the final day/weekend of Club and a bunch of Instructors dressed up again.  We also did another "team" run down Ego Bowl.

Jessie and Teppei were stoked to ride some powder today.  They are low level 4's so I knew I couldn't take them into Harmony or up the Peak so I had to do my best to get them off the groomers and find some soft snow.  The Whistler Park is now relocated by the tbars so the entire area of Green Acres is wide open and there was lots of soft snow and fresh tracks to be found exploring through there.  The funnest part of the day was riding down the moguls just outside of Marmot Trees.  We ran that run twice, each time the boys were jumping off anything they could find.  They had a blast!

I'm scheduled to work the next two days, however numbers are low, so I might not be getting a class.  Destination had four Riders in lessons today.  Tomorrow there are nine signed up already.  It's suppose to rain all day so I'm hoping to get the day off.  Stay tuned.

Day 93 - April is the new Winter

17cm of snow fell overnight and the snow base is 196cm.  The sun disappeared Thursday evening and the rain rolled in on Friday.  I only have four more days of work and Winter seems to have finally showed it's face.  Another 23cm of snow is forecasted to fall between Monday and Wednesday.  Weather today however was a mixed bag:  sun, clouds, snow, fog, and high winds.  It was even snowing in the Village around 4pm.  Kind of annoying since it's been so warm and sunny lately.

Because it was the last day of Club, a few of us Instructors dressed up in one'sies.  Riley let me borrow a kangaroo.  Only three out of my five Saturday Club kids came for the last day of riding.  Jack, Charlotte and Dylan were excited for a powder day.  We dropped into the powder off Whiskey Jack to Ego Bowl where we found it to be knee deep in spots.  On our second run, we headed into Green Acres.  By this time, Charlotte had to pee so we headed down to the CLC where the kids decided to call "early lunch" so we only got two runs in before lunch.  I was a bit disappointed in the team as I knew the snow was getting chopped up fast and we probably lost our chance to find any fresh tracks in the afternoon.

After lunch, Jack wanted to drop off Whiskey Jack again so we did that and then we headed to Harmony.  In Harmony, we ended up off the left side of Gun Barrels where the snow was really deep and really soft.  There were no fresh lines but the snow was still amazing and fun.  We then traversed into the Gun Barrel area and ended up having to skate a bit back to the chair.  By this time, the kids were exhausted, especially poor Jack who is only 6 years old and tiny.

Gunner had planned a snowboard group run from the Roundhouse around 1:30pm.  All of Snowboard Club took a run together down Ego Bowl to mid-station.  Between all the groms and Instructors dressed as animals, we were quite a sight.  And it was pretty fun.  We finished the day with a big group photo at the CLC and then downloaded the gondola to finish Saturday Club for the season.

Day 92 - I'm so sore, I'm so warm

"Friday" yay!  I've been trying to not get a class all week and today I gave it my best but ultimately I failed in the final hour.  Twenty five riders were signed up for lessons and I was assigned to level 4.  I  gave that away to "float".  All classes had left for their lessons by 9:00am and it looked like I was going to get the day off until …… a random kid showed up at 9:10am and he was a never-ever.  Freddie had a full class of six in level one and this late kid meant that I was now working… so Freddie and I spent the day at the CLC sharing seven level ones.

It was a sunny day and very warm (which is what Freddie kept saying).  Our kids were pretty good, three of them were turning on a gentle slope by the end of the day.  The afternoon dragged on a bit but we built a jump and some of the AC classes joined us for a jump session just before it was time to download.  Colder temps and lots of snow are in the forecast for the weekend.  It seems like Winter is finally showing its face, just when Spring should be hanging around.

Day 91 - Hugh in Blue

Another goggle tan day with lots of sunshine across Whistler today.  Numbers are slowly going down as we only had about 20 kids in Destination.  Adventure Camp is still holding strong with about 30 riders.  I was assigned level 2 and signed in a full class of six.  Once we started warming up, I realized three of my kids were still level 1 but the level 1 class already had four kids on roster.  After some shuffling around and talking with the level 1 Instructor, I ended up with seven kids in level one and someone else took three kids in level 2.

