Red Mountain 11-week instructor course diary – week 8
It’s been an exciting week in Red Mountain for those taking part in the Valhalla cat-ski day. Here’s an update from Shim Star:
On the evening of Saturday March 13th, I emailed Pincus to ensure his house remembered about the daylight saving and the fact that we were getting picked up at 6am the following morning for Valhalla catskiing/boarding we discussed how bad would it be to sleep in on Valhalla day…
6.20am the following morning and still no sign of Red Rooster house, no surprise there then that all three of them had slept in, not to worry though as they were all present by approximately 6.23am.
We get on the road, purchasing breakfast en route, only to discover that Valhalla have enough goodies to satisfy a small army.
Armed with fat skis and nose heavy boards, we make our way to the cats and then up the mountains where the views are spectacular. Quick avalanche training session, equipment check and we’re ready to rock. With the sun shining above us and miles of pure white pillows to dive into, 12 very excited NONSTOPPERS take the first of 9 of the best runs we’ve ever done!
Personally, I was extremely nervous and excited to start with and panicked massively about having to dig myself out of a hole (thanks Charlie & Adam, not Aidan however who was having far too much fun and rode past grinning). The runs just got better and better, steeper and deeper, bigger and better each time.
Some of the memorable moments included Ben’s fantastic face plant; Scott’s attempt at felling one of the most robust trees in Nelson; Dan trying to ride over a resilient tree stump cleverly disguised as a small shrub; Ben trying to cover me with snow and ending up on his arse and I hadn’t even noticed; Adam hitting the only two trees in the 1 mile square radius after the huge jump; and Jonny’s hand scrambling for assistance out of a considerably deep tree well.
With picturesque views, fresh lines all day, at least a 15 foot jump, cliff drops, steep and deep fluffy powder, sunshine, good tunes, fantastic company, tasty food; seriously, what more could you ask for?
12 exceptionally satisfied NONSTOPPERS!
See all the previous course diaries from this year’s instructor cours in Red Mountain here.
Look into doing an ski instructor course in Red Mountain here.
Or snowboard instructor courses here.
