This week Rupert and I drove from Fernie to Banff via the stunning Kootenay National Park to hang out with the 11 week instructor course that is in full swing there.  I’d heard from Max that this was a great bunch of people and was stoked to arrive and find a tight-knit crew who had settled well into the Banff lifestyle.  I spent Monday with Anna’s skier group at Lake Louise and was really impressed with the level of skiing – I reckon these guys will definitely be ready to go for their level 1 instructor exam next week!  I loved Lake Louise the resort – what a great range of terrain, we even managed to find a big fresh stash of powder on the backside!

Banff the town is really pretty – surrounded by spectacular mountains and a great village atmosphere with amazing restaurants and a well-known party scene.  The first night we were there we ate at Nourish, an awesome little vegetarian restaurant.  The food is amazing (though the menu is a little weird for a first-timer; they put strawberries in everything from curries and burritos to nachos and noodles!), the service is great and the prices are reasonable – definitely a highlight of my time in Banff.  Another great thing about Banff is the hot springs – such a good way to ease the cold day on the hill out of the muscles and to guarantee a solid night’s sleep (or maybe that was the huge comfy beds at Nonstop’s Banff home base Irwin’s Mountain Inn?).

On Tuesday we went to Norquay with the group.  Although smaller than the other areas, Norquay has some excellent groomers and bumps –  perfect for fine-tuning technique, so we spent the day learning how to deconstruct a lesson for a first time skier, and then analysing video footage of each of our future instructors.  There is nothing like seeing yourself on screen for improving your style – I know I benefitted from realigning my mental picture to the real picture of how I make it down the hill…  At Banff the crew is very privileged to have the time of some seriously experienced and super fun instructors – nothing but the best!

On Wednesday I enjoyed my last big brekky at El Toro’s (thanks guys!) and before heading back to Fernie I completed the Banff trio and skied with Mike’s group at Sunshine.  I can see why this area is generally acknowledged as the favourite amongst the group, the snow is soft, the views are great, and the range of terrain is too.  Though I suspect that it was the experience of the massive powder day of the week before that tips Sunshine over the other two areas!

Thanks for skiing with me guys and good luck for your exams next week!

Find out more about the Nonstop 11 week instructor courses.

Active Nation are keen to employ a snowboard instructor for the Southampton dry ski slope. As long as you’ve got your CASI level 1 qualification or above with Nonstop, you should be in with a shot. Here’s the bumph:

JOB VACANCY:

SNOWBOARD INSTRUCTOR - £7 per hour - SOUTHAMPTON SNOWSPORTS CENTRE

ACTIVE NATION – SOUTHAMPTON

Active Nation is a registered charity driven by its mission to persuade the nation to be active. It is fast growing and dynamic and has been selected by Southampton City Council to be its principal sport and exercise delivery partner over the next 14 years.

ARE YOU LOOKING FOR AN ADVENTURE WITH A DIFFERENCE

A fantastic opportunity has arisen to join Southampton Snowsports Centre. We are looking for an exceptional instructor who is dynamic, self motivated and be able to draw on a range of outdoor coaching and teaching practices to create significant and beneficial experiences for our supporters.

Southampton Snowsports Centre offering a variety of different Snowsports and fun activities for all ages. Located at the Outdoor Sports Centre in Southampton, and surrounded by 150 acres of green and open spaces, it is the ideal setting for many sports activities.

WE’D LOVE TO HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH YOU IF YOU’RE ABLE TO TELL US: How you will persuade people to share in your passion for Snowsports What motivates you and why a new challenge might appeal to you How you think we can use Snowsports to achieve the Charity’s mission

YOU WILL: Be passionate about sport and exercise, particularly in an outdoor adventurous setting and be able to inspire people to take part in meaningful activities Deliver a range of activity sessions to a variety of Active Nations supporters including young people, adults, families and those with specialist needs Assist the lead instructor team in inspecting safety equipment on a regular basis Maintain a flexible approach to work which will involve continuous work in an outdoor environment, work on evenings and weekends as part of a shift pattern Need to have experience in coaching snowboarding, hold at least a valid level 1 BASI, Snowsport England or equivalent as well as a valid 8 hour first aid certificate

IN OUR VIEW EVERYTHING IN LIFE STARTS WITH A CONVERSATION AND WE’D LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU.

To apply please tell us your story so far by emailing your CV and a covering letter to hayley.walker@activenation.org.uk If selected expect a call back from us. For more information visit our website www.activenation.org.uk or call Hayley Walker, Programme Manager, on 07825 235441.

