I had a great day’s skiing on Christmas day. The slopes were deserted and the sun was shining, on the down side there was a very cold wind blowing. I was skiing with Ian, or more accurately I was going up the lift with him. Ian is training for the Euro Speed Test, so when we set off I would follow him down. He then had a short wait at the bottom, or sometime not so short a wait. We skied the top gullies, which had filled with fresh windblown powder. By the time we had skied a few of the gullies we would go back to the first and the wind had filled in our tracks. It really was a great day. But where were all the people? Surely they could not all be hung over or had decided to eat turkey all day instead of skiing. Whatever they were doing they missed a great day.
One evening Mike, aka Elvis, entertained the guest in the Palarine bar. There were very few British there but quite a few Catalans enjoying a drink after their Chinese Meal. We had the first “Sweet Caroline of the season”. With hindsight I think that it may have been too early. There was a bit of dancing and about midnight I noticed that there were six Catalan children dancing, the eldest about 9 years and the youngest 6. They were well behaved and enjoying themselves. Mike was playing for them and keeping them involved, whilst their parents enjoyed there coffees and brandies. There is such different attitude towards children in bars here than that in Britain.
Mike had an easy evening as we had several quest appearances. Lucy Jones, who was over here from her London Musical Theatre School, gave us a great performance, as did her younger sister, Sophie. Both received a much bigger round of applause than Mike. (What does this tell you? Mike!) There was a surprise performance by Josh Jackson, the 8 year old internationally recognised, Michael Jackson impersonator. It was another most enjoyable evening in the Palarine.
I am posting this report early, as I am seeing in the New Year at the Palarine. The guests are treated to a spectacular Chinese Banquet, followed by a fancy dress party with a free bar. Just in case I do not feel like typing tomorrow I am posting this now. I will, of course, give you all about the party in next week’s report. Well, at least, all the bits that I can remember.
I wish all my reaaders a Very Happy New Year, with lots of great skiing, in perfect powder.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Ski Instructors Report 24th December 2010
I did not send a report last week as I had returned to England for a hospital appointment. Then my return journey was delayed by three days due to my flight from Gatwick being canceled, this meant that I did not arrive in Arinsal until midnight on Tuesday. I had a few private lessons for the rest of the week, some of them being my specialty, nervous ladies here with their children. The kids were flying around the mountain, while the mothers were finding it difficult keeping up with their group lesson. Both my ladies made great progress and said that next year that they would not book group lessons but take private, one to one, lessons instead. Group lessons can be very good for the social side. Someone on their own will meet other skiers of a similar level and so have someone to ski with after the lesson. In a small friendly resort like Arinsal, it is inevitable that you will bump into others from your group whilst out in the bars and restaurants. But if your aim in taking lesson is to improve your skiing, then private lessons are a must.
The Weather on the first two days after my return was a bit too warm and humid but fortunately it turned cold on Christmas Eve. The snow cannons were running, even during the day and the sun was shining. In fact Friday had great skiing conditions. I enjoyed several good runs during my free time. In spite of it being Christmas Week there were very few people in the resort, so I was able to enjoy fairly fast runs on the very quiet pistes.
I was reminded of the quotation that I have often used in the past, A lot more people would come skiing if it was always this quiet.
The Weather on the first two days after my return was a bit too warm and humid but fortunately it turned cold on Christmas Eve. The snow cannons were running, even during the day and the sun was shining. In fact Friday had great skiing conditions. I enjoyed several good runs during my free time. In spite of it being Christmas Week there were very few people in the resort, so I was able to enjoy fairly fast runs on the very quiet pistes.
I was reminded of the quotation that I have often used in the past, A lot more people would come skiing if it was always this quiet.
