Mike Barnes caught the winter season bug when he did our 11 week ski instructor course back in 07/08 and has since gone on to become a ski instructor in Cypress Mountain. Here are his experiences training and becoming a ski instructor…

The months approaching the start of the course flew by and, before I knew it, I was at the airport meeting some of the people I would be skiing with for the next 11 weeks. They were an assortment of people from different backgrounds and of varied ages. We spent most of the flight talking about how we couldn’t wait to get out there. Everyone seemed to get on really well, because we all wanted the same thing, and we were all excited about going skiing! When we arrived at the lodge in Fernie, we had a great welcome from the NONSTOPers who had arrived early. The Lodge itself and our rooms were great. With everything going well, I couldn’t wait to get on with the season!

It was great meeting so many people over the weeks to follow. Everyone lived to ski each day and were always keen to socialise after the day’s lesson. As for the course itself, I noticed that we had the most experienced instructors on the hill teaching us – A great team of highly qualified Canadians who loved being part of the NONSTOP program.

In the weeks to come I took part in loads of extra activities that were included in the course. We built and camped out in a snow cave with some back-country experts, took trips to other resorts, did an avalanche safety course and spent a day snowmobiling (dog sledding was available to those who prefer barking to the purr of a motor!)

The social aspect of the course was a full time thing if you wanted it to be. Whether it be watching the local ice hockey team, heading to a bar for a social meet, or just going to the cinema with whoever wanted to go. I was never short of things to do!

After chatting to the instructors, I could see the seasonal working lifestyle was as good as everyone made it out to be – it was definitely for me! So I became intent on getting a job as an instructor the following season. I was keen on getting as many instructing qualifications as I could and, before I knew it, I had passed the first instructing certificate (CSIA Level 1.) With this qualification I could probably get a job the following season but to really secure a job, I wanted to get my CSIA Level 2 instructors certificate at the end of the course.

The final weeks flew by and were amazing; with everyone knowing each other really well, and loving the town of Fernie and its ski slopes. I really focused during the lessons running up to the level 2 exam week, as it meant so much to me to pass, and I was over the moon when I was awarded my certificate!

I’LL NEVER FORGET THE SMILING FACES AND THE PARTY THAT NIGHT!

Fernie 2008 was my first winter season experience and the best time that I’d ever had. It was so easy going and carefree, thanks to the course being so well run. I met so many like-minded people of all ages and backgrounds, who I hope I will never lose contact with. NONSTOP even run an annual get together called NONSTOCK, which is a great little festival with live music and a chilled out atmosphere. It’s the perfect opportunity to catch up with friends and meet many more like minded people. I would absolutely recommend it to people who have done one of the courses, and people who are thinking about doing one!

I started applying for jobs soon after getting back home to Bournemouth. The Canadian ski qualifications are recognised worldwide but I only applied to Canadian resorts, as I had such a good time there. I had some positive replies from a fair few ski schools, although Cypress Mountain  (one of the ski hills that overlooks Vancouver) stood out from the rest. I had a phone interview and chatted about what kind of hill it was – a relatively small hill that employed a lot of international instructors. It was perfect for me. I took the job, which was to start before Christmas and finish late March.

The ski school director put me in contact with all the other instructors who would be travelling from the UK. Lots of e-mails were thrown around and I ended up renting a house in North Vancouver with 3 other Brits. It was a bit of a gamble whether we’d all get on, but I rolled with it and it turned out great. Within a week or so my house mates and I decided to buy a banger to get around in. We hunted around and all chipped in on an old 4 x 4. A bit of a moss-growing wreck but it did the job.

The resort wasn’t huge and had a small team of instructors, which meant I would get to teach all levels of student. My first lesson came and I was nervous, but I got used to teaching pretty quickly. It’s a great feeling teaching someone to do something they couldn’t do before. I taught a huge range of students, from beginner adults to advanced kids, from all over the world. Sometimes there was a language barrier, which made communication very “interesting” at first. But by the end of the season I was pretty good at flailing my arms around and keeping verbal instruction down to a minimum.

The level of instructors at the hill was varied, so we’d often take improvement sessions with the more experienced instructors.  These were also a good laugh – if you thought instructors rarely fell over, think again! As the season went on, everyone became good friends. Work was often followed by a drink in the bar or sometimes we’d have an organised social and all the staff would go.

I’d recommend ski instructing to anyone who is sociable and likes being out in the scenic outdoors. It is a chilled out and fun place to be working. I have met hundreds of fantastic people and I am looking forward to doing it all again!

Find out more about the 11-week ski instructor course that Mike took

And check out the snowboarding courses here

It is also a welcome back to afterbang and hitting kickers (with a new style). After a summer of relative quietness it is good to have you back writing and keeping us entertained.

Here’s to a great winter with tons of snow. If the Farmer’s Almanac is to be believed then it will be cold winter in Canada and that can only mean lots of snow.

If you want to improve your skiing, learning to be a ski instructor is a fantastic way to do it. See our ski instructor courses, or snowboard instructor courses here.

Last weekend we held our first NONSTOP festival.

The scene was set on the beautiful Fulford Estate near Exeter in Devon.  On Friday the marquees were up, the hot tub out, the sun was shining and the past and present NONSTOPpers started arriving from far and wide.

The theme for the weekend: catching up with the old and making new friends, listening to some great music and enjoying the sunshine, surf and scenery of sunny Devon.

Here a few photos so you can imagine what we got up to in greater detail…

The Scenic Fulford Manor – home to NONSTOCK 2008

The Party Tent

Act No.1 – The Lovely Martin Harley

Act No. 2 – The Undercover Hippie

Act No. 3 – The Baker Brothers

Fireside

Swimming (washing away the hangovers) in the lake

So, a great weekend was had by all.

Watch this space for NONSTOCK 2009!

Now, you may have guessed from the title of this post that the final destination was never reached. Alas, some unforeseen circumstances came into our path…

…we never made it to St Malo but it turns out Guernsey is just lovely at this time of year!

I thought I might share the experience with you, with a few photos…

The crew:

Rupert and Dave

The team arrived in Dartmouth at 7pm, it was a lovely mild July evening and there was excitement in the air. We all climbed aboard the great ‘Nimrod’, Patrick’s beautiful Dehler 47 and tucked into a selection of lovely pasties (when in Rome!)

After a quick shandy and a safety briefing from the Skip, the NONSTOP team set sail. It was all smiles and laughter as we settled in and waved good-bye to land, it would be the last we would see for the next 20 hours.

A gentle tail wind blew us in the right direction (I have very little ‘sailing’ lingo in my vocabulary) – in essence, the wind blew, the sailors sailed and we cruised along at an average of 8 knots, which felt pretty quick! The skies darkened and night came over – the ‘watch’ system began. Dave, James and Patrick started and the rest of us went down below for a bit of kip. At 1.00am the ‘dog’ watch started and Tom, Harry and I (Georgie) took the helm… there is no need to go in to details but I will just say that I am no sailor – so the boys sailed while I ensured that the mackerel were well fed. To help those on watch stay awake (and the rest of the crew!) Harry decided to sing at the top of his voice, the words to all the national anthems he knew. Which turned out to be quite a few! Meanwhile Tom kindly steered Nimrod out of the way of any of the huge cargo ships.

Tom at the helm

The watch systems carried on, and a few of us (don’t worry – I will mention no names!) took turns in ‘feeding the mackerel’ until the sun rose, the seas calmed (a little!) and the Channel Islands came into view. It was decided by James and Patrick that due to the imminent bad weather that perhaps we shouldn’t sail all the way to St Malo and that Guernsey looked just lovely and to my absolute delight, it looked close!

Tori

Dave

Harry, Patrick, Tori and Tom

Tom and I

Mr James Dodd

To cut a long story short, we spent a lovely day in sunny Guernsey and the sailing was an exciting and enthralling experience! We made good time, in apparently relatively calm seas (although some of us would beg to differ) and more importanly by the time we were on land, everyone was smiling again – The team had bonded!