CLOSING DATE: 17th February 2012

ASSESSMENT DATE: 21st February 2012

*In order to be considered for the position you must be able to make the assessment date.

Active Nation is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. This post will be subject to an Enhanced CRB disclosure.

The guys arrived amidst one of the biggest storms in recent history; there was so much snow they couldn’t even get to Fernie! Rather than letting a night in Calgary dampen their spirits, I was struck by how tight they were when they arrived in town… it seems spending a night in -35C Calgary is just the ticket to bring people together! Those that had arrived in Fernie early took advantage of the metre of fresh snow and had bragging rights over their course mates for the first few days… but this storm was just the beginning!

my 75cm fresh pow overnight face

15cm one night… 40cm another…I begun to get upset if I didn’t wake up to at least 10cm of fresh snow! Lots of the crew had never experienced snow like it and I got used to hearing ‘that was the best day of my life’ at the end of each day (take a bow Leon!) … these were ideal conditions for the crew to start their off piste training. One run in particular stands out for me; we went on a short hike up ‘Siberia Ridge’ and after some impromptu tree climbing we strapped in, buddied up and charged down untouched pow through spaced out trees. Every turn was a face shot and all I could hear was the ‘yeeeeeeows’ of my fellow riders… literally some of the best fun I’ve ever had!

Good company, sick terrain and seemingly endless powder are key ingredients to a course like this, but the most important (think apples in apple pie) is the instruction. Not only are Nonstop’s pro’s at the top of their game coaching wise (level 3 & 4 as standard) they’re also the exact type of person you want to go riding with! Take Dave for example, the ‘MTM’ coach whilst I was there, not only did he improve everyone’s riding in a matter of days, but his enthusiasm and one liners ensured we all suffered face cramps from perma-grins and laughs. Atop the Polar Peak, the highest point in Fernie, Dave showed B.C in all it’s glory to the crew and proclaimed ‘put that in your eyes and look at it!’. Wisdom defined. There’s even rumours of the crew getting tattoos as a reminder of Dave; ‘WWDD’ as in ‘What would Dave do?!’.

All the hiking, riding through trees, down bumps, ridges and wide open powder fields is all training for the climax of this course – a week long adventure in the backcountry. These guys need to be ready for any terrain that the B.C wilderness can throw at them. The split boards will come out, skins will be strapped on and the crew will most certainly earn their turns. I would do just about anything to come back out and join them! Besides all the on hill training and fun, Fernie has plenty to keep them entertained in the evening. Bars aside, it was clear that supporting the local ice hockey team ‘The Ghostriders’ had become a Friday night ritual and don’t let anyone tell you curling is not an extreme sport. If you want to get involved on the ‘ultimate off piste course’ next season and take your skiing or snowboarding to the next level (as well as your curling) then click here!

The only dampener for the trip was Tuesday morning. Winds were extremely high and resulted in most of the resort closing down. We spent the morning on a wild goose chase, trying to find a lift that would allow us to at least get a couple of runs in. By lunchtime we were feeling a little disheartened, we really hadn’t had any luck. The most we had managed was a slide down a sketchy windswept green cat-track. But then we got a call from Christian, Nonstop’s course host and instructor in Serre Chevalier, and suddenly we were given a slither of hope.

In search of greater things

Christian was optimistic about our chances of getting some good riding in that afternoon, and in untouched powder no less! To me it sounded crazy, everything seemed closed and the off piste conditions I’d seen looked a little ropey. However, local knowledge goes a long way! Christian drove me, four of my companions and few other ski and snowboard instructor from Ski Connections to the far end of the resort, where there was a string of three adjoining lifts still running.

Christian had warned us all that there would be a fair amount of hiking involved and that those of us on snowboards would have to deal with a difficult traverse, but we were all prepared to take the rough with the smooth when powder was promised!

One of the less wind-swept hikes

As we ascended the final lift, Christian pointed out our first hike up a windswept ridgeline. The wispy white streaks blowing off the ridge was a pre-warning for the challenge that lay ahead!

Christian unclipped his skis and lead the way, with us following in single file behind. I was massively impressed with the sure footing of his ski boots. I followed behind with far grippier snowboard boots but managed to slip on the icy windswept boot-pack several times. Although the fall on each side of the ridge-line was by no means deadly, I really didn’t want to go down there, it would have resulted in a slide to a pretty awkward area to get out of. The wind smashed into the right side of our bodies every 30 seconds or so, and after being unbalanced by its ferocity a couple of times, we all got in the habit of hitting the deck every time it came in full force, apart from our guides of course, they were clearly machines.

