Ski Instructors Report 8th December 2012

The resort has been open for one week and it has been a great week for snow. Although on the days that it snowed the visibility was poor. Wednesday was fantastic with a clear blue sky and a lot of untracked powder. The Spanish arrived on Friday for the long weekend (The Immaculate Conception, for those of you who had not been to Sunday school for a long time) There were more people on the pistes but still not crowded. It just seemed slightly more congested as I have been spoiled by the having the whole run to myself. The amount of snow we have bodes well for the first Crystal clients who are arriving on the 16th. I understand that there will only be a lucky few on the first flightI have often been asked what one should wear on a skiing holiday, here are a few of my thoughts on the subject, others may disagree; Let’s start at the top; Safety helmet or not? I do not have one but always encourage anyone who asks me, to get one. Some people wait until AFTER they have taken a knock, it is better to buy one before the accident rather than after. In cold weather, I will wear a woolly hat, it is important that it covers the ears. On sunny days, on the beginners’ slopes, I will sometimes wear a peaked cap to keep the sun out off my eyes. Caps tend to be blow off when skiing at speed. If any of the male readers are a bit thin on top, please wear something on your head, anything will do. If you fail to do so, you will get burned. Glasses or goggles? I always wear sunglasses with a high UV protection factor. Most goggles have a lens suitable for days with poor visibility and are not really suitable for sunny days. A dark lens is usually available for those racing on sunny days. Thermal underwear or base layers? I usually prefer base layers with a wicking facility, even on very hot days, as I do not like the feel of my ski trousers on my skin. Most people recommend several layers of clothing. The number of shirts or jerseys depends on your needs and the weather. And of course, a good ski jacket. You can spend between £40 and £600. The choice is yours Gloves: Many claim to be waterproof but I have found that the weatherproof membrane gets broken with wear and your gloves will cease to be waterproof. An Australian friend of mine turned up with something that looked like a huge pair of “Marigolds”. They came with liners that should soak up your sweat. I have seen his liners looking very damp indeed. My solution is to have a spare pair. Trousers: they should have a very high back, to prevent snow getting onto your back. Jeans are not really suitable as you may well get snow down your back, should you fall over. Socks: Some people recommend that you wear two pair, however most skiers will wear specialist ski socks with reinforced areas in the foot. I had a pressure point on one foot and found the wearing a thin sock on that foot helped. My advice is, do not listen to advice; do whatever suits YOU. Apres ski wear: Although , it will be cold in the evenings, most bars, restaurants and hotels will be very warm inside. So cool casual should be good enough. Ladies, a piece of advice, bring a skirt or dress. Instructors and workers do not see legs for four months. I realise that a pretty dress needs suitable shoes and such shoes may not be ideal for trudging through snow. So, you may have to carry them in a bag to your destination. A question on clothing that I have never understood; why are knickers plural and bra is singular? I would have thought that it would be the other way round. Answers please, to the webmaster, please.

Ski Instructors Report 1st December 2012

This is my first report of the season and the resort has been open for only one day (Dec. 1) It was very cold but bright sunshine and the snow cannons were going at full blast. The snow was great and there were very few people on the slopes, A really nice day. It seems a long time since my last report in April, so I started to think about Time. Instructors are paid by the hour, so there is no advantage charging up and down the mountain during a lesson descending so many vertical metres (or feet for those born before 1950). I believe that it is better to travel at a pace where the slowest client is within their comfort zone and at a speed that the more advanced skier can improve their skills. It is more important to give value for the lesson time. Now to take a deeper look at TIME; I can just about accept time without end (some chairlifts remind me of this).But time without beginning, is beyond my comprehension. Some religions believe that God created heaven and earth in six days and on the seventh, He went skiing. More secular persons believe that the big bang theory started the universe and so time would have started then. I often rewind a tape on my Betamax VCR. Some younger readers may have Sky plus or DVD’s where they can do the same. Now let us consider, what if there was a DVD of the creation of the universe, and we could rewind it for several zillion years, until the time of the big bang - this must have been very loud and you would have heard it for miles. But what if we rewound the tape for a few more frames, to before the time of the big bang, what would we see? Answers please, to the webmaster of whichever site you are reading this. Let us now consider, the past, present and future. Most modern languages use these three tenses. Let us assume that you are skiing down a slope. All the run that you have covered will of course is in the past. You want to make a turn; this will be in the future. But the moment that you initiate the turn that will already be in the past. The final phases of your turn will be in the future until you have completed them, then they too will be in the past. All this leads me to believe that the gap between past and future is so infinitely short that the present does not exist. Only our thoughts are in the future, any actions we make are immediately in the past. So, if mankind ceased to exist and there was no one to think about a future action, then the future would not exist. So the only tense in existence is the past. I recall a line from the theme tune of “Whatever happened to the likely lads?” From memory it was something like “the only thing that we have to look forward to, is the past.” Now back to skiing. If any of you are coming to visit us in Arinsal in the future, I hope that you have a really jolly TIME. .

