Banff 11-week instructor course diary – Week 8

Thanks to Claire and Jess for this week’s update from Banff:

Monday 22nd Feb
Today would have been a normal day at Sunshine, however one group’s skiing efforts made the day special. The calamity involved falling off cat tracks, losing skis, rolling down steep bumpy slopes and eventually ending in snapping a tree in half. Ouch!
The evening had a more relaxed and tree-friendly theme. To celebrate Josh and Alex’s birthdays we all headed out to the Banff Springs to play bowling. However, this wasn’t just any bowling, this was bingo bowling! We were separated out into groups and told to chuck a ball to try and hit specific pins. It all got very competitive as everyone tried to score the mysterious “11” and “H” shots. We also met Rupert Taylor from NONSTOP who was quick to join in on the fun.

Tuesday 23rd Feb
We all got out of bed bright and early today to head to Lake Louise for some serious snow shredding! It was a beautiful day – blue skies and the fresh air reminded us why we were in Canada. The skiers did some serious moguls today and started to practice teaching for level 2. In the evening we all celebrated Alex’s birthday and our second birthday cake in 2 days at dinner. YUM!

Wednesday 24th Feb
Today the group piled on the bus to Norquay and were excited by the fact that it was, ever so slightly, snowing! Our group made the most of it by heading up the North American chairlift and skiing a famous double black run called “Lone Pine”. Our legs were burning afterwards. Later, the skiers left the snowboarders at Norquay to attend a tech session about skiing styles. We all watched clips from “Claim” with wide eyes – skiers jumping off massive vertical cliffs into powder, just about making it down the side of a mountain in one piece while Mike pointed out their use of pole plant and centred mobile stance.

Thursday 25th Feb
Another day at the Lake! We got more teaching practice in and even more moguls. We were taken on plenty of fun runs down the backside of Lake Louise before the clouds came in and we couldn’t see a thing. Blind skiing on the bumps is always interesting! Dinner was at the Paddock this week; we had burgers and beer for dinner and then played a pool tournament. After, the group hit the local bar and club scene to party the NONSTOP way!

Read all of the other course diaries for the Banff 11 week instructor course here.

Find out how to take part in Banff ski instructor courses here.

And check out the Banff snowboard instructor courses here.