After around twenty minutes of hard and tense hiking, we all collapsed near the peak of the ridge. Although our faces were frozen by the wind, we had all built up quite a sweat! Lying to our right was the first of our traverses. Christian led the way and, once at the other side, called our other guide Ben to let him know that it got pretty icey towards the end of the traverse and that it might be a challenge for the snowboarders. From where I was sitting it didn’t look too bad, but “icy traverse” is enough to send shivers down the spine of any snowboarder!

As I headed across the first part of the traverse I managed to hold my heal edge pretty well and followed Christain’s path with relative ease, but inevitably managed to slip below it towards the end. I noticed that I could traverse past the ice a little longer to a powder area that would allow me to hike back up to Christian safely. However as soon as I touched the powder area with my edge, I realised I’d been duped by the mountain. It was actually sheet ice disguised as powder (obviously baked hard by the sun and frozen by the wind). I unclipped one foot, in the hope that I would be able to punch my foot through the icey top-layer, but I instantly realised that I’d made a mistake as my foot slipped as soon as it touched the ice. As I looked around to take in the situation I realised that the only thing stopping me from sliding a long way down the hill was my heal edge… that now only had the strength of one foot to secure it. Looking back to my right I noticed that I was being followed by my partner Becky. I screamed at her to stop, but my voice was lost in the wind. Thankfully Christian had noticed what was going on and managed to reach Becky just as her edge slipped from underneath her. Christian thrust out his pole just in time for her to grab it and he managed to take her whole weight and stop her from slipping away. I sat there very impressed with the way that Christian had handled the situation and impressed that Becky managed to not get freaked out by it, but really wished that I had a ski pole to grab as well! After a bit of flapping, I managed to get my right foot back into my bindings and traverse a little further to a safer place.

Snowboarders hashing up the powder bowl traverse

We took the hikes and traverses that followed a little more cautiously. I made sure of every foot that I put down as I’d had the wind put up me a little. The next traverse was across a powder bowl (real powder this time) which in turn has its own dangers. Although the risk of avalanche was low, it was still the sort of area that you wouldn’t want to spend too much time getting across and we tackled it one at a time. As standard, the snowboarders made bit of a pigs ear of getting across, but it was encouraging to see that the two snowboard instructors that joined us slipped from the skiers line and had to hike out along with the rest of us.

After being rattled on the first climb and traverse, later climbs were taken a little more cautiously... unless you're a guide...

Anyway, enough of the hard stuff. After all of the traversing and hiking we were treated with a beautiful view across the valley that marked the start of the fun bit! Before hitting the tree line the snow was still a little crusty, but before long we rode into a hidden sheltered oasis. We entered a forest with perfectly spaced trees and untouched soft snow. It was hard to believe that such amazing snow could be available with the recent weather, but mother nature is a curious maiden.

We were rewarded with spectacular views of the valley

The run continued for a good 25mins. In a forest it’s always hard keeping a large group together, but Ben, Christian and the other instructors did a fine job of herding us up. At one point I went astray a little and found myself faced with the most mouthwatering section of forest, a little steeper than the rest. I so wanted to draw my solo line through the trees, but I was called back across with a distant shout from Ben on my left. Apparently it lead to a cliff, which shows that you should always listen to your guide!

Dan enjoying a powder turn shortly before smashing himself into a tree

By the time I rejoined the group it appeared that we’d had a casualty. A friend of mine, Dan, had ridden through a gap between trees and hadn’t spotted a smaller tree behind. Christian had a birds-eye view of the incident and, later in the bar, he recounted how horrific the collision looked. His board went on one side of the tree and his body the other, as Dan took the impact full-on in the midsection and was sent spinning away from the tree. Apparently the first thing that flashed into Christian’s mind was how we were going to get a helicopter into the middle of a forest! Thankfully Dan’s pretty rubbery; he just brushed himself off and carried on riding. Although he was a little sore, it really didn’t get in the way of the rest of the trip. Way to man-up Dan!… I don’t think he appreciated my advice to “look at the gap between the trees in future”…

The perfectly spaced tree run

After a great run we suddenly hit civilisation again as we popped out onto a piste, close to the base of Villeneuve. After dumping avo packs we went to exchange stories over a few pints at Mojos. It goes to show, even when you think that all is lost for the day, with a bit of perseverance you can have a blinder. Of course a bit of local knowledge helps a lot!

