SAAS FEE 10 WEEK SKI & SNOWBOARD INSTRUCTOR COURSE 2015: SNOW, SNOW AND SNOW (WEEK 4)
Week 4 and has the snow fallen? Oh yes indeed. Some are talking up this winter to be the biggest ever thanks to El Nino. And with our 10 week ski and snb crew already scoring epic autumn powder days… it is certainly looking that way. Here’s course leader Steve from a snowy Saas Fee…
It’s feeling a lot like… winter!
Well well well, hello snow :-)
Now that is a lot of snow…
This week has been varied and interesting to say the least – a true example of mountain lifestyle and a lesson in adapting based on what the weather throws at you!
Avalanche training
For the first three days of the week we had Graham Frost deliver avalanche awareness sessions to the groups.
On all our courses we include this training (for free!) in order to give everyone a useful understanding of avalanche prevention and rescue measures.
Avalanches can happen anywhere… like this one while our crew wait in the lift queue
When the trainees weren’t learning all things avalanche they were out on the glacier training with Jake, Emma and Gibbo.
The first two groups got lucky and had a chance to do a transceiver search on the glacier.
However the third group, on Wednesday, were hunting for the transceivers in the woods near the Park Hotel. (That’ll make more sense if you read on….)
Job offers coming in for our 10 week ski and snowboard crew
As we edge nearer to the start of the winter season in the northern hemisphere, more and more of this years’ trainees are receiving job offers from ski schools around the world.
Who wouldn’t employee this happy, smiley lot!?!
We had a practice interview session which gave some of the team a chance to learn what to expect in an interview, practice answering those dreaded questions and become more confident in an interview scenario.
Don’t stop ’til you drop
Jake (he likes to push us to our limits!) kept up our weekly game of football and fitness sessions despite the snow.
Looking more like mid-winter in Saas Fee than third week in October
Outside of the classroom we received a heavy overnight snowfall on Tuesday which was enough to close the mountain on Wednesday as the ski patrol made sure everything was safe.
An indoor session would suffice for the day while we waited for the mountain to reopen.
Gibbo took the opportunity to have the snowboarders practice a variation of teaching styles in and around the hotel to incorporate into future lessons.
Gibbo’s snowboard group got excited when he said they’d be practising “airs” in the park…
How to throw and catch a frisbee, how to sit down in a chair (perfectly demonstrated by Gibbo) and a masterclass in paper airplane building to name but a few.
Powder days galore
Powder days… now this is what snowboarding is all about
The new snow meant that Thursday, although still snowing, was a wicked powder day!
Element Ski School – our training partner for the Saas Fee course – shot this quick video that shows just how amazing snow conditions are on the Saas Fee glacier…
The crowds had dispersed, the queues decreased, and at one point there were only a handful of others out enjoying the fresh snow.
Those skies only mean one thing… more powder for tomorrow
We thought we had got lucky with that snowfall on Tuesday night, but much, much more was still to come on Thursday night!
Life’s good in the mountains… when you’re waiting for another powder day
Within just a few hours we had received over a foot of light, fluffy powder in the village transforming Saas Fee from autumn to winter in a matter of hours!
Christmas has come early to Saas Fee with a present of the best snow conditions in years (maybe decades!)
Needless to say the mountain was closed on Friday while they prepared the pistes but that didn’t stop our eager beavers from getting out to build a few kickers in the village!
They were like kids at Christmas!
Not hunting transceivers but spots to jib around Saas Fee
It’s the weekend
The mountain was open all weekend giving everyone a chance to really get some good practice time on the slopes which are in fantastic condition.
When your Saturday morning looks like this you’re going to be happy, happy, happy!
Apart from some disappointing rugby results, the weekend has been a relaxed success as the team prepare for the beginning of next week’s shadowing sessions with the Kandahar Ski Club.
Next weekend also sees the arrival of Marco, our freestyle coach, who is here to give the skiers some pointers in the park!
The cameras will be out in force for those days…