All good things must come to an end, and sadly this blog concludes our 2012 ski and snowboard instructor course in New Zealand.  It’s been a fantastic nine weeks; “awesome” was the most frequently used description among the trainees.  Congratulations to all of our successful (now level 2) ski and snowboard instructors; everyone’s riding and skiing skills have come on leaps and bounds.

The skiers really felt the benefits of Jimbo “the wise ones” teaching all through the exam week; despite some of his teaching methods being a little unorthodox.  Jimbo spent a whole afternoon session trying to get the trainees to perfect their body positioning; this involved remaining perfectly parallel with the nearest snow cannon.  Jimbo’s logic being that it was the best way to strengthen those core muscles and improve one’s sense of balance……apparently.

Among all the exams and training there has been time to enjoy some of the most finely groomed snow that Coronet Peak had seen for some time.

The skiers deciding which route to take..

The snowboarders also lapped-up trainer Mark’s expert advice before heading off for what proved a very challenging instructor exam.

It’s difficult to focus on the trainer when you have views like that behind him!

With the exam results received and safely tucked away somewhere secure, the guys are now leaving the nest for other adventures; whether it’s the start of a new career in the City (Josh), starting or returning to college or university (TJ, George and John), or looking forward to the start of a career as an instructor (Isaac, Sam, Ces, Will and Laura), it’s exciting times for all.  Here’s one last picture of the group of trainee instructors all together:

The crew…….minus Grace, who we hope is recovering quickly from her leg injury

Of course, after the exams were over there was a certain amount of celebrating in town, but most of those photos have had to be censored to protect the innocent.  Only one photo survived the culling process…

Another sober night out in Queenstown

You’ll be happy to hear we saved a couple of pictures, chosen by course leader Magnus, to represent the trainees saying goodbye to the mountain.  First off is the skiers, standing with a commanding view over Queenstown and Lake Wakatipu. The last image is of Sam and Ces at the top of the Remarks surveying all they have conquered over the last nine weeks.

Ka kite anō Queenstown