If you’d like to spend a week with Christian and the crew, check out our 1 week ski holidays in Serre Chevalier or, even better, check out our 18 week ski instructor course!

I’d heard a lot of good things about the area – it’s the third largest resort in Europe, has an expanse of off-piste terrain, amazing tree runs, quiet slopes and lots of sunshine. So it had a lot to live up to!

Europe has had a pretty darn amazing season so far. Apparently the Christmas and New Year period in Serre Chevalier was off-the-hook with tons of pow for shredding. Unfortunately a bout of wind and warmer weather had crusted up the off-piste a little for our arrival, but the pistes were amazing! The variety of trails had the classic European feel with wide open perfectly groomed motorway runs, with a few tree-lined cat-tracks further down towards the valley.

There's a lot of sunshine in Serre Chevalier and clouds are easy to avoid!

What made the whole experience very un-European was the lack of crowds. The mountain was eerily quiet at times, which meant that you could open up the throttle on the wide open pistes, without the fear of collision on every turn.

The variety of terrain suited our mixed ability group well. The blacks were challenging, particularly the “Luc Alphand” downhill run in Chantemerle – definitely worth a spin to tire you out at the end of the day, and the bonus is that the run ends directly outside The Station – one of Serre Chevalier’s hottest après spots. It is definitely one of the more challenging home runs I’ve experiences, but is a hell of a lot of fun when conditions are good! On the other end of the scale, the beginner slopes and intermediate terrain was plentiful, particularly around the Villeneuve area (home of Ski Connections ski school). There are also a few parks to play around in. The Snow Park between Chantemerle and Villeneuve has a great variety of kickers, from easy green through to scary blacks and has some fun and accessible rails, boxes and bonks. Then for the more experienced jibbers there’s a natural feature park called the “Mele Zone” with a big variety of log bassed jibs – it was mostly big and high stuff with icy surroundings – definitely one for when the conditions are a little softer as the area is ungroomed. There are also a couple of boardercross tracks dotted around, which are always good fun!

Enjoying a bit of boardercross

Après and nightlife is a lot of fun. As mentioned before, the Station Bar at the base of Chantmerle is a popular après spot and has very affordable drinks during the two hour happy period (3€ for pints and 1€ 50 wines). On the downside you have to tolerate a rather irritating house band. Villeneuve equivalent The Grotte has a great vibe and is lively right from après until 2 in the morning. Also, we spent a couple of evenings in Mojo bar in the village of Villeneuve where Adam, one of our trainee instructors, works. It’s a really nice little French bar for a more chilled out drink and two-for-one cocktails on Wednesday nights!

Seemingly the wind and sun had made this a predominantly piste week. However, all is not lost when you know somebody in the know. On Tuesday afternoon we were lucky enough to hook up with Christian, our course host in Serre Chevalier, and a bunch of his instructor buddies. He had word of a secret powder stash that was sheltered from the wind and sun. Of course I jumped at the opportunity to hunt it down, even though it involved a fair hike and brutal traverse (for a regular snowboarder). Those experiences are a story for another day. Stay tuned…

How to earn your turns... stay tuned!

Link straight to the blog of our day in the backcountry here.

If you’d like to spend a week skiing the very best of Serre Chevalier with Christian, check out our 1 week ski holidays.

The One - true beauty is more than skin deep

This week, I traded my slim and slender slalom skis for a voluptuous pair of Blizzard‘s “The One IQ-Max”. The One (and its feminine counterpart – the Crush) is favored by many of the veteran mountain pros here at Fernie and seems to be among the hot skis this season. If you’re looking for a solid off-piste ski that also performs on the groomer, the One could be right for you.

The One is light, quite wide underfoot and has a bit of rocker, which help make it an excellent ski for all kinds of deep snow. However, I was really surprised by how well it handles on groomed pistes as well as the occasional patch of ice. The guys at the shop say that this is because Blizzard have shaped it with a bit of a sidecut to boost on-piste performance. To be fair, when it comes to hitting groomers, the One doesn’t lag far behind my slalom skis and is actually much lighter than they are.

Although the One has a lot of personality, it’s not pretty. The latest edition of the ski has an unsightly red and green tartan pattern that is reminiscent of the worst kinds of punk rock apparel and is a far cry from the many more attractive alternatives on the market. If you’re put off by the hideous visual design, you can always go for the 2010-2011 version, which is exactly the same ski but is easier on the eye (and is the model I eventually purchased).

