Saturday 3rd February 2007

Week 3 began with a Mountain First Aid course – this is an essential part of training as it is a requirement of the BASI instructor programme that successful candidates have up to date knowledge in emergency protocols in the mountains. The two days of first aid training were followed with a Back Country and Avalanche Awareness course run on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. This was lead by Alain Ledoux – a mountain expert who has explored backcountry terrain from the Alps to the Andes and Alaska. To have someone with his knowledge leading us over the expanse of Espace Killy backcountry was a real privilege and the group got to ski and ride more powder in three days than in all their previous mountain time put together! Such is Alain’s knowledge of the region that at 4:00 pm on day three, he was still finding us fresh tracks!

Somehow, powder-weary legs managed to drag a few hardy souls out to Bananas to celebrate Chris's 23rd birthday. A great night out with some dubious drinks selections from Steve and Graeme making for mixed abilities on the slopes the following day. Chris made up for placing his birthday at an inconvenient time by inviting everyone round to the Pay apartment on Saturday evening where he cooked up a storm for us and his dad - providing a very civilized start to another jovial evening at Bananas. What is it about that place we wonder?

Sunday's plan to rehab aching limbs in the swimming pool was boycotted by the boys after the pool supervisor declared that the only acceptable dress code for males was Speedos. Apparently they are sexier! James's response: "Me, speedo, not sexy!" summed up group opinion. The evening saw the arrival of BASI trainer Julian Griffiths from Verbier for the start of the skiers Trainee Instructor course on Monday.

Ed Archer

Week 4

An infamous resort bug – the so-called ‘Val d’Isease’ – has swept through the Peak Leader trainee instructors and one by one we’ve all been flattened for a few days.  Valuable on-mountain time has been spent feeling absolutely horrible in bed. Despite this, everyone has nailed their Trainee Instructor (TI) courses and can now focus on developing their technical and teaching skills for the two-week Instructor Training (IT) course starting on the 5th March.

The snowboarders (Sarah, Naemi and Steve) did their TI course last week (well the girls did – Steve was flat-out ill and has done well to make up the course this week in his own time!). Neil McNair, the BASI snowboard director, director of the Alliance snowboard school in Tignes, and a top British rider, ran the snowboard TI. 

Under fine, sunny skies, Julian Griffiths from European Snowsport has put the skiers (Rhea, Chico, Graeme, Chris and James/Jimbo/The Big Guy) through their paces on the mountain in the day and in the theory classes at night.  In the BASI classes we’re coming off the slopes at about 3:30 – which gives some time to chill before the theory classes at 6pm prior to supper....

A decision by the boys to concede to swimming pool rules and don Speedos (Jimbo, Steve and Chico have very nice matching sets!) means that recovery sessions in the water are now in order at the end of the day, lead by the very committed Speedo aficionado Mr Chris “Don’t pretend you’re not impressed” Pay.

From a technical/training aspect, the 5-day TI course is signed off by the BASI assessor with an individual Performance Profile Chart.  This is:

• An analysis of the trainees’ performance across the fundamental elements
• A set of guidelines on what areas to focus on in order to reach the required level to become an instructor.

For both our snowboarders and skiers, the TI course blends the basics of teaching the sport – the central theme – with more advanced, fun skiing and riding.  After all – the mountain is there to be enjoyed!

This week the boarders began their preparation for next month’s instructor assessment with two different schools.  Part of the week was spent with Pascal, a local Snowfun instructor, and like many of the snowboarders in this resort, skis as well as snowboards to a very high level. Pascal has focused on tricks on the flat and progressed to some kickers in the park.  Naemi, the Flying Fin has impressed all with her antics! 

The boarders also had 3 afternoons this week with the Alliance school to give continuity to the BASI training, and this week we were taught by Renelle Mortimer.  Renelle is a snowboard babe-of-note.  This Sydney surfer is a co-founder of Alliance, a 12-season veteran in Europe; an awesome rider and teacher.

Week 5 04/02 – 10/02

Following a weekend of post TI relaxation, it was back on the mountain Monday morning at 9:00 am with our friends from Snowfun.   The skiers with enigmatic Philippe “Off Piste” Calvin – the senior Snowfun instructor and race trainer and the boarders with Alex Devouassoux.  Alex is a Val d’Isere local girl who has been riding these mountains all her life.  What a back garden to grow up in!  Needless to say, she’s phenomenal on snow, and her ‘snowboard chic’ is a favourite with the girls (and the guys!).

