BARILOCHE 2017 – WEEK 4
We’re now almost halfway through our 9 week ski instructor course in Bariloche, Argentina and let me tell you that week 4 has been a blast! A-Level / Higher exam results, more fresh snow, wine tasting, swimming in the lake, a hidden bar in the forest, an asado and race training with two former Olympic ski racers. Where to start?
🇦🇷 Trainee Charlie making clouds on the race course #peakleaders 📷 @_charlotteworkman_
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Week 4 is the final week of training with our Argentinian coaches before we begin the BASI Alpine Level 1 assessments in week 5. So with all of this snow falling on the southern hemisphere at the moment we’ve had brilliant conditions to consolidate the newly acquired skiing skills and test it out in the fresh powder! Cerro Catedral is in top condition right now.
🇦🇷 Great freeride terrain for practicing variables in training last week. More today! ⛷ #peakleaders
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To start the week off on the right foot we were skiing variable terrain all over the mountain, charging through powder while finding secret spots with our regular trainer, Yago.
Local knowledge is super handy especially when there’s a ‘Nowhere Bar’ hidden somewhere on the mountain. A good way for the guys to rest after a big day of skiing.
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Once the storms stopped and the sun returned we moved from the powder to the race course for a special treat – GS gate training with Agustin Torres and Peak Leaders’ own Ivan. Both have previously competed for Argentina at Olympic level so the trainees were definitely in safe hands learning how to navigate the course.
On Friday to end the week’s training on a fun note Ivan organised the ‘Peak Leaders World Cup’ with two timed runs down the course to establish who has a potential future in ski racing. Matteo (somewhat unsurprisingly) came out on top in the Men’s category after shaving a few valuable seconds off his time by wearing a racing catsuit! Heather opted for a more conventional attire to come out on top in the Women’s category.
🇦🇷 Heather training on a beautiful day here in Cerro Catedral #peakleaders 📷 @_charlotteworkman_
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Outside of training, team leaders Heather and Vanessa boycotted the ‘organised fun’ in favour of a compulsory early morning competition of ‘Who can stay in the lake longest?’. A refreshing start to the day! Meanwhile, some of the younger members of the group were battling the nerves of the dreaded A-Level results day.
They did themselves proud and now look ahead to being University students after the gap year.
To celebrate their successes we decided to get cultured and have a group wine tasting at Cava Sur at the base of Cerro Catedral. Argentina is famous for wine while ski instructors are known to enjoy a spot of apres….
🇦🇷 Drinking in the culture with wine tasting for apres 😊 #peakleaders 📷 @_charlotteworkman_
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To round off a fun-filled week we had the Peak Leaders traditional asado (BBQ) to say thank you to our Argentinian trainers for all their help preparing the guys for the BASI ski instructor exams beginning next week.
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Next week we’ll see the arrival of BASI Trainers, Emma Cairns and Jim Lister, for the BASI Alpine Level 1 assessment. The snow’s still falling……