Sunday, December 12, 2010
An Instructors Weekly Report 10 Dec 2010
After a perfect first week, I was slightly disappointed with this week. I still enjoyed my skiing but the weather had warmed up a little and there was more humidity in the snow than the light dry stuff we all enjoyed so much last week. The conditions were not bad but we had been spoiled by perfect snow that we had previously. However the conditions improved when the Spanish left. The weather was brighter and colder and of course, there were less people. I felt sorry for those who had come up for the holiday as they had the worst conditions so far this season.
There were a lot of Spanish in the resort this week. The 6th Dec is a Spanish National holiday and the 8th (as the devout amongst my readers will know), is the Immaculate Conception, major holiday in Andorra and Spain. The Spanish join these two holidays with the nearest weekend and take a ski break.
I thought that I might advise you on other Bank holidays that may affect your visit to Arinsal.
8th Dec. Immaculate Conception. Can be very busy.
25th and 26th Dec. Bank Holidays as in the UK. Can be very busy
1st Jan. Bank Holiday. Sometimes quiet in the mornings as the Andorrans make a big thing of New Year’s Eve.
6th Jan. Epiphany, The three kings, Little Christmas or the last day of Christmas. Bank Holiday. Usually quiet as the Spanish go home to celebrate this at home. There is a big parade the evening before, during which the 3 kings distribute sweets to the children. The traffic can be awful due to the parade.
17th Jan. St Anthony’s Day. A major holiday in Andorra. The council brew up a huge Stew/Soup in public squares and distribute it to the “poor” of the Parish. It may be worth missing an afternoon’s skiing to attend this event. (Bring your own mug, spoon and glass). There is usually free wine and music and cake to finish.
25th Jan. Robert Burns’ birthday. This is not a bank holiday and does not affect skiing but he Palarine usually provides an excellent Burns’ Supper, with Haggis, tatties and neeps. They also serve Cock-a-leekie soup, prime Scottish Roast Beef, smoked salmon, tipsy laird and other sweets from Scotland. This is followed by Scottish dancing in the bar. We start and finish the evening with the ever popular “Strip the Willow”.
17th Mar. St Patrick’s Day Not a Bank Holiday but usually a great night out in the bars. Again the Palarine puts on an Irish evening with Irish dishes, Colcannon, Irish Stew, Bailey’s Cheesecake and many other dishes that I am not familiar with. There is usually live music and a bit of a knees up in the bar. Last year the Derby imported an Irish band for the week and I enjoyed a very lively après ski there. Regular readers may remember my description of last year’s event. The Irish do like to celebrate St. Paddy, especially when away from Ireland.
19th Mar. St Joseph’s Day ( the Father of Jesus). A major holiday in Andorra.
I hope that the above may be of help if you are visiting Arinsal this winter and have to catch the bank. The resort and the ski school are open every day until the end of the season. I have not mentioned Easter as this year it is so late, I think that the travel companies will have stopped before then. One Bank holiday that caught me out, whilst trying to draw out some cash from the bank, is in October; St. Carlos of Bormio, the patron saint of Bankers. Everyone else ignores poor old St. Carlos and carries on as usual but all the banks were shut. I needed the cash so I thought, “What a load of bankers.”
There were a lot of Spanish in the resort this week. The 6th Dec is a Spanish National holiday and the 8th (as the devout amongst my readers will know), is the Immaculate Conception, major holiday in Andorra and Spain. The Spanish join these two holidays with the nearest weekend and take a ski break.
I thought that I might advise you on other Bank holidays that may affect your visit to Arinsal.
8th Dec. Immaculate Conception. Can be very busy.
25th and 26th Dec. Bank Holidays as in the UK. Can be very busy
1st Jan. Bank Holiday. Sometimes quiet in the mornings as the Andorrans make a big thing of New Year’s Eve.
6th Jan. Epiphany, The three kings, Little Christmas or the last day of Christmas. Bank Holiday. Usually quiet as the Spanish go home to celebrate this at home. There is a big parade the evening before, during which the 3 kings distribute sweets to the children. The traffic can be awful due to the parade.