Aesthetics aside, Blizzard’s the One is as versatile as they come and is definitely worth checking out if you’re looking for a pair of skis that will help you get more out of all the snowfall we’ve been getting in British Columbia this winter. Moreover, the Gear Hub in Fernie gives Nonstoppers a free one-day demo, so don’t hesitate to go down there when the next powder day comes!

Monday 16th January

Today was ridiculously cold – it was probably something like -30C out. Without wind chill. Here starts the beginning of a miserable cold spell that’ll last most of the week. We spent the day just trying to avoid frostbite – white noses were not uncommon. I don’t think that any of us were prepared for how utterly freezing it would be. Altogether, we might have had 5 runs total. After the first run we ran into the lodge and basically found the rest of the crew huddled inside. Some people were struggling with frozen hair and eyelashes.

Tuesday 17th January

Woke up today to find our lessons cancelled due to extreme conditions. The heating at Norquay’s lodge had stopped working. Instead, we had “workout” in the common room with both ski and board instructors. Later on in the afternoon (after hitting up the hot tub), we had a tech/theory session with our instructors, watching the CSIA/CASI video’s to get a feel for what lies ahead. At dinner, we found out that we would go lesson-less the next day again so we all went out to the bar. Good night.

Wednesday 18th January

Late start to the morning, it was a nice hangover day for people to recover hiding under the blankets to keep warm.

Thursday 19th January

Even though it was supposed to be -36C at Norquay with wind-chill today, I was fending to be back on the snow. I made the short trip up to Norquay with a few others to brave the cold and found the sun shining and 2 lifts running. The morning was pretty cold but warmed up in the afternoon to a toasty -20C. It was so great to be back that I decided to give boarding a try – and loved it. After getting back, we hit up the hot tub, got dinner and started getting ready for UV night at Dancing Sasquatch. Everyone was painted with neon UV paint and danced the night away.

Friday 20th January

Powder day! As Sunshine was closed for the past 2 days, the snow had all piled up with no one there to ski it. We had an epic time catching fresh tracks in pow all day. Just about everyone came out today – together, we hucked a couple cliffs, shredded some trees and altogether had unbelievable time. The night was pretty chill since we had all gone out the night before and then shredded all day.

Saturday 21st January

I headed up to Lake Louise with some friends today where there was still fresh tracks to be found. Terra led us to some crazy back bowl on top of Paradise Chair which was awesome. We caught some more untouched snow in the trees and ended the day in lapping the park. That night, many decided to head out and party but I opted for a quiet night in so I’d be fresh for a full day on the slopes tomorrow.

Sunday 22nd January

I had such a great time at Lake Louise the day before that some of us decided to head back to shred there again today. Terra decided to bring her camera and get some shots of us hitting the park and skiing through pow – which was perfect because the sun was shining bright for most of the day. The cold spell was coming to an end with temperatures dabbling in the high -11Cs at its height. After a quick warm up runs in the park, we decided to head over to Hiker’s Paradise. We took the button lift to the very top of the resort and then hiked up a steep ridge to get to some sick untouched snow. The day ended with a few more park runs. “It was a great day for a great ski” – and a great end to a cold week.

Find out more about our ski instructor courses and snowboard instructor courses in Banff.

^{Monday 9th Jan}

^{After a 9 hours flight, a transfer flight and a 4-hour drive to Red we made it!}

^{First impressions…. Its COLD but all worth it! Met Mark and Jon, our course hosts and were shown to our ridiculously nice apartments with the added extra of a hot tub on the balcony! Introductions were done and it was an early night for all.}

^{Tuesday 10th Jan}

^{After a well deserved lie-in in the comfort of our huge comfy beds we all met up with Jon and took the huge yellow Nonstop bus down to Rossland for a little tour…the gym, fererros foods, ski shops and most importantly the pubs and liquor stores!}

^{A slap up meal had been arranged at the Prestige Hotel along with a welcome speech from Mark and our instructors to be, Brent, Jon, Tad and Matt.}

^{Wednesday 11th Jan}

^{First day on the snow! I think we were all looking forward to this! After a slightly daunting speech from Mark about bears and the dangers of falling asleep outside (you WILL die) we were off. Skiers and Snowboarders split up and we had the day to find our ski legs and explore Granite and Red Mountain.}

^{In the evening we had our first meal at the sunshine café in town…Good tucker!}

^{Thursday 12th Jan}

^{Second day on the snow…Loads more skiing and boarding finishing the day off with our group meal at sunshine. Still slightly tired from traveling it was another early night with the excitement for a lie in!}

