Ski Instructor Report 8 February 2013

Snow, snow and even more snow. That is what we have had this week. I had a class of advanced beginners/dry slopers. On the Monday morning, they did a little assessment before we split them into two groups. (I always tell them that there will be a FAST group and a VERY FAST group.) This week I had the first group, who in fact were very slow. This may have been due to the poor visibility and the fact that they were skiing on new snow. Later that day the snow stopped and it brighten up and Tuesday was very nice and the whole group made great improvements. We all enjoyed our day. We had more snow on the Wednesday but the group had advance so much that they handled it with easy, many of them making parallel turns. Everyone was looking forward to another great day on Thursday. But it continued to snow heavily overnight and the resort was unable to open on Thursday or Friday, due the vast amount of snow. The nearby resort of Pal was able to open some lifts and a some of the guests went there for the day on the bus. I have been having a hectic après ski this week. I was having a quiet drink in the Quo Vadis bar, when Graham from the Palarine arrived with two extremely attractive blonde girls,in their twenties. He explained that they were staying in the Palarine and wanted to visit the village but were worried about getting back. He gave them a lift up to Arinsal and explained that I safely make the journey back every evening. They were soon surrounded by off duty local workers. After a few drinks there, we moved onto the Derby, where we listened to the live music. Random guys were coming up to us and buying the ladies wine. I mention earlier that we had snow over the weekend, so I one of the barmen, who was not drinking, if he could give up a lift to the Palarine. He very willingly did so. Graham was still working in the bar when we returned, so he offered us a night cap. The girls thought that a Baileys would be nice and help them sleep. I went to work as usual for 9’clock and I later discovered that they had a late start, having enjoyed the full English at the Palarine. They went up the mountain but one of the ladies felt unwell due to, as she said altitude sickness. She also told me that she did not remember getting a lift home, nor having a nightcap in the Palarine. It would appear that altitude sickness also causes amnesia. Perhaps the medical world should investigate this further. The following night they went with others on the Pub Crawl. I was in a bar, when the ladies arrived with those on the pub crawl. I discovered that the one with altitude sickness had decided to drink only non-alcoholic drinks, as she thought that his may help her condition. The other lady was enjoying her evening having beaten two men in beer drinking race. They were on the third pub of the crawl. She seemed very happy and enjoying her evening out but sadly fell asleep on the bar table. Again the bar staff were magnificent; Kevin from Quo gave the keys of his Jeep to the camera man to take us home. Stuart and I carried her through the nearby kitchen door to the jeep at the side entrance, so as not to embarrass the lady. She awoke as we arrived at the Palarine and wanted a nightcap, but before she had finished it she felt asleep again. I helped her friend to carry her to the lift and they successfully made it to their room. We all met up at midday, after my class and we thoroughly enjoyed our ski together. They were both extremely good skiers and I was able to ski at almost my usual pace. They enjoyed the rest of the week in a less hectic manner, especially the live music party at the Palarine on Thursday. They want to return here next season.