New Zealand ski instructor course diary - week 8

Well it’s the end of week eight already - how time flies when you’re having fun! The week started out really well and relaxed, as the pressure of exams was behind us. Monday was a well earned free-ski day. We started with a small relaxed lesson on some short turns, which was a massive help to what was going to come later in the day. Then we had an hour or so tearing it up on the groomed piste before lunch, letting out some of that aggression from the previous week.

As we all sat down for some lunch we were joined by Beth, Jase’s better half and it was announced that we were going to get to ski the much loved Dome Ridge, which raised a lot of excitement in the group, as the chance don’t come around that often. So we all gathered at the top of t-bar 3 and we were joined by a few members of staff from Porters.

We set off for a premo run on one of the best slopes on the hill, such a good feeling to be part of the mountain and being able to get these chances. Next we moved on to Big Mamma for some entertainment on the bumps and apparently the first year for Big Mamma to see a full run of moguls 650m vert. After a few handy tips and some amazing demos from Jase, everyone was all over it, experimenting with different styles of skiing.

After a tiring day we all sat down for a bite to eat and it was decision time for the level 2 side of the exam. Three out of six decided they were going for it as the other three decided it was time to get some serious skiing in. And one of the group even managed to land herself some work at Porters as a part time instructor.

The next day was straight in to level 2 progressions for some anyway. We also did work on our personal skiing trying to fine tune our parallel turns. Followed by a short evening session on the progressions we had been through earlier that day. Over dinner we decided that we were going to take a trip to one of the club fields the following day.

So we arrived at Porters the follow morning, dropping off one group members for a day with the ski school, we got warmed up on the fresh groomers as we waited for the snow to soften before making our way to Criagieburn for an exciting afternoon. It was great to pull up to the car park to find very few cars. As we got back into things after lunch Jase decided he was brave enough to take us for a walk along the ridge of Remarkables (we were the first group he has ever taken there ). After we walked for about twenty minutes looking at some amazing scenery we drop in from the ridge and were rewarded with some amazing skiing. One of the boys in his elements went hell for leather and displayed one of the best wipe outs of the season. With some good control and probably help of a gymnastic background, he came back to his feet very quickly (minus his skis).

With another tiring day on the slopes, it seemed like the perfect excuse for a few beers. We arrived at Porters again the next morning ready for a couple of hours teaching. After waiting around for an hour, it was decided that it was far too windy and dangerous to put 150 kids on the slopes. So we made our way back to Springfield for an afternoon of acting out progression for three of us while others caught up on emails and sleep. After another day skiing and some video analysis of our demo turns and personal skiing, we arrived back in Springfield ready for the opening of the Rugby World Cup. With New Zealand to play the first game the pub was packed and we were preparing for a big night. The night was started with a band of local school kids, followed by another band after the game staring the barmaid. It was another good night in the local.

With most people recovering from the night before, Saturday was a lazy day for most, with three games of rugby to watch. The first England game kicked off in the evening, so we thought it would be rude not to get back on it. After a poor display of rugby the pub emptied quite quickly and most people retired to bed.

Sunday was another lazy day for most. It was time to catch up with family and friends and even a few job applications, before returning to the pub for an afternoon of rugby and free pool.

Another week done and dusted. Roll on Monday!