Big excitement this week as on Monday, ‘The Big Guy’ Mr James Toogood’s 19th birthday arrived.  Some masterful changes to the weekly programme had created a free day on Tuesday and our group dinner in La Bailetta was preceded by champagne and followed by desert and a huge candle – well flare actually – for the birthday boy. With Julien, one of the Snowfun instructors joining us, we all headed to Bananas for a big night out.

We have developed a fun friendship with some of the hotel staff – notably Jean-Pierre and Clair who look after us and entertain us at mealtimes and are always up for a party despite their long working days.  At midnight they and many others from the hotel joined the group, as it was Clair’s birthday too. More champagne in Bananas before the party moved on to Café Face.  This basement lounge bar with its eclectic music, electronic violinist and live vocalists, has become a group favourite.  However, James’s mission to take in all his favourite haunts in one night, lead to the locals introducing us to the surreal Le Graal. Here, Graeme and Chris quickly made friends with the naked-except-for-a-tie-and-thong barman and were enjoying the club’s camp theme for the night when The Big Guy – social animal that he is, insisted on moving on to Dick’s Tea Bar – a notorious late night venue in Val. The mention of its name is always the signal for a few to say their goodnights and head home to bed.  Needless to say, the latter group never includes The Big Guy!  Quite some constitution, these West countrymen!

On Wednesday evening the group had the option of taking French lessons – and Chris, Steve, Graeme and James managed to drag their ski-weary bodies to meet the animated Fabienne in our La Bailetta ‘classroom’ for 90min of language development.  The intensity of the programme makes even desirable extra activities quite a challenge!

The skiers finished the week with four days solid skiing with Philippe. On the Thursday, the boarders, led by Alex, joined the skiers for an amazing off piste experience that took us so far from our starting point that Philippe eventually guided us down a gully to find a road where we could catch a bus back to a valley with lifts!

Week 6 11/02 – 17/02

A new format kicked in this week with the skiers having the option of shadowing lessons as a part of the ‘ski school experience’ that is a prerequisite to taking the BASI instructor exam.

In the European ski calendar, this week is the start of 3 weeks of mayhem, as holidaymakers from all over the continent and the UK, take advantage of school holidays and hit the slopes.

With Snowfun acting as our local host ski school, the group have spent mornings following a variety of English language classes taught by Snowfun instructors, ranging from the Teddy Bears (age 3-5), to the Marmots (6-9) and upward through the age groups to include adult classes.

Afternoons were back with Philippe and a particular focus on moguls for training purposes.

The boarders also had a new format to their training week.  Afternoons were spent being coached by Alex, but mornings were kept free for the riders to practise the BASI-specific principles and take some time to assimilate some of the information they’ve been given over the past few weeks as well as revise the theory component of the course.

Week 6 ...(cont.)

Socially, the week threatened much festivity with two birthdays this week; Ed on the 12th and Steve on the 15th.  However Val d’Isease had claimed another victim and Ed groaned his way to his 102nd year in bed.  His one big consolation was that his fiancé Lucie arrived the following day to nurse him back to health.

Steve however, was a different story.  Full of health (well sort of!) he had every intention of a big birthday celebration on Thursday night, and following the trend set by The Big Guy, champagne accompanied dinner, followed by a night that started in the Moris and ended, unsurprisingly in Dicks.  The group impressed locals and other seasonaires alike with their mastery of the Jaeger-bomb chain.  Naemi continued to amaze the group with her Finnish command of the English language, now including (sometimes unintentionally) sexual innuendo in most sentences.  So maybe not so surprising then that the quiet girl who arrived from Årlan, a small island in Finland, is causing such a stir in Val d’Isere…

On Saturday, the skiers had their first BASI-specific training day with the International Centre of Excellence (ICE).  Having spent plenty of time with the French instructors clocking up mileage on the mountain and advancing their ability and confidence on tough terrain, it was time to get a little more technical and review some of the teaching and technical practices that are important in the BASI program.  The BASI-trained coaches also offer feedback that allows the guys to see just how far they have progressed since the TI course.

Week 7 18/02 – 24/02

More holidaymakers and shadowing for the skiers this week.  With Saturdays being the changeover day, it makes a lot of sense to be up on the mountain all day making the most of quieter pistes. 

The busy ski schools continued to provide opportunity for shadowing lessons with coaching for the group taking place in the afternoon.  This week the boarders continued with lessons with both Alex at Snowfun and the team from Alliance, as well as having mornings set aside for personal development.

The highlight of the week was when the skiers and boarders teamed up for a hike off piste – way off piste – up to a ridge with spectacular views across the Alps.  Philippe – always full of surprises – conjured up a bottle of Champagne to celebrate a very special moment for the group.