The day didn't turn out so bad, though it was quite hectic.  Another Instructor came to help me and we shared eight kids.  We worked on both edges, J-turns, and finally I built them a jump to help pass the time at the end of the day.  Everyone went home tired and happy.

Day 90 - Snowfie

Easter Week is busy with Adventure Camp for snowboarding and Destination.  We had just over 60 kids in both programs today.  I was assigned level ones and tried to not get a class today.  Once everyone was checked in, I succeeded in not getting a class but then my Supervisor needed someone to stay until lunch in case there was some shifting around once kids got on the snow.  Most of the classes were full so I knew there was a good chance I'd end up working.  I headed up to the CLC and checked in with a few Instructors.  It turns out, Jon had a couple of level two girls who were in need of more practice on their edges.  So I took them and Jon took the rest of his kids to the Olympic Chair.  The girls and I spent our day on the Covered Carpet.  The day was mostly sunny with some cloudy periods.

Day 89 - Happy Easter

Partly cloudy/partly sunny Easter day.  1cm of new snow overnight.  Only 1 of my 3 Sunday Club kids showed up.  I was hoping to tag team with another Instructor so it wasn't just me and him alone all day but all the other classes had left before we had a chance to get to the gondola.  So I spent the day with one kid.  It's normally a "long" day when you only have one kid, and Teppei isn't very engaging so the day felt even longer.  We didn't ride any higher than the Roundhouse so it was a typical hard-packed groomer day on popcorn snow.

Day 88 - best day of 2015

When I arrived at work this morning, I wasn't expecting to have the most amazing Saturday afternoon of the season.  Four out of six kids shared in the best day of Club.  5cm of snow fell overnight and it was snowing at CLC when we were heading up to the Roundhouse.  Maree wanted to take a run with us so we headed over towards Rat Fink and Marmot and rode down Green Acres.  The snow was surprisingly soft and we had an awesome warm up run over moguls and natural jumps.  The kids had a blast.

I decided to head up Harmony Chair, and on the way over, we found lots of fresh tracks through some trees and under the chair.  Once at the top, we made our way towards the t-bars and dropped down in more fresh and soft snow.  After lunch, it was more of the same.  This time we went up Peak Chair, my first time up Peak this season!  We dropped into Whiskey Bowl and headed towards Doom & Gloom.  The kids did amazing.  It was the first time this season I was able to watch them in the powder and assess their advanced riding skills.  I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised.  They all killed it.

It was snowing like crazy at the CLC at the end of the day.  I don't think the forecast calls for much snow overnight but my fingers are crossed that the weathermen are wrong.  I wouldn't mind another soft snow day for tomorrow.    

Day 87 - stop the gondola!!!

Morning statistics:  cloudy and cool with calm winds in Village.  Snow conditions upper mountain:  dust on crust, hard packed.  I heard the snow in Harmony was really soft so upper Alpine is probably quite decent, just nothing "fresh" to be found.

I was assigned level four's and had a full class.  After a lap down Whiskey Jack, I realized I had one girl who was a level three.  Luckily Nick called.  He was teaching level three, had a full class, and had one to move up so we ended up doing a quick kid swap before lunch.  

The snow had softened up after lunch and the boys and I ran a little bit of everything.  We worked on advanced turning, ollies, rode down a black diamond, practiced switch, and finally headed over to Green Acres and jumped all kinds of natural rollers and moguls.  It was a pretty fun day and it's my Friday.  

Day 86 - peeslosh

Weather today was mostly cloudy with partly sunny periods.  There was also some hail in the Village at the end of the afternoon.  Temps were on the cooler side and winds were a bit high in the Alpine.  I heard the snow up top was really nice and soft.  Temps must have dropped significantly overnight drawing out the moisture in the "oatmeal" snow that was up there yesterday.

We had over 70 kids signed up for snowboard lessons between Destination and Adventure Camp.  I was assigned level one's and oddly enough, only three kids were in that level.  Most everyone else had a full class of six.  My three boys were good, both athletically and with their behavior.  I enjoyed teaching them.  The snow conditions in the morning were literally a sheet of ice.  That made it easier for the boys to start off by learning the toe edge.  It didn't take long for the snow to soften up and after lunch the kids practiced their heel edge.  We ended up the day on the Covered Carpet, where someone had built a jump.

