#BCNZ Week Four

It’s been a bittersweet week in #BCNZ. Four weeks have passed, the level one exam is complete, and half of the crew have headed back to their friends and families. Hugs were shared and future meet-ups were planned as everyone came to the bus stop to wish each other luck, whether that be with their upcoming level two training and exams, applying for skiing jobs in every corner of the world or just the simple things; starting university or returning to everyday life. The four weekers are going home having had an incredible experience, most of them on snow on the other-side of the world in, what would normally be, their summer. Not only that, but every single Basecamper heading home left with their level one instructors qualification. An awesome achievement and a testament to the work hard, play hard mentality that every single person has been bringing day in and day out. There’s a bright future ahead for this crew!

Week Summary

The mountain has been closed most of the week as snow, fog and wind battered Mt. Ruapehu. Thanks to the Basecampers doing their exams, this wasn’t too much of a problem. It did lead to a lot of skiers and snowboarders awkwardly pretending to be on snow while teaching mock lessons, which lead too many grins and laughs…a highlight was Al’s sky diving lesson (once again, on solid land), as the Basecampers showed that as well as being nifty on the skis they also had an acting bone or two in them!

Course Info

With the exam being five days, the Basecampers turned their learning caps in and instead displayed everything they’d learned to their examiners instead. The exam tested their skills on snow as well as heavily testing their application of the teaching model. Day one was on snow as the crew were briefed and walked through the upcoming days, day two was spent teaching something that had nothing to do with teaching to the group and day three was teaching snow-sports. On day four the mountain opened, and the group demo’d their wedge and slip proficiency, and on day five everything was wrapped up and awards given out.

Other Activities

With the exam going on, the crew resisted the urges to go out and partake in the pub quiz, the usual Tuesday night shenanigans and saved themselves up for a real celebration once the exams were all done and dusted! TCB, the local ski and bike store dropped by on Thursday night and gave everyone a clinic in ski and board maintenance. Ben was awesome, walking everyone through each step and taking multiple questions from everone. Check out a short Instagram video of the event here. Friday was an emotional affair at the lodge, a night many of the Basecampers seemingly never wanted to end, and on Saturday the crew headed out for a final team dinner to celebrate Taj’s 19th birthday!

Now, just because a few people have left doesn’t mean everything stops! The crew step up to more lessons, and more intense lessons, each week as they gear up to take their level two exams! Keep up to date with what’s happening on the ski side via the Basecamp Facebook, Instagram and Twitter accounts and check up the snowboarders via the Ticket to Ride Facebook, Instagram and Twitter accounts. Keep it steezy! #BCNZ