Moral of the story : Sailing is a fantastic sport, exciting and lots of fun but let’s just say, there are a few of us who will never touch another pasty, ever again!

I think I will be sticking to the mountains and snowboarding from now on! If anyone agrees and would like to chat about our ski and snowboard instructor and improvement courses, please give me a call!

By the way, in case you’re reading this and are starting to feel apprehensive about the idea of skiing or snowboarding in that much powder, it’s worth rembering these two points:

1.  1118cm doesn’t all fall at once!  You won’t have to wade through unmanageable quantities of snow, but you will enjoy plenty of fresh snow that keeps the pistes soft and the skiing/riding varied and fun. It’s so much more enjoyable when you fall into soft snow rather than onto hard packed ice.
2. Skiing or snowboarding at a resort with fresh powder and regular snowfall will improve your skills quicker than visiting a resort that relies on man made snow. If you’re skiing or riding soft snow you tend to be more confident and can explore steeper and more challenging terrain because the snow conditions are more forgiving. This definitely makes you improve quicker and therefore you’ll have more fun on the whole mountain rather than just the lower slopes.

So come and have a go and discover powder skiing at its best.

If you want to improve your skiing, learning to be a ski instructor is a fantastic way to do it. See our ski instructor courses, or snowboard instructor courses here.

• Who gets the most snow
• Who has the most fresh lines (i.e. the least people)

No. 5 KICKING HORSE

Kicking Horse is fast gaining an international reputation as a steep and deep classic resort. By this we mean the terrain is challenging and the snowfall is fantastic, giving you the best of both worlds. You can either stay up at the resort or in the nearby town of Golden. This old mining town offers a frontier style experience that may not be to everyone’s taste. Having said this there are some good bars and restaurants to choose from but the selection is not that big.

The snowfall in Kicking Horse is excellent with 665cm falling this season alone. Being colder than other powder meccas, Kicking Horse is renowned for having good quality, light, dry snow.

In addition to this the resort is still growing in popularity so lift queues aren’t often long and the runs will be pretty much empty. At the weekends the Calgary crowds tend to dominate so aim to visit during the week and you won’t have to share the plunder!

Summary: Well worth a visit for any expert skiers or snowboarders – great steeps, good average snowfall, not too busy, lift system needs expanding soon.

No. 4 WHISTLER / BLACKCOMB

Whistler continually wins the accolades, namely the top resort in North America and deservedly so. It has the most extensive, fast operating and efficient lift service of any resort allowing you to reach all the corners of this vast resort. The customer service is fantastic, tissues to blow your nose at every lift station; people carrying free hot chocolate on their backs to hand out when it gets very cold and hosts to guide you around the mountain, also offered for free. There is a great selection of bars, restaurants and clubs for those looking to enjoy some après ski.

As for the snowfall, this season Whistler had a whopping 1018cm! So why is this great resort only at number four?

Whistler has almost become a victim of its own success and as such attracts huge numbers of visitors every season. The weekends and public holidays can see very long lift lines and if it has just snowed then you could be in for a long wait too. For this reason Whistler falls down slightly on our second criteria. Despite having a huge amount of terrain you will always be competing with a large number of people for those fresh lines.

Summary: Amazing resort, great service, tons of snow but, you have to compete a bit too much for the fresh lines.

No. 3 RED MOUNTAIN

Red Mountain is one of those hidden gems of a resort. Anyone who has been will tell you it is some of the best skiing or snowboarding they have ever done. There are two cone shaped mountains, Granite and Red, that both offer 360° worth of lines. You can literally take any line on the mountain, a truly unique offering. Additionally, as there is practically no one else on the hill you will feel like you have your own private resort! You can stay in purpose built condos on the hill or in the town of Rossland about five minutes away, a lovely ski town with a very relaxed vibe.

The snowfall topped 700cm this season and with a short season this amount is even more impressive.