Day 85 - two thumbs up awesome

It's Easter week so lessons have picked up and it's quite busy at work.  Over 50 snowboarders were signed up for lessons and those include Adventure Campers.  I'm on Destination all week and I was assigned Lil Rippers.  Five showed up and luckily they were all different levels so I only had three level ones.

Freezing levels have raised since yesterday and snow conditions have changed to sticky and wet.  It rained on and off for most of the day, from the Village to the Alpine.

It was a pretty chill day.  There isn't much snow at the CLC and there are lots of kids so teaching has become interesting.  Because the snow is so wet, snowboard boots become drenched within an hour of walking around in the snow … that includes kids and Instructors.

Day 84 - off road

Surprise!  Whistler reported 7cm overnight but there was way more fresh snow than that.  It was pouring rain in the Village first thing in the morning and I wasn't looking forward to spending the day in the rain. Two out of three of my lower level Club boys showed up and after a quick breakfast stop at the CLC,  we reached the Roundhouse around 10am.  It was snowing huge flakes at the CLC  and it was a full on blizzard up top.

The boys had never had a good powder day as it's been a warm, dry winter this season.  I wasn't sure how well they would do and I thought they would get tired quite quickly.  We dropped into the open area between Whiskey Jack and Ego Bowl where we found knee deep powder. Wow!  I was shocked at how much snow was in there and it was decent snow ... in other words, it wasn't cement like I had assumed it would be.  To my surprise, the boys killed it in the powder and they loved it!  We spent the day in the Green/Blue areas of the Emerald Chair.  We hit lots of moguls, turned them into jumps, went through some open trees and found powder up to our knees. It was a really fun day. I wish I had my Go-Pro with me to video how awesome Jessie and Teppei were riding.

Day 83 - lost 18cm in two days

I've been off for a couple days so I'm not sure what the weather has been up to while I was off but I think we had a lot of rain.  The 188cm base from Wednesday is now down to 170cm with more rain in the forecast for the next two days and two nights.  The ski-out is now marked as marginal which means no one in uniform can ride down to the Village …. they must download, which is a pain in the butt.

Only two of my Club kids showed up as it's Spring break for most Whistler schools and I think everyone is on holiday.  We took a couple runs in the morning before lunch.  There was 3cm overnight which was just dust on crust.  Conditions were soft and slushy by mid-morning and it wasn't too busy all day.  My kids were pretty tired for some reason so the afternoon was a lazy one.  I was tired too so I didn't mind.  Plus the conditions were groomers only.  Lord knows I've had enough of groomers to last me until next year.  Fingers crossed the temps come down and this next wave of precipitation brings snow and not rain.

Day 82 - you are so kind

4cm overnight and snow base is up to 188cm.  woot!  It snowed in the Village in the morning but turned to rain all the way up to the Roundhouse by 11am.

Another busy day with over 40 kids in lessons.  I was once again assigned level 3's and had a full class by 9am.  We headed up the gondola and found lots of powder between Whiskey Jack and Ego Bowl.  The kids had fun, heck … I had fun!  We managed to find fresh snow all the way to Emerald Chair and we managed to sneak in two laps before lunch!  Even though we were in the Family Zone, it was quite fun.

After lunch was a different story.  The snow had turned to light rain and the powder had disappeared.  Conditions turned to mostly soft and slushy.  I wanted to keep things fun for the kids so we ventured into Marmot Trees.  That always kills a ton of time, so we only had one more run to do before it was time to head home for my weekend.

Day 81 - the Weird Family

4cm of snow fell overnight bringing the snow base up to 185cm.  It was cloudy in the morning and quite chilly up high but winds were calm.  It was quite foggy up there until noon.

I was assigned level 4's but ended up taking level 3's.  I had a full class card as over 40 kids were taking snowboard lessons.  My class ended up being three boys from Whistler who were high level skiers and three "destination" kids.  Typically with level three's, they start the day with very bad technique and we spend the day trying to correct that technique.  Today was no different.  We spent the morning on greens -- nothing exciting.  The best part of the day was venturing into Marmot Trees.  With all the recent snowfall, the trees are covered and Marmot was packed down with soft snow.  It was a pleasant surprise.  The kids loved it and it was fun to finally venture off those boring groomers that we've been shredding since the beginning of February.  

