Friday 20th Jan: Steering, pivoting and a night of alcohol

The end of the week was spent concentrating on steering and pivoting. Steering the use of the legs to steer the board; pivoting moving your centre of mass to pivot the board of different parts of its length. Unfortunately on Friday there was another fresh 10cm so we spent all day playing, well jumping actually. At the beginning of the course, one of my objectives was to complete 180 off a jump. Well that objective was met, albeit not very prettily, on Friday, well several times on Friday. In the afternoon we did three runs of the Short Squaw, which involves a steep descent through trees which then opens onto an unused run with lots of natural jumps, the feeling of pulling off the 180 was fantastic, and I guess the next progression should be a 360. Kinay Kinay Kinay!!!

Alcohol
Since Saturday was to be my first day off in a while I had decided to go out on the Friday night. After dinner Shane, Alan and I went to play pool. The pool table was broken, well the incorrect cue ball was being used so that every time the white was potted, we had to get the staff to open the table to get the ball out. To try and restrict the white going down a rule was decided that everytime the white went down we had to get a round of Sambukas (sp?). At 2.30 am I eventually got home after playing and winning pool against everyone in the only bar in town, a recipe you may think for a punch up, but I think the alcohol immunized me against any negative local town thoughts. A good night was had by all, but I can't remember getting home, although I did phone Audrey at 2.30 am and spoke to her for an hour. I think I heard her yawning (at 4.30 am her time) and said "your not trying to go are you". Very funny!

Wednesday 18th Jan: First Aid Course - Avalanche Transmitters

Part of the course and I guess an important part of becoming an instructor is to learn basic first aid. This Wednesday we completed an 8 hour introduction to wilderness first aid, have the certificate to prove it! I really enjoyed the course, once I had managed to dynamite myself out of bed. The main crux of first aid was the ABCDs:

A - Airway - Check it isn't blocked.
B - Breathing - Check for breathing.
C - circulation - Check for circulation.
D - Deadly bleeding - Check for Deadly bleeding.

I really do feel prepared to help in any first aid scenario.

We were also given (not in first aid course) Recco avalanche transmitters, which we should install in out boots, or helmets. These are rather like the store protection sticky labels you find on the back of CDs. Not that we do any dangerous stuff anyway, err I mean we are always in the backcountry hiking on cornices, and 72 degree slopes; but it is comforting to know that I have these with me.

Tuesday 17th Jan: Level 2 in the pyramid pivoting and steering.

Building on last weeks stance and balance, this weeks topic is pivoting and steering. Pivoting correctly will only happen if you are standing aligned on your board, hence level 1 stance and balance from last week. Pivoting should occur around the centre of the board, for normal riding, and leads to you performing a professional carved turn, where the whole edge of your board is used. In the majority of cases learner and intermediate riders lean back with an open stance on their board, but are still able to turn, by using there back foot as a sort of rudder, fishtailing I believe it is called. The correct way for perfect carved turns is to be balanced correctly (centered and perpendicular to the slope), and to use the whole edge of the snowboard, so that it bites into the slope and produces a perfect 'C' in the slope.

Steering is the correct movement of your legs and knees whilst riding your board. One drill we tried was riding our board with out hands on knees, using them to steer around the bends. The upper body should always be relatively still (for normal turns) and I believe this technique is a component of performing the professional carved turns. My analysis of this technique has not been fully comprehended yet, so I will wait until Thursday and Friday to complete the Steering definition.

Sunday 15th Jan: Recreational Avalanche Course Day 2

Today involved hiking up an untracked mountain, and performing some tests in snow to establish whether the conditions were safe. After hiking for two hours, and digging pits to establish slope stability and layers, we rode down the untracked terrain. The view and initial ride was awesome dude! However we then hit the trees and the wood was quite dense, so after falling into my 1000th tree well, I was pretty knackered by the time I reahed the bottom. I have noticed my legs getting stronger, yeah don't laugh, so I think the days are getting easier. Establishing progress is always good! The course finished about 1pm, at which point we all had a good meal and a drink, the food was probably just ok but it was very welcome.

Saturday 14th Jan: Recreational Avalanche Course Day 1

After a busy week training I was pretty knackered by Friday night. Over the weekend we had a two day avalanche course, which involved trekking far, using transceivers, and digging pits. I quite enjoyed the science bits of the course, and knowing how to use a transceiver was pretty cool dude! One test involved the instructor hiding five beacons, and one body without a beacon, then as a team we had to dig out the bodies, and using a probing rod find the other body. I was surprise that after 10 minutes we had found all the bodies, good news if we ever have to search for anyone; given that there is 50% survival rate after 30 minutes (due to suffocation, if the trauma didn't kill you). By the end of the day I was knackered and wet, had something to eat and hit the sack early on, so I could ready myself for the hike tomorrow.

Saturday 14th Jan: Avalanche course

Avalanche course

Friday 13th January - Stance the first level of the pyramid.

This week we have mostly been concentrating on the stance on our boards, concentrating on keeping hte body hrizontally and vertically aligned with the board. Snow falling almost every day has meant that the lessons have been cut shorter because we should experience the snow rather than doing drills on the runs. We have done a lot of steep tree riding which started off very difficult and I can honestly say at the end of the week I can notice some improvement, but to say I was even more of a novice through the trees would be streetching the truth a little. There is a run called Beer-Belly whic after a short hop thorugh some tight trees appers out of no where, which then descensds on some steep terrain, and then finishes with some boarder-cross through the trees at the bottom, we did this today again, and I am very happy with my progress through these runs. Admittedly there are a lot of face plants, but as the phrase goes, "If you ain't falling you ain't learning". Tonight we have the theory for our Avalanch course, and then we are being picked up at 7.15 am Saturday and Sunday for the practical on the mountain. Was looking forward to a lie in, but there you go, better to do it now rather than later hey? Saturday night we are watching Trail (town nearby) in a ice hockey competition, so looking forward to that.