Banff 11 Week Snowboard Instructor Course ‘07 – Week 8
by Emily Park
Mon – Just a regular day on the hill… sick board slides, 360s, tree rails, grabs and bonks! Oh, and the XL took its first casualty of the group, Dom’s riding is on hold for a couple weeks. Riding with two broken ribs is too painful, even for him.
Tue – Conditions at Norquay weren’t the greatest so a few of the boys went looking for alternative ways of getting down a hill. The ingredients for this little adventure included a plank of wood, a bike frame and some screws. Fun, fun, fun!
Wed – five of the group achieved another CASI qualification for carving. It had been all about the ‘pencil lines’ for the last 2 weeks and thankfully the hard work paid off. Thanks to Marc for getting us super prepped!
Thu – was time to test the riding of the group against our closest rivals, Peak Leaders, Base Camp and International Academy. We all met at Sunshine for a border-cross. As predicted it was an all NONSTOP final, Keith V Leland.
Again, thanks to our instructors for setting up the gates and organising the event – it’s official, we have THE best instructors in Canada.
Bumpers for dinner then onto the Paddock for the evenings entertainment, which involved a load of English snow bums ransacking town for random items, getting a little naked and coercing MacDonalds employees, all in the name of a scavenger hunt (other fast food retailers are available).
Fri – some made it to the hill. Some didn’t.
Sat – what a beautiful day. Spring is well on the way but lets hope we get another dump before its time to say goodbye.
Sun – One hour less in bed with the clocks changing and 2 members of the group (who would prefer to remain anonymous, for fear of repercussions) moved to the dark side for the morning. They donned their all-in-ones and hit the cross-country ski trail behind The Banff Springs.
Then back to basics for a nights camping in Alberta’s wilderness. When the guides gave us the pep talk about picking suitable ground to pitch our tents, it appears there were a few who forgot to listen. Or maybe they decided camping by a river wasn’t enough and preferred to pitch their tent in one instead!
The fondue, the log fire and the stars were just some of the highlights of the evening! Good times.
Mon – was an early start for the campers, and a loud one! We were woken by the soothing sound of fireworks as Chad let off a couple of bear flares to wake the group. We did our best to pack up the tents and our gear in the dark and left the campsite just as the sun was rising. The aim was to get breakfast in Canmore and make it back to Banff in time to catch the last bus up to the hill. Only one person made it out though. So why did we all vote for a 6am wake up?