Day 80 - Settle Ryan Settle

Snow fell over the past couple of days and people are saying the snow in the Alpine is awesome right now!  The snow base is 185cm, which is the highest it's been all season.  I took the weekend off so I didn't get to enjoy any of the fresh pow that finally came our way.

Busy, busy, busy.  Over 65 kids in snowboard lessons today.  Lots of low levels which meant lots of people on the Magic Carpet.  I was assigned level two's and quickly filled up a class of six.  Unfortunately, I spent the entire morning shuffling kids around from level to level.  My six were strong and they practiced their turns on the Covered Carpet before lunch.  All of them were turning and since the snow conditions were quite soft and slushy, I took them up to the Roundhouse in the afternoon.  The kids did great and all finished their day as level threes.  The snow up top was nice.  Soft packed for sure.  I didn't slash any fresh lines but it was nice to sink an edge in.  Below Emerald Chair turned to slush quite quickly.

Day 79 - SNOW!!!!! and rain ….

It snowed!!!  Whistler Blackcomb reported 4cm overnight at Pig Alley but much to everyone's surprise, it was a bit more than that.  And it snowed most of the day making our snow base 169cm.

I was assigned to take a girl from an Adventure Camp class who wasn't too thrilled with her AC Instructor.  I was told she was a level 4 but then I was also told she was a level 3.  Since she was the only one assigned to me, I decided to team up with Maree, who was coaching level 3 and had five kids on her class card.  We made the decision to try and split the class from the top of the mountain instead of splitting them with a run down to the Village because it was raining quite heavily in the Village first thing in the morning.  Egobowl was where I found some nice fresh powder turns.  Forgot what that felt like!  But by the time we reached the top of the gondola, the fresh snow was quite turned up with no other fresh lines to be found.   Most of the kids had a difficult time turning as the snow was also quite sticky.  Maree and I quickly realized we had a couple of level two's on our hands and even one level one!  She took those kids up the Emerald Chair and downloaded back to the CLC while I continued to snowboard with the stronger kids.

After lunch, we got the kids sorted out and in the end I had two low level three boys and we spent the afternoon doing laps down to the Village, where it rained most of the day.  By the time the lesson was over my feet, hands, and legs were soaked.  More precipitation coming for the next couple of days with high freezing levels.  Hopefully the forecast is wrong and it stays a bit cooler than expected.  

Day 78 - Mr. Serious

Another sunny/cloudy day with warmer temps, especially on the lower elevation, with no new snow.  The morning started off a bit hectic as a couple of kids showed up quite late.  After taking a lap down from mid-station to the Village with another Instructor, we split seven level three's into high's and low's - with me taking the higher class.

We spent the morning on the lower half of the mountain because lunch was at 11am.  The afternoon was much nicer with softer snow on popular Family Zone runs.  The kids really wanted to do a jump so we ended up back at the CLC around 1:45pm and built a jump before the small box near the Covered Carpet.  It was a slushy ride down at the end of the day.

Day 77 - Irish you a Happy St Patrick's Day

Today was a great day!  No new snow overnight, light winds, partly sunny/partly cloudy sky, decent snow conditions on the slopes -- which means, not icy.  I could actually sink my edge into a bunch of turns in the Family Zone throughout the day.

We had about 25 kids in Destination to add to the already 25 or so in Adventure Camp.  I was assigned level threes and ended up with five for the majority of the day.  We started with turning tests on the Magic Carpet to make sure everyone could transfer from edge to edge.  We managed to squeeze in one run from the Roundhouse before early lunch at 11am.

My kids: Koji, Seigo, Matt, Enrique, and Jesse were all really cool engaging kids.  They started as low level threes who needed a lot of work on their technique.  They were all very eager to learn and improve so we spent the day doing lots of different exercises.  By the end of the day, they all raised their level from low three's to high three's.  Needless to say they were all super stoked at the end of the lesson as well!