Revelstoke Ski & Snowboard Instructor Course Diary - Week 1
Revelstoke Week 1
ALISON GORDON
Course Co-ordinator Jonathan, personally greeted the ALLTRACKS 2009 Revelstoke 11 week Instructor Course members as they arrived in Canada. Primarily, this involved the perilous journey along the Trans- Canadian Highway to Calgary Airport, in which he used his mild superpowers to stave off the curse of Icarus and open the highway. The Englsih,. Scottish, Polish, German, American and Australian ski professional want-to-bes were all glad to see a smiling, calm and informed face after up to 50 hours of sitting next to undoederised aircraft passengers who travel with their garden sheds in the overhead loackers.
In the first week of the instructor course, Revelstoke has demonstrated that its glowing reviews are not merely over- inflated propaganda tools for marketing.... the town, the resort and the community are nothing short of magnificent. So, as we began our orientation in this powder haven, we noticed that the course comprised an interesting and diverse mixture of people:
OLE: The 21 year old German who has trhe classic European style of skiing, sauve demeanor and spiky blonde hair.
DAN, or Tweety: The 25 year old surfer from the Isle of Wight is dedicated to the mountain, having left the lucrative boat building trade for a career in Snowboard Instructing.
CANNONBALL DAVE: The 22 year old trooper from Redditch is the quiet observer whose military training has given him the fortitude to say less than 100 words each day.
CHRIS: The 23 year old financial advisor form Glocestershire has spent this first week validating the difference between cows and calves and is now on a first name basis with all bootfitters in beautiful British Columbia.
ALI: The 28 year old Australian and author of this journal entry.
TOMEK: The articulate Polishman. At 26, he has shown that the only thing that can match his manners is his skiing ability.
AUSTRALIAN SHAUN: At 23, he holds the national title for the Pat Benetar smash "Hit me with your best shot" on Guitar Hero. He has left his life of fame and shoelace belts at home in the hope of turning his snowboarding hobby into at least part time work.
DAN of Frosty: Is the 22 year old from Winchester with loud blue boarding pants and an even louder grin and a quick wit to keep the course on their toes.
IAN: the 34 year old from Glasgow is the old man, but what he lacks in youth, he makes up for in enthusiam
BETH: At 16, she is already overqualified for this element of the course, but her affable nature will have the world beleiving that given the choice between a perfect powder day and world peace, she would actually choose world peace.
HUGO: Is a 23 year old Sussex resident whose previous wine making, musician and kitchen hand careers have culminated in his attendance on this instructor course. His unconventional thought process is matched in quirkiness only by his fixation with elf clothing.
SEATLE SEAN: Is a 25 year old river guide whose many and varied past experiences may well be doculmented somewhere on the convenient and perpetual medium of the internet.
RAEFE: Is a 31 year old Australian outdoor enthusiast who enjoys pwder skiing, hiking, bike riding and harbors a secret desire to creat the world's largest stamp collection.
FINN: Is 19 and has come to Revelstoke from New York via Belfast to aquaint himself with the local population - who could not help but admire his sassy skiing and congenial nature.
MARK: A 23 year old Scouse who has left behind a career in car sales to begin snowboard instructing.
Relationships cemented, we were fortunate enough to become acquainted with our skiing and snowboarding professions. They are an enthusiastic, fervant and good humoured and in equal measure, skilled, patient and professional. The highlight of the first week was a the climb to the sub peak, which afforded dramatic views and fresh powder tracks capable of making even the most seasoned outdoor fanatics tremble.
Another positive aspect of the first week was the introduction to the on and off mountain catering. Revelstoke Mountain Resort has dispelled the ski resort trdition of genuinely terrifying food by providing homebaked, healthy and hearty options in an Apres restaurant that is not completely bereft of fresh produce. Similarly, we discovered our group dinners at the Modern Cafe were colossal in both size and flavour.
The weekly extra curricular organised group activity was spent at the local bowling alley playing bingo bowling. The ALLTRACKS teams lacked applied tactics and played with a skill deficiency not demonstrated since England last lost the Ashes. Competitiveness aside, five pin and fun were the winners.
This week, the snow was great, the orientation encouraging and the prospect of week 2 is exciting.
