17/21 and Onwards

Powder-hound Betsy. This was April 18, still winter

This was the cut-block I hiked.  Great winter conditions, about 10 cm of good quality powder

On April 22 I skied into Sunspot Cabin.  It was a dull rain day in Rossland but a winter paradise at Nancy Greene Pass

There is still about a 1.5 meter base at the pass

Simon Rora hiking up Red Mountain with Betsy and I.

Payment for turns to come

New snow on Red Mountain but yes it was very sticky

My challenge is continuing but I am not going to reach 30 days in 30 days.  I am now going for 30 days after Red Mountain's closing date.  I have 17 of the last 21 days in so far.  Missed one day with a family trip to Vernon, and other with just too much else going on.  Yet I carry on.

Blackjack Biathalon Trails

 Well I had no trouble finding a parking spot today.  Plus I got an extra workout by skiing through the 2 cm of wet new snow covering the trails.  So a lot (2) of good things effected my ski today which made up for the fact that it rained the entire time.  I was also comforted by the fact that I was not the only nutcase who skied today, I was following one other set of solitary tracks.

Day 9-10 by Twilight

 I am getting the job done on my 30 day challenge but only just.  Both yesterday and today I started hiking at 7:30 PM.  But both days got in a worthwhile run.

Yesterday was the Nonstop Lead Instructor meeting in Fernie, we spent the day discussing the operational aspects of the Nonstop program.  My plan was to balance the indoor duration of my day with a hike at Fernie resort when we were done.

To my surprise the Fernie had put up warning signs about not hiking the Resort runs, quite a different attitude from Red Mountain.  Since I am in the business I think I made a good judgement call to not blow off the Fernie policy, although I disagree with it.

Plan B was another stop at the Kootenay Pass.  It was a late departure, I started snowshoeing at 7:30 PM, the sun had already set.  I gave myself 30 minutes to get as high as I could. 

The light was bad on the way down, the hike was hard, and the 1 cm breakable (not supportive) crust was a significant challenge, and it was an excellent experience.

Today I undertook another twilight hike up the T-Bar and about 1/3 the way up Back Trail on Red Mountain.  Much better conditions on Red, my hike was rewarded with silky smooth turns on 1-2 cm of corn snow on a firm base.

Nonstop Wrap Up

I am in Fernie for the host wrap up.  We are meeting all day talking about the highs and lows of the past season, trying to learn and implement improvements for season 2015.

Pictured here during a rare breath of fresh air from left are Operations Director and Canadian Boss Man Dave Richards, Banff Host Manuela Olibera-Dorn, Fernie Host Goff Abbott, Sales and Marketing Manager Christy Sutherland, Myself, Course Administrator Dana Erickson, and Fernie Host Mark Hatch.

My ski adventure today was extreme.  I drove up to the resort early this morning (6:30) with a plan to skin up to the top of Bear Chair, unfortunately for me it was staff day so the groomers were on the runs in force and I just did not feel up to a possible confrontation.  Plan B quickly took shape, off I went to the Cross Country Trails.  It was terrifying, the slush from yesterday had frozen into solid blocks and holes of various sizes,  compounding the challenge was the fact that the trails at Fernie more closely resemble down hill skiing to cross country.  My skiing was not graceful and I am sure would have been quite entertaining to watch.  But I got the job done.

Kootenay Pass Tour

 I traveled to Fernie today and of course went over the Kootenay Pass, a perfect opportunity to stop for a two hour ski tour. 

What I really appreciated today was the solitude of being in the mountains skiing on my own, it was so peaceful.  This is quite a change compared to my typical ski day as skiing in the winter typically involves the responsibility of me leading a group.  I do love skiing with people but the changed was nice.  I got back into my car inspired.

This is the Ripple Ridge cabin.  I might have to re-visit it sometime this spring on an overnight venture.

Free Ski Day at 49 North

 I had a day with the Red Mountain Freeski Team at 49 North today.  Thanks 49 for the Free Lift Passes.  This was not special for the team but 49 does this for the last week of skiing every season.