Ski Instructors Report 1st April 2012

My season is now over. I finished at noon on Friday. I had a class of good intermediates, with a wide spread of ages. Their ages ranged from a 10 year old to a glamorous grandmother of indeterminate years. Surprisingly, the standard of skiing was very similar and I had a very enjoyable week. In the Friday race the Grandmother was beaten by a deputy headmaster (I think that I could phrase that better. In my schooldays “beaten by a deputy headmaster” had an entirely different meaning. To put things straight In the Race, the Deputy Head won, the grandmother was just under a second behind him and the children were just a little slower. During the week, I had two private lessons with a lovely 12 year old girl from Malta. Within 15minutes of putting her skis on for the first time, she was skiing from the top of the Magic Carpet. We had a smashing time on the slopes and après ski. Some of the group came to Bogart’s bar for the last performance of the season of Velvet blues. There was a wonderful atmosphere and everyone enjoyed the evening. The following day, I look her to the top of the six seat lift and we skied this twice during the one hour lesson. When I take someone on that lift for the first time, I usually book out for the next hour as it normally takes just over to hour to reach the bottom. She is a remarkable young girl, who will soon be a great skier. Te weather has been glorious all week and there is plenty of snow for those arriving on Sunday. The resort will close on 9th April. It has not been a good year for snow nor for the number of clients. Therefore I did not get a lot of work meaning not a lot of pay. I HAVE HAD A GREAT TIME AND AM LOOKING FORWARD TO NEXT SEAASON.

Ski Instructors Report 24 March 2012

What a week for contrasts in weather! We had little flurries of snow at the start of the week, then a pleasant day. On Thursday we had continuous snow, the visibility was poor and it was cold and damp. The snow continued through the night and very few people ventured out, most staying in their hotels. But Friday morning was glorious, bright blue skies and snow everywhere. There was a short delay while the lift workers dug out the top of the chair lift. I took my class of intermediates down the Marrades run, to the Crest Hotel and the high speed chair lift back to the resort. The conditions were perfect, with very few other skiers on this run. All my group of ladies thoroughly enjoyed the run. When arrived back at the resort we joined the others on the Les Fonts chair lift (the higher lifts were still being dug out). The snow was perfect on the piste and we found some very deep untracked snow to play in. We had a few fallers and they discovered how tiring it is to get up in deep snow. I had to demonstrate how to look for a lost ski in deep snow. Some of my ladies put their new skill to good use and found their lost skis. For those who do not know the correct way, the recognised method is to remove your remaining ski and go slightly above the point of your fall and use the tail of your ski in a scything action moving slowly down the hill until you hit the lost ski. It can be very tiring doing this in deep snow. One sometimes sees skiers prodding the snow with their poles. This method rarely works as you can only cover a very small area. A long sweeping scything motion will cover a much wider field of search. I had a very good week of Apres Ski. My class consisted of ten very charming ladies, plus two young lads, who I promoted to faster classes. We met each evening and had a great time watching the ski videos. We had a good laugh and some found the video very helpful in correcting bad posture. The class mixed well and I thoroughly enjoyed my week. Thank you ladies. I have only one more week of work before returning to England. So my next report may be my last of the season.

Ski Instructors Report 17 March 2012

What a scorcher! This week was incredibly hot, with clear blue skies and blazing sunshine. The down side of this glorious weather was the fact that the snow was very heavy by early afternoon. I noticed several cases of sunburnt faces. At this time of year you really must use a high factor sunscreen. Do not mess around with factor 5 or 7. I use factor 25 or even 50, if I am going to be in the sun for a long period. I had an intermediate class this week. I noticed at the classification that the level of skiing was high. There really was not a level one group, so most of my class were level two. So during the week we were able to make a couple of trips to Pal. Some went to Arcalis and Grandvallira. They all enjoyed their visits. This made me think that I should write about the different resorts in Andorra. Firstly there is Arinsal, which is a small old friendly village. It has two lifts to the ski area. One is a Gondola from the village centre. There are several hotels within a minutes’ walk. The other access point is a high speed six seat chair lift from the top of the village. This is situated by the Crest Hotel and the Patagonia apartments. You can ski to this chair lift, snow conditions permitting. Although the run is blue, it is not an easy blue and not really suitable for beginners at the beginning of the week. Arinsal is great for large groups of friends as all the runs take you back to the same starting point. So if you lose your friends or family they will turn up eventually. Pal is prettier than Arinsal and has a lot of runs through the trees and the runs are more varied. You can access Pal from the top of the Arinsal ski area by cable car or from a gondola from La Massana about 5 kilometres away by bus. Arcalis, recon by some to be the best ski area in Andorra, is about 30 minutes drive. During the week it is usually very quiet. It can be very busy at weekends and on public holidays, as it is very popular with the locals. Neither Pal nor Arcalis has the infrastructure of Hotels, restaurants, bars or shop like Arinsal has. Both are purpose built ski stations and all three stations are covered by your Vallnord ski pass. The other ski area in Andorra is Grandvallira. This is a large ski area joining up several villages, namely Encamp, Canillo, El Tarter, Soldeu and Pas de la Casa. Each village has its own character but none are as friendly as Arinsal. It is more expensive, at Granvallira it cost €44 for a day pass.

Ski Instructors Report 10th March 2012

I did not send a report last week as I was back in England for treatment but now I have returned and started work again. But what a week for mixed weather! We had everything. We had overnight snow on Wednesday night, a gloriously hot and sunny day and another bitterly cold with high winds. Fortunately I had a very cheerful group; none were natural born skiers but were very happy with what they had achieved. They enjoyed the après ski and felt that they had enjoyed a great ski holiday. On Friday, they went to Decades and said that they would come to Bogart’s to hear Velvet Blues play. However they did not turn up. They must have enjoyed themselves at Decades. UI returned to the Palarine just before two and found that a dinner party was just finishing. This is an annual event, when a dozen Catalan ladies turn up for dinner to celebrate the birthday of one of them. In the past, Graham has arranged for live music to entertain them but was unable to do so this year. As they were all very lively I was able to organise a “Sweet Caroline” to end the party. This was the first since the New Year’s Eve party. Unfortunately, