VERBIER 2016/2017 – WEEK THREE
Exam Number One
Week three crept up and suddenly it was Exam Week. After a couple of weeks of listening to Jake and Emma saying “the exam be here quicker than you think” the exam was indeed here.
Without trying to give you a blow-by-blow account of the exam week, suffice to say the team did exceedingly well and part from a few short turns everyone was at the level – and Ed the BASI Trainer only had goods things to say about the application of the trainees.
Celebrating too early…
It’s true the team were very serious about the exam and reading the manuals. But when it came to Friday and finishing the exam they were so keen to celebrate they got to the Pub Mont Fort before it was even open, which is a sign of true commitment. But once they had waited for the place to open up they celebrated in style.
It was in the euphoria of finishing the Level One that Ed and Jens embarked on planning their next hair do – as part of their combined and unhealthy interest in dying their hair. They have concocted a plan but won’t tell us what, so we will have to wait and see what the end results look like…
Exams over, now for more training
There’s now place for hanging about on the course, and no sooner was the exam was over then it was time to meet Marco for the freestyle training. Marco is a legendary skiers and trainer, and has the amazing knack of getting trainees to achieve things in the park they never thought they could do. So this was where the Penguin 360 was introduced to the team.
It’s easier to understand once you’ve seen it but essentially imagine sliding down the hill on your stomach and somehow, in a flash, spinning back upright and onto your feet and then skiing off as if nothing unusual had happened.
What else?
Well, the exam did mean some serious cut backs to the weekly routine – so both the Pub Quiz and Stir-Friday were shelved in favour of early nights and reading the manual. But despite the seriousness of the course, it didn’t stop Jon, Fi, Will and Ed from taking time out from their revision to engage in a little star gazing – a shower of shooting stars apparently was visible over Verbier and Jon made sure that nobody missed out on the astrological delight, exams or not.
They also spent an inordinate amount of time creating a family tree of the group on the noticeboard, including fictional marriages and off spring. More complicated than an episode of a cheap sitcom, it truly was a sight to behold – but not something we can even start to explain here…