The skiers had their second BASI-focused training day with the ICE team on Friday, which gave more clarity to the requirements for the instructor training and a good personal awareness of the work left to do.

Six Nations viewing dominated Saturday’s evening activities with three fantastic matches on display.  We’ve discovered the Jekyll and Hyde personality of Dicks Tea Bar.  In the early evening its a pleasant, non-smoking TV lounge/Sports Bar with free wifi access and great bar snacks. But somewhere between 8pm and 11pm it becomes, well, something else…

ONLY SEVEN SKIING DAYS TO ASSESSEMENT!!

Week 8 25/02 – 03/03

The final leg of training has come around oh so quickly!  The boarders finished off with a long hard week – three full days of teacher training with The Alliance and three more days spilt between personal practice in the morning (central theme, central theme and then some central them!) and more coaching with Renelle in the afternoons. 

The skiers also took personal practice time in the morning before joining up with Philippe in the afternoon and some intensive work this week took place in the moguls.  Runs down Le Face this week have enabled us to watch the progressive construction of ‘Le Monster’ opposite Olympique.  This massive kicker is said to be the biggest ever in the Alps and played host to some of the top big air skiers and riders in the world for the XBOX BIG DAY OUT!

Unfortunately – poor visibility affected some performances in the early rounds of the competition.  Not so out very own Ludovic – sous chef at La Bailetta - who was to be rumoured to be hitting the newly completed kicker with fearless style.

Emeric Font with Britain’s Nate Kern in second and local Frank Mossonier finally won the snowboard competition in third.  Their dramatic jumps were only just more impressive than the accompanying music festival that featured artists like the Scissor Sisters, Fabio and Grooverider and the Scratch Perverts and there’s talk that an extra 3000 people arrived in Val just for the party!  As Chris pointed out in Victors after the show – there sure were a lot of young Scandinavian ladies in town this week!

The Big Guy on the other hand, had no interest in the ladies this week, well not the human variety and fell for a canine version instead.  However, roommates Chico and Steve, whilst respecting his sudden enthusiasm for animal welfare, objected to his new companion’s bathroom habits in their shared room and insisted he return her to her rightful owners in the morning.

Weeks 9 & 10 4 – 17 March

BASI Assessment!

The Boarders had last week found out that their assessor would be Simon Cooke – who they had already met through the Alliance and so they were only a little apprehensive going into the final assessment period - the Instructor Training (IT) course. 

The skiers were anxious to meet their assessor and the weekend saw the arrival of Gherardo Gambaro (or ‘G.’ as the group called him) – an expert skier of Italian origin and now resident in New Zealand with his young family.  His easy manner quickly put everyone at ease as they realised that the Instructor Training course was – like every other day on the mountain – there to be enjoyed!

The Peaks skiers were one of four BASI groups undergoing the assessment and they were given plenty of opportunity to watch, analyse and compare performances with the groups, but still had plenty of time alone with G. to develop piste performance and teaching technique – although the group are especially strong in the latter.

Confidence was running high towards the end of the first week  - the skiers on course and the boarders with enough direct, honest feedback from Simon to know what they needed from the weekend practice to take into the final five days.

Thoughts had started to turn to the last day of the program - March 16 the day after Graeme’s 30th birthday – and plans were being put together to finish on a high.

However, there was still a job to be done and the second week of the BASI IT course had the group taking to the mountain in perfect conditions and with a desire to impress in their piste performance…

Such is the nature of mountain sports that sometimes the big falls come when we least expect them.  The James was one minute impressing all with expert carving turns, and the next was tumbling down the mountain, sans skis and sans control.  An assessment by the mountain patrol had him immobilised and whisked down to the medical centre where further examination cleared him for a helicopter flight to Moutier for a scan.  We were all very relieved when he finally returned to the hotel and could walk, even if it was in a Big Guy-sized neck brace.  However, it did mean the end of the program for James – so close to the end he had already convinced G. of his piste performance and only now needs to retake the teaching element.  We wish him well in his recovery in Bath and have missed him in the last few days on and off the mountain.

Thankfully, the rest of the group got through the last four days intact and it was celebrations all round after lunch on the Friday when everyone passed and could relax into party mode!  The celebrations were made even more special by the arrival of Graeme’s partner Helen, his mum and dad, Chris’s dad, Graham, and Rhea’s parents too!  The descent off the mountain was a unique moment - not just for the group but also probably for the history of Le Face and Val d’Isere!