Canada Week 6: Instructing, Imitating and Injuries

So this week I really kicked off my ski instructor career! Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday with an am programme and the same single girl private each afternoon. Marcus and Thea = fantastic little skiers, so we buzzed around Norquay making animal noises (personal favourite must have been the dolphins and whales; you haven't scared a person properly until you scream past them vividly personifying underwater creatures). Celeste in the afternoon had the biggest imagination ever, I barely even had to come up with interesting games as she had it sorted. I think our favourite was the avalanche game. I ski backwards holding Celeste's hands and every time she looks down at her skis the avalanche gets a little closer, until BAM we both fall over as the avalanche zooms overhead! I quickly found out this week that kids won't stop until they get a satisfactory answer and sometimes you have to be inventive. For instance:

Roo: 'Celeste, I'm putting my super powerful lasers on the front of your skis so everytime you look at them your eyes are going to burn' (its ok she's a massive tom boy and loves that kind of thing)
Celeste: 'Oh but my goggles are laser proof'
Roo: 'Ok then, this time I'm going to put a new, goggle blasting substance on the tips of your skis'
Celeste: 'What sort of substance'
Roo: 'Errrrr, well, hmmm yeah right so you know how bright the sun is..'
Celeste: 'Yeah, yeaaah!'
Roo: 'Well in the middle of the sun is this substance... sunium, and unfortunately for you have some in my pocket so everytime you now look at your skis its going to be so bright your eyes are going to pop out!!'
Celeste: 'That's totally awwweesome!!'

On Thursday I was off work , but no comfy, hot water bottle, kiss on the cheek from Lindsey Vonn wake up as I was hitting Lake Louise with Hans and BIG Al. It was a beautiful day and for a full morning we ripped up the slope until disaster struck! On quite a steep pitch BIG Al caught an edge and his 6'7'' lanky frame catapulted towards the ground. We stopped beside him and almost immediately it became apparent that something wasn't quite right! The ski patrol recommended we went to the hospital and there our worst fears were realised .. a hairline fracture to his right fibular means he cannot ski for 3 weeks at least, which sucks even more as his girlfriend is coming over soon! We still stopped off for a quick visit to the Chateau Lake Louise...

Christmas Eve was also the Norquay Staff Christmas party! So at 4:30 we made our way up the hairpin bends to 2 hours of free Christmas dinner and beer. On a spontaneous whim 347 Beaver St (my house) became the predrink venue for over 100 of the Norquay staff! It was an awesome party and the house was all intact at the end, even if for the next 2 days the whiff of stale beer, bodily fluids and that smell of sex lingered as a reminder. Liam (another instructor) in a drunken mindfuck decided to jump 3 flights of stairs and fairly obviously the world didn't break but he did. His smashed ankle was another stark reminder to everyone that any injury really kind of screws up the season.

It was a lovely start to Christmas day to chat to everyone, even if it did feel just a little weird talking to a large group sat in a room by myself. The socks were delightful as well, a step above toothbrushes anyway! I had the perfect lesson (which was fantastic as I only got 4 hours sleep the night before), an all day private with a 10 yr old girl who enjoys ripping up Mystic (hardest runs currently open), doing 360s on the snow and trying to do 180s! We spent the day laughing, flying on skis and to think I got paid at the end of the day as well! It was such a beautiful day.. this picture is looking down towards Banff from the Mystic chairlift! Today however the numbers were really low, I think there were more instructors than lift tickets sold! We went sessioning all morning, which is great as I get to keep improving my own skiing :) In the afternoon most instructors cleared out but I got a two hour private for a family... $30 tips yeaaah boyha!!

Im missing you guys loads, it just hasn't been Christmas for me being away from everyone.