Welcome to Peak Leaders

Banff – The Olympic Torch & Getting a Lie In
25/01/2010

Distinct lack of enthusiasm on Monday morning as everyone felt the strain of missing out on a weekend due to first aid training, although comfort could of course be taken in the knowledge that should one pass out from sheer exhaustion, there would be 12 freshly trained first aiders to put one in the recovery position. Phew.

Olympic fever was rife in Banff this evening as the torch was carried through the town centre by an ex-Olympian who needed to “get a jog on”. We left with lots of teeny tiny Canadian flags, some flashing coke bottles and lots of shocking photos so I count that as some degree of success.

Olympic torch hype was still being felt up at Sunshine this morning where homage had been paid in the form of two huge ice 'flames' Nobody thought Brett was being serious when he said he was going to lick one...
Thursday evening saw the arrival of 'Snowed In Comedy Tour' to Banff, an evening showcasing an eclectic blend of outspoken and, in some cases, disturbing comedians from Canada and beyond, most notably Ireland's own Ed Byrne who had some very perceptive observations on snowboarding.

On Friday our snowboard group was very depleted as Casey and Brett yielded to various injuries, an occurence that Juan met with unexpected enthusiasm; it seemed he was hoping for a day off, alas, the remaining 3 snowboarders soldiered on, at least until 2.25pm when the general consensus of “I'm tired and I want to go home” was reached. Friday evening however, proved to be very exciting, with highlights including failed attempts at sobering up Rob through motivational speech and Jamie picking a fight with the lift door.

The long anticipated lie in that Saturday morning brought was perhaps one of the most welcome lie ins in the history of Peak Leaders. After a debrief of the previous night's events Casey and I went into town and spent far too much money on pretty things that we didn't really need before regrouping to see 'Legion' ; a strong contender for the title of 'worst film ever' with a story line that seemed to be a strange old lady said that some babies were going to die but in the end pretty much everyone apart from the baby dies. Genius.

Following a drunken bet from Friday night; much of Sunday was spent in anticipation of Robbie doing a back flip. (Which, astonishingly, he pulled off! Sort of...) Many considerably more mundane stunts were pulled by other, more sane, members of the group, but we were all put to shame by the effortlessly cool Canadian lads we ran into. Dammit.

Over and out,

Lauren and Hannay

P.S. Don't forget to checkout the facebook group for more photos!!!

Banff – First Week & First Aid
20/01/2010

 The beginning of the course proper, started with a typically large North American breakfast. We then headed up to the mountain where we met our instructors for the next 11 weeks. Kenji for the skiers and Juan for the snowboarders. As a skier, our day was spent as a bit of a free ski on varying terrain (the double black diamond was interesting), to give Kenji an idea of what he was up against. The evening was dinner at the Rose & Crown, followed by a few socialble drinks with the locals, enabling the gang to do a bit of social networking. Tommy's it would seem, is THE place to be. With one vegetarian amongst the group, Lauren is fast becoming a connoisseur of vegetarian fajitas.

Wednesday saw the start of the lessons for the skiers, with some back to basics instruction working on balance and stance. As a group, the skiers have varied experience, with several years of annual ski holidays to just a dozen days on the mountain. The group overall seems strong and everyone is taking onboard all the advice given and already improvements in individual performances can be seen. Dinner tonight was at the YWCA at the other end of town, but that meant having to pass all the bars on the way back to the hotel.

More technique skiing saw some more visits to the moguls and a bit of off piste skiing. The weather at the top of the mountain saw visibility to arm lengths and wind that nearly brought you to a standstill. Although this didn't stop Kenji having us ski from top to bottom (down black runs and moguls) with no poles and hands on knees, lets just say that interesting was an understatement. An excellent meal was had at the Elk & Horsemen tonight, handily right opposite Tommy's.

So Friday saw the end of the first week skiing the inprovement of each individual can be seen already. The instructors here are clearly at a standard of what each of us should be aspiring to achieve, as I know that is the standard I want to be. For the skiers, next week will see a temporary change to our instrauctor as Kenji is taking part in a Level 4 exam, hard to imagine he needs to be tested. And as the weekend had landed, it was only expected for the hair to be let down, kick back and do some more social networking. A late night visit to McDonalds saw an unamed person purchase $17 of fries and coke, of which he didn't really want, however due the 'icy' conditions outside, he fell over repeatedly and dropped most of it anyway.

The first weekend off turned out not to be a weekend off, as we had a Standard First Aid course, much to the disappoint of the group as there had been overnight snow and the weather was perfect. As a varied group of people ranging from a farmer to students and a Military Policeman to a Pharmacist, our experiences in medical knowledge was also varied. But as a whole, the group found the course a bit laborious, but still very worthwhile.

As the week one Blogger, all I can say is that each day is even better than the day before. And even if things didn't go quite right, 'Better a bad day on the mountain, than a good day in the office'.

Mal Kay

Banff – Safe & Sound
12/01/2010

 After 9 hours in the air at 35,000 feet the new crew arrived. Everyone was quite tired but very excited to be in Canada. The following morning was the welcome brief, where the team get to meet each other and find out about how the course works. Next it was time to pick up the season passes, although the card printer wasn't working and we had to pick them up the following day at the mountain everyone was stoked to be getting the process started.

That evening we had a treat in store for the team. As Doug Godfrey, a local legend and owner of Mountain Magic was able to give the team an in depth tuning clinic. I think everyone now knows how to look after their ski's and board's rather well.

Monday, today, we explored the mountain and it was also a chance for the team to get their snowsports legs back before training starts tomorrow.

Everyone is getting to know each other really well already and it is shaping up to be a great course. With good snow, good people and a great town to be in you can't not have a fantastic time!!!

Looking forward to the next 11 weeks,

Your course leader,

Sam Feltham :-)

P.S. Don't forget to check out the facebook group for more photos!!!