Simon Hillis, Erin Flood, and Simon Impey got into the last day spirit with their skiing and with their fashion sense (see bottom photo).

Blackjack Ski Club

 I had an incredible 2 hour cross country ski at the blackjack ski club just across the highway from Red Mountain Resort.  

The club is still operating, the trails were groomed and track set this morning. 

CASI Level 2 Pass

I Passed!  A good result to my self imposed challenge, feeling good.

Thanks James Hyland and Michelle Clifford my evaluators for facilitating some big improvements through the week.

I went into today the same way I would for a ski race, intensely focused to say the least.  I started the day by watching the Level 2 standard video 6 times, went for a run, had a big stretch session and then went for it on snow.  Today was definitely the best I have ever snowboarded, so I realize that I am right on the pass level.  Although I did one "above standard" on my riding evaluation (carving).

Thanks to Matt Briggs, Patrick Ward for the inspiration and to Steve Thorne for the training last week.

CASI Level 2 Day 3

Day three, better conditions today, it was slightly overcast which slowed the melt so even though it was soft on the hill the snow was not so sticky.

We had teaching exams in the morning followed by training through the afternoon where our evaluators showed what they expect from us tomorrow.

I hope to do OK on the teaching side of things.  I guess with 29 years of teaching experience I have a slight advantage over my 21 year old peers.  I got a stellar review on my teaching today, but one never knows.  Having said this there is always room for improvement and evaluator James Hyland was able to point out areas where my teaching could have been made more effective.  It feels good to put myself out there.

My riding skills on the other hand, this could go either way and I am counting on a good focused performance tomorrow to pull me through.  I felt terrible on the board for most of the day, until I got up to the top of the whitepass chair after we were dismissed.  I managed to put together my best ever riding, I felt great on the board.  So I hope to be able to pull that off consistently tomorrow.

CASI Level 2 Day 2

Today was Day 2 of my challenge and Day 2 of the CASI Level 2 course.  It is interesting being a participant on a certification course rather than the conductor.  The challenge for me is to accept the system I am challenging for what it is and while riding not compare the two.  The CASI evaluation process differs from the CSIA process.  The most striking difference for me is the training vs testing components.  CASI separates the two with clear delineation while the CSIA blends theses two components.  I am not sure which is better in terms of instructor skill outcome.  My observation is that candidates on CASI course need to take more responsibility for their own preparation.  We have a teaching evaluation on days 2-3-and 4 these evaluations are quite formal compared to CSIA evaluation process.  Today was Novice teaching, day 3 is freeride, and day 4 is groomed terrain teaching.

The riding today was difficult, it was really warm as in seeking shade for stopping places.  The snow was very slow which made implementing changes in my the difficult.  I managed to catch a ride up the Timber and Whitepass chairs at lunch, it was great to get up there. 

I am hoping it will freeze tonight but it looks like we might see some rain, regardless I will be on snow and loving it.

30 Days

I have decided to make an attempt at skiing for 30 days starting from the day after Red Mountain's closing day.  I have done this before (successfully) and it was great for my fitness and skiing motivation.  So here goes attempt number two.  I am really not sure if I will be able to do it as I do not have the next 30 days planned, I may or may not be in Rossland for the next month but i am going to try.

Red Mountain closed on Sunday under outstanding conditions, full coverage, not a rock to be found and unfortunately very little interest in skiing from the public, I guess golfing and biking are on the move now but I find myself at the end of the 2014 season wanting more.

My self imposed rules to my challenge are:

"skiing" includes:

Skiing at a resort that is still open
Ski Touring
Snowboarding
Cross Country Skiing

Today was successful as I am in Fernie.  Fernie is open for another week.  I am here maintaining my  commitment to professional development, I am taking the CASI (Canadian Association of Snowboard Instructors) Level 2 course.  Day 1 today and I was not laughed off the mountain so a good start.  I am the oldest participant in the course by 20+ years.