^{Friday 13th Jan}

^{Bacon and Eggs for breakfast! Checked in at home then it was off for a few hours in the snow, hooked up with Pete and threw ourselves down Old Granite Tower for a challenge…stopped at the bottom for a rest…ski patrol thought we were injured! Ha! A good day seeing as it was Friday 13th.}

^{Saturday 14th}

^{Another lie in then it was off on one of our activity credits. A group of us headed out to Nancy Greene Lake with G.I Jon for a spot of snow shoe-ing. A beautiful trek around the lake rounded off with grilled cheese sandwiches, hot chocolate and baileys in a log cabin.}

^{Getting back around 2pm we popped to town for a few supplies then it was off to Rafters Pub and a party with the others…the rest is history!!!}

Find out more about our ski instructor courses and snowboard instructor courses

After a long eventful journey we were delighted to be staying in the same ski in ski out condo complex as our clients; super spacious luxury apartments with a hot tub on the deck… it doesn’t come much better than this! Speaking to the clients, they told me they had to keep reminding themselves this was not the real world – usually it would take a lottery jackpot for this sort of living! As Red Mountain isn’t well known outside of Canada, accommodation is far more affordable than some of her more famous neighbours.

Ski in and Ski Out to Your Own Hot Tub in Red!

Another bonus of Red’s ‘underground’ status is empty slopes and no lift lines. The whole time I was there I didn’t have to wait once – we simply went straight up the lift. Even on our last day after some heavy snowfall we never had to compete with any crowds – I was expertly led around the mountain by our lead snowboard instructor Matt and treated to fresh lines every time. Knowing where to go is definitely helpful here, and having a legend like Matt as my guide I felt pretty lucky – the Nonstop participants seemed to share my appreciation as Matt gave them individual feedback and advice. The crew were already a bunch of really strong riders so I look forward to hearing of their feats by the end of the season.

The main thing that struck me about Red Mountain was how accessible super challenging terrain was – the options seemed pretty much limitless. Every skier or snowboarder’s aspirations can be met here; steep open terrain, tight tress, spaced out trees, cliffs of every conceivable size, gulleys, chutes, bumps and fun groomers; it has it all except maybe beginner runs! It’s no wonder that the Canadian Big Mountain Freeride Open was being held here. The really unique thing about Red is that it is ski-able 360 degrees around  – once you’re at the top you can pick any line down… it just helps to know where the cliffs are; just as my boss Rupert found out!

Pictureesque Rossland

On our last evening in town we went for dinner in Rossland followed by a few beers. Chilled might be an understatement when describing the vibe here; you’d be forgiven to assume that this part of the world has become somewhat of a hippy haven! Having said that, one of the Nonstop crew was bringing the party to the mountain and secured himself a weekly D.J spot at Rafters, the apres destination on the mountain! Speaking to a local journalist on a chairlift, he told me it wasn’t uncommon to see riders wearing wool outfits on the slopes here… awesome. Whistler can keep its neon park rats… Red Mountain is the home of true mountain men and women! If you want to really take your skiing or riding to the next level then check out the details on our ski instructor courses in Red Mountain here and are snowboard instructor courses here.

Our guide for the day, Andre, has arguably got one of the best jobs in the world. This is his fourteenth season working at this Cat operation and I’m not surprised he doesn’t want to leave. I’ve spent six seasons in various mountains renowned for epic snow but never in my life have I experienced fresh tracks every single run! And this was on the back of a slow start to the season.

We started the day with an avalanche safety briefing then jumped aboard out cosy Cat – our personal lift for the day. As we climbed our way up the mountain the sun was also rising and it soon became clear we were in for a bluebird day. We buddied up and our first run was nice and cruisey through the trees; now the legs were warmed up we went up higher and took on some steeper terrain…  powder slashing turns and face shots were the call of the day, not to mention a few cheeky (small) cliff drops!

No stopping for lunch but the Cat was packed with goodies so we could refuel on our ascents back up the mountain. My personal favourite run of the day was a long gulley forming a natural halfpipe with endless hits along the way followed by a weaving run through the trees… nothing but the random Yeeews from my fellow snow enthusiasts! At the end of the day we were taken back to Fernie Wilderness lodge for some hot soup and well earned beers. This was the finale of the guys 3 week stay in Fernie – everyone had either been on Nonstop’s 3 week instructor courses or our improvement camps – what better way to end a holiday?