Red Mountain 11 Week Ski and Snowboard Instructor Course ’05 – Week 1
THE FIRST WEEK! By Paul Cooper
WEEK 1
Heathrow to Spokane,WA USA via Chicago, a long immigration queue and a lot of gun totting US customs guys with a distinct view that “attempts at humour can become a threat to national security”.
16 hours in all and when we finally arrived in Spokane, late and tired we were met by several interesting things – first Mark, Salsa, Ben and Aubrey – our soon to be instructors for the next 11 weeks – all our luggage, flawlessly intact and all in the right place and a sh*t load of snow!
We had a rest and recovery day touring town and getting introduced to the stalwarts of local life before hitting the slopes for the first time. The snow was still falling and it was deep. The whole town and surrounding area were out yet the hills were quiet by European standards. Our Canadian hosts squirmed and complained about the crowds!
The pow was deep, deeper than I had seen before and I will be honest I struggled. My four weeks experience on skis was the least of the group and while I could cope on the pistes once we hit off piste I floundered but I wasn’t the only one! Assessments were made and the groups of skiers and ‘boarders were divided into two.
Instruction began immediately the next day and we began to settle into life in Canada, life in a small town and life as ski bums in the making!
