Whistler 2011 End of the Course!!
Thur 27 Jan
Jan Instructor Course Level 1 Exam
Today was the last day of the Level 1 Instructor Course and the big day for results… I’d like to congratulate, Carey, Adam, Lewis, Henry, Oliver and Alison for passing their Level 1 Ski Instructor Courses, they are now qualified Ski Instructors! I’d also like to congratulate Antony and Padraig for passing the Teaching section of the Level 1! Great going guys amazing work in such a short time!
New Instructors! Time to celebrate!!
Ali you did especially well in making it through today after your amazing effort at celebrating Australia Day yesterday…. good form!
A few celebratory drinks were in order after the results at GLC…which turned into dinner at Earls and then some late night dancing at The Village Bar…some sore heads were in the making tonight.
Bye Bye… to Brendon and Sam..great having you stay with us, happy travels and thankyou for leaving your snow cave!
Fri 28 Jan
Another great day on hill today for everyone. The best assessment card from the coaches had to be for Zak….which read…More Skiing Less Drinking!! Legend!
Tonight we all met at Cinnamon Bear for a few drinks, Jo and Verity, Basecampers from last year came along too, once a Basecamper always a Basecamper! I’m not sure who was being a bad influence to who but I’m going to point my elbow to Adam and Verity, tequila shots anyone!!
After a good few drinks we headed to The Village Bar where we had a VIP guestlist…and a few more drinks were consumed 
…some sensible heads decided it was time to go at a semi reasonable hour as we all had to be up early the next day… nothing to do with Adam’s drinking rash..
Sat 29 Jan
Rest day from on hill training today…..so we went ….
Snowmobiling!!!
All the Jan 11 weekers IC & Performance Campers have been revved up for today… a few of the 4 weekers Mike, Antony and Zak didn’t want to miss out on the fun so opted to pay and join in too…Mike has been sounding like the Crazy Frog the past few days in his excitement.
..on the lake ready to rip up the fresh pow!
Mike & Syd kit up!
We all arrived early at Outdoor Adventures to sign our waivers and jump on the bus to head to Cougar Mountain. Once we arrived we geared up with Helmets and Goggles and had our safety talk on the Snow Mobiles…we headed out in 2 groups with our guides as they took us along the scenic trails, looking over Soo Valley, we crossed a small frozen lake and were the first people that day to make Cougar Lake…a huge frozen lake with a great layer of fresh untouched snow…and we were off, it was like the wacky races with all of us going around and around in circles on the lake! Sydney clearly had no fear as he raced passed everyone with his machine slightly flying off the ground as he turned corners and Hollie was also opening up the skido and let it rip! After we let loose on the lake we headed to the Yurt for a quick Hot Chocolate and AMAZING Cinnamon Buns…mmmmmm…then it was back on the snowmobiles …we headed along some great trails and tight cornering in the snow…Zak had to have a little help to stop his machine rolling when he went to take a sharp turn…Adam thought he might try some Bare-Bum riding on the trail…a bit chilly back there! Alison was sidetracked with a snowball to the face by the guide…apparently he was aiming at the other guide… Zak, Ant, Ryan, Lewis and Padraig were all smashing it along the trails …smiles all round at the end of the tour!!!
…safety talk before we can be let loose!
Revving up!
Lining up on the frozen lake
Then it was back to the village with our bodies still vibrating after 3 hours on the machines and we headed to Blacks Pub for a pint or 2 and some lunch….
..time for snowmobiling stories @ Blacks
BBQ @ Nicklaus North
Quiet night tonight with the campers (well it was suppose to be…) The Blueberry and Snowgoose crew all came over to Nicklaus North for a BBQ. The BBQ has to be the smallest BBQ ever, but it does the job…nothing like BBQ’ing in the snow!
Ryan showing off his BBQ skills
Best fridge in the world!
…SHOT!
After some amazing BBQ’ing skills were broken out by the lads (and RM) and an inspection of the kickers and snow cave in the backyard dinner was consumed pretty quickly…which only left for one thing to happen…drinking games….and the one game M.I.N.E. RM has been trying to stay out of.. and is now a part of…many push-ups followed! Don’t worry I will get you all back!
Sun 30 Jan
Sunshine is out today!
Beginning of the last week of training for the 4 week Instructor Course and Performance Camps, it’s gone so quickly everyone has been having so much fun!
Carey amazingly has escaped without any injuries today…even after her many crashed on the Boarder Cross… and the fantastic face plants.
…smiles all round!
Antony was a trooper today, he was so focused on his Improvement that he persevered with extreme pain thinking it was just his cold..until they broke for lunch and he removed his helmet he realized he had a perforated ear…OUCH! Someone did ask if it was the Jaeger from last night that was dripping from his ear 
Mon 31 Jan
Another great day…is there ever a bad one really!
The skiers mixed it up a bit today with drills in the morning and some great free skiing in the afternoon, which really pushed some people’s limits dropping into bowls and getting some amazing skiing in. Sarah especially was all smiles saying she couldn’t believe she actually did it!! A great laugh today with Ali, Zak and RM doing most of the pushups…but the best one was the coach Gemma at the base of the hill..nice one Zak, I’m sure she is going to make you pay for it tomorrow!
Cross Country Skiing
We quickly popped into the Longhorn for a quick brewksi before Cross Country Skiing this afternoon…one led to 2 or more for some…so our numbers diminished slightly but Henry, Oli, James & Sarah were still keen to give it a go. So we left the merry drinkers at the Longhorn and headed over to Lost Lake to tackle the trails. Now you may think this looks easy…well it’s not… especially if you have never skied before, there were a lot of laughs and a lot of tumbles and a greater appreciation for the people that we saw whizzing past us while we were in bundles on the floor!
Pre-Cross Country Skiing Drinks @ Longhorn
Cross Country Skiing traffic accident
Cross Country Skiing around Lost Lake
