Fernie 11 week Instructor Course 2015.16 - Week 6 Update From Jamie!

Having passed our Level 1 Ski Instructor Assessment last week, you might be forgiven for thinking that we would be allowed a brief respite from the usual mania, so that we could briefly bask in the glory of our newly earned achievement. Oh no no! How wrong you would be! Week 6 has been absolutely jam-packed!

It's a tough life here in Fernie

Number one priority was to decide whether we wanted to carry on with our instructor studies, towards Level 2, or to take the All Mountain Pro route. This AMP course sees us concentrate solely on ski improvement across a variety of terrains and is the route on which I eventually decided.

Despite it being the first time most of us had tried grinds, we were all getting the hang of it by the end of the session

Rails are equal parts fun and sore bums

This week was geared towards giving us a taster of what could be expected for each choice. Amongst other things, we had the chance to try and improve our slalom racing and park technique. Many in my group (myself included!) managed to do our first successful grinds which was amazing fun! Another option was to spend some time improving our teaching technique.

Eddie the Eagle, soaring majestically once more

Kodak courage in front of the AMP Level 1 judges

On Thursday we had the awesome ‘AMP Level 1’ day. This saw everyone compete in four areas: short radius turns, carving, jumping and free ride. It was great fun to add a bit of friendly competition to the lessons, with some big prizes to be given away at the award ceremony that evening. I was lucky enough to win the ‘Most AMPed’ prize for my tendency to put my body on the line and attempt various jumps and tricks (nearly all unsuccessful), despite not having the necessary skills to perform them.

Me, looking rather chuffed with my prize for 'Most AMPed'

Friday was all about cat skiing. Before you ask…..yes, this is where we put miniature skis on cats and race them downhill. Ok, that might not be true, but is something I’m going to look into. For those that don’t know, cat skiing is where you take a big snowcat up, into otherwise unreachable areas, in order to find amazing off-piste runs and fresh powder lines. The weather gods must have been happy with us as we had both fresh powder and a beautiful day! This was truly a day to remember and I thoroughly recommend that you jump at the opportunity if ever given the chance.