What's going on in Banff in between courses…
Christmas came early this week, we have had over 50 cm's of fresh snow which has completely changed the face of the mountains. The new snow has given us enough of the white gold to put all lifts in operation and we have new terrain opening every day. The summit platter is spinning and we have access to some of the legendary terrain on the backside of the mountain. Boomerang and paradise bowls are in full effect and some of the whitehorn chutes should be opened in time for Christmas. There is more in the forecast for the rest of the week so we are lining up for a very white holiday season.
The 4 week course has got a lot of the guys hooked on Canada so we have over a third of them staying on for the season. We had a 100% pass rate on the course which give the snow school a great selection of new staff. Just like last season everyone who wanted a job and was able to work in Canada has been hired by the snow school at Lake Louise. The start of December brings in the rest of our new staff and it's great to see a good crop of last seasons base campers back to work as well. It's awesome to see a lot of our alumni get hired into such a well renowned ski school.
This weekend we are hosting a World Cup snowboard cross event at Lake Louise for the first time ever. This is a huge event for both the resort and snowboarding as Sbx is in the Olympics in Russia and this is one of the qualifier events. We have some of the best riders in the world descending on our resort but it looks like the Canadians will give everyone a run for their money. The course they have set up is insane, some of the jumps are big enough to rival anything you would see in a slope style course.
The other big news this week in Canada was the release of the first two batches of Working Holiday Visas for UK citizens. Massive congratulations to everyone who managed to get hold of one, the 3350 places sold out in just 35 minutes! The next step now is to book your trip out to Banff to make sure you make the most of every day of the visa. We still have spots open on our training programs starting in January so join us this winter to earn the qualifications and secure yourself a job for next December. Bookings have also started for our 4 Week CASI and CSIA Level 1 courses next November, so if you're visa is sorted sign up now and start preparing for the winter of your life as you qualify and work in the same season.
Not sure what to chose? Want to chat all things snow and Canada? GIve the office a call on +44 (0) 208 789 9055 and we'd love to help you out.
Andrew.