17th Jan. St Anthony’s Day. A major holiday in Andorra. The council brew up a huge Stew/Soup in public squares and distribute it to the “poor” of the Parish. It may be worth missing an afternoon’s skiing to attend this event. (Bring your own mug, spoon and glass). There is usually free wine and music and cake to finish.
25th Jan. Robert Burns’ birthday. This is not a bank holiday and does not affect skiing but he Palarine usually provides an excellent Burns’ Supper, with Haggis, tatties and neeps. They also serve Cock-a-leekie soup, prime Scottish Roast Beef, smoked salmon, tipsy laird and other sweets from Scotland. This is followed by Scottish dancing in the bar. We start and finish the evening with the ever popular “Strip the Willow”.
17th Mar. St Patrick’s Day Not a Bank Holiday but usually a great night out in the bars. Again the Palarine puts on an Irish evening with Irish dishes, Colcannon, Irish Stew, Bailey’s Cheesecake and many other dishes that I am not familiar with. There is usually live music and a bit of a knees up in the bar. Last year the Derby imported an Irish band for the week and I enjoyed a very lively après ski there. Regular readers may remember my description of last year’s event. The Irish do like to celebrate St. Paddy, especially when away from Ireland.
19th Mar. St Joseph’s Day ( the Father of Jesus). A major holiday in Andorra.
I hope that the above may be of help if you are visiting Arinsal this winter and have to catch the bank. The resort and the ski school are open every day until the end of the season. I have not mentioned Easter as this year it is so late, I think that the travel companies will have stopped before then. One Bank holiday that caught me out, whilst trying to draw out some cash from the bank, is in October; St. Carlos of Bormio, the patron saint of Bankers. Everyone else ignores poor old St. Carlos and carries on as usual but all the banks were shut. I needed the cash so I thought, “What a load of bankers.”
Sunday, December 5, 2010
An Instructors Weekly Report 1
The first week of the season has just finished. The snow was fabulous due to the fresh snow
and the very cold weather. We had no clients so I was able to play. There will be another two weeks
before the British groups arrive, so I shall have plenty of time to play with no work. I am reminded
of the old saying “All play and no work makes Jack a poor boy”.
In two weeks, we will be hearing the familiar questions; What is the snow like, Answer, "White, cold and very slippery and “What do you do in the summer?” Answer "Instructors do very similar things to the rest of you. I know that lists make very boring reading. Nevertheless I am going make a list of some of the jobs that instructors do in the Summer: Steel Erector, Electrician, Campsite Manager ,Housewife and mother, Mountain Walk Guide, Barman, Chef, Sound Engineer, Musician, Facilities Manager, Sailing Instructor, Australian Ski Instructor, Geologist (mud logger), Builder's Labourer, Garden site assistant and a Police Pensioner, just to mention a few."
Try to guess which one of the above was your instructor. Wait until the end of the week and ask if you were right. We are looking forward to seeing you all, in two weeks time
and the very cold weather. We had no clients so I was able to play. There will be another two weeks
before the British groups arrive, so I shall have plenty of time to play with no work. I am reminded
of the old saying “All play and no work makes Jack a poor boy”.
In two weeks, we will be hearing the familiar questions; What is the snow like, Answer, "White, cold and very slippery and “What do you do in the summer?” Answer "Instructors do very similar things to the rest of you. I know that lists make very boring reading. Nevertheless I am going make a list of some of the jobs that instructors do in the Summer: Steel Erector, Electrician, Campsite Manager ,Housewife and mother, Mountain Walk Guide, Barman, Chef, Sound Engineer, Musician, Facilities Manager, Sailing Instructor, Australian Ski Instructor, Geologist (mud logger), Builder's Labourer, Garden site assistant and a Police Pensioner, just to mention a few."
Try to guess which one of the above was your instructor. Wait until the end of the week and ask if you were right. We are looking forward to seeing you all, in two weeks time
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