Crucially, your chances of finding fresh lines at Red are very high. There are never very many people on the hill, even on a powder day, so the snow lasts longer and there is more for you and your friends to enjoy.

Summary: On the right day, being at Red is like experiencing lift accessed heli-skiing – empty runs, no lift queues, lots of snow, plenty of fresh lines.

No. 2 WHITEWATER

This little known resort is located near the colourful, cultural town of Nelson in British Columbia. It has something for everyone, from steeps, deeps, chutes, bowls, glades, groomed cruisers and gentle rollers. It has built its reputation on deep snow, non existent lift queues and big hospitality. Plus, the food in the Whitewater ski lodge is so delicious there’s even a famous Whitewater recipe book!

The town of Nelson is 12 kilometres from Whitewater and is a fun quirky little town nestled on the shores of the stunning Kootenay Lake. Nelson has some great heritage buildings (350 to be exact) which along with the numerous music shops, museums and galleries give the town a unique cultural feel. It’s truly one of those places that people find hard to leave.

As for the snowfall well it averages a massive 1200cm a season!

With this much snow you would think it would be a packed resort however, you will rarely find a lift queue and if you see more than a handful of people on the slopes it will be a surprise. All this means the powder lasts longer and you get more fresh lines. The only downside is the small and quite old lift system makes it harder to access all the fantastic terrain, however Whitewater is as much renowned for its backcountry access as it is the resort so if you’ve got the knowledge you can enjoy endless lines outside the resort boundary.

Summary: A true hidden gem – tons of snow, nobody there, down to earth friendly locals, great town.

No. 1 FERNIE

Fernie is located in the southern most point of British Columbia and has gained a reputation for being an amazing powder destination. The terrain in Fernie is fantastic with five large alpine bowls to explore and steep tree runs to play in. You can ski or ride pretty much anywhere within the boundary of the resort making it perfect for those who love big mountain skiing or riding.

The town itself offers something for everyone with a wide selection of restaurants; bars; cultural offerings and a very friendly atmosphere. If you are coming for a holiday or looking to do a season then Fernie will not disappoint.

The snowfall is the real reason people come though, with over 1120cm of snow this season it was hard to beat. There were over 40 powder days in a season running from December to April making it one of the highest snowfalls in any resort anywhere!

And the key factor in making it number one is there’s no one to fight for the snow with. Even on a powder day you will only have to line up for a maximum of five minutes! Fernie’s fantastic snowfall, amazing terrain, empty runs and a great town make it our number one powder resort in Canada.

Summary: Our choice for the top powder resort in Canada!

Who would you choose?

This April our lead house-keeper Peggy, who has been part of the NONSTOP family for two seasons, was sadly diagnosed with cancer. In order to raise some support funds for Peggy we organised an auction event at our Lodge where our staff modeled stylish retro ski outfits while participants from NONSTOP Ski & snowboard courses as well as members of the public competitively bid to buy an outfits in time for hotdog day. We had a really fun evening, raised an amazing $1,450 for Peggy and her family, and the successful bidders loved wearing their new clothes on the slopes. We’ll be repeating the event next year for another equally suitable cause.

Here are some photos of the garish outfits. Sadly they don’t really show what an amazing turn-out we had… over 70 people attended the event, 10 people modeled, and Paul, our head barman, was awesome as the auctioneer.

Freeskier Simon Dumont broke the World Quarter Pipe Record today in his home resort of Sunday River. The Bethel local hit 34 ft, breaking the previous record of 32.5 ft held by snowboarder Terje Haakonsen. Dumont broke the record with a cork 900 tail grab.

Jeremy Clarkson:

For your next holiday, why don’t you take all your money and put it on the fire? Then stand in a fridge for a week, beating your children with a baseball bat until their arms and legs break. And then, after you’ve eaten some melted cheese, dislocate your shoulder. If all of this appeals then you are probably one of the 1.3m British people who go on a skiing holiday at this time of year.

Skiing, for those of you who’ve never tried it, is an extremely expensive way of combining acute discomfort, butt-clenching embarrassment, mind-numbing fear and a light dusting of hypothermia. Plus there’s a better than evens chance that at least one member of your family will come home in a wheelchair.
The first thing you must understand is the ski boot. It is specifically designed to be as heavy as possible and to ensure that if you fall over – and you will, all the time – your leg will break at its most painful point: just above the ankle. The only way to prevent this happening is to cushion the fall with your face.

These holidays are called winter “breaks” because at some point you will end up in a doctor’s surgery that looks like a Baghdad market after a nail-bomb attack. Once, after I’d broken my thumb for the second year in succession, I sat in the waiting room with a chap who had a ski pole sticking out of his eye. And opposite was a pretty young girl whose left foot was on back to front.

Of course you might think it is possible to avoid such injuries by going very slowly. Unfortunately this is not possible because to counter the surprisingly powerful effects of gravity you need to dig the edges of your skis into the slope with such force that after a very short time your thigh muscles actually catch fire.
When the smell of burning flesh becomes too overpowering you let go, and suddenly you are travelling at 700mph. Then, equally suddenly, you will be breathing gas and air while the doctor sharpens his hacksaw.
This year, on my skiing holiday, the air ambulance was lifting five newly formed paraplegics off the mountain every day.

Falling over, however, is not the greatest danger. Far worse is being hit by a teenager with baggy trousers on a snowboard. Snowboarding is like skiing, except you have absolutely no control over your direction of travel, mostly because you will have had a lot of marijuana at lunch time.

It’s certainly better than eating the food. The food at ski resorts is cooked by people whose only qualification for the job is that they are called Arabella. Once, I was served salt soup. Mostly, though, it’s bread, which you dip in melted cheese.

And because you are expected to melt the cheese yourself, the Arabella has more time to have sexual intercourse with her surly French ski-instructor boyfriend.
I am a very good skier . . . in my mind. However, video evidence suggests that I’m rubbish. I look like a bus driver in a primary-coloured anorak, sitting on an imaginary lavatory. Also I can only turn right. So to mask my embarrassment, and the pain in my thighs, I ski only when very drunk. I can recommend this wholeheartedly.

However, what you must never do is ski while under the influence of Billy Idol. No, really. I can absolutely guarantee that within five seconds of putting an iPod in your ears one of your bones will shoot out of your skin.

Of course you might imagine that there are other things to do on a winter holiday apart from skiing. ‘Fraid not. On a normal summer break you can sunbathe, swim, snorkel, jet ski and, if you like The Guardian, go to look at museums.

But on a skiing holiday what you do is get up at dawn, eat some salt soup and queue for hours to get on something that makes a Tube train look deserted. Then queue for some more hours because your place keeps being taken by burly Russians who have daggers tattooed on their foreheads. Then you ski until it goes dark.

You have probably heard about après-ski activities. In your mind, you see nightclubs and pretty girls and drinking fiery cocktails till dawn. Well, I’m sorry, but what actually happens is that you get back to your hotel or chalet, climb into a relaxing bath to try to jump-start your burnt-out muscles and fall fast asleep.
This is a good thing because in addition to the cost of the holiday and the flights and the ski rental and the lessons and the ski pass that lets you use the mountain, you will have been utterly bankrupted by your wardrobe. This year the cheapest pair of padded trousers we could find for my 13-year-old daughter were £250. And it’s not as if she can wear them anywhere else.

Finally there’s the weather. If it’s poor you will freeze and crash into things because you can’t see where you’re going. If it’s good – and over half-term it was very, very good – you will need sunglasses. And that means you will come home after a week with a face like a barn owl.

The thing is, though, that when the sun shines and you are whizzing along, drunk out of your mind, under a perfect blue dome with your happy, giggling children on a deserted, freshly pisted slope, and you’re about to have lunch in a restaurant with a view that is unparalleled anywhere on earth, none of the misery matters. Because there is no feeling quite like it. It’s called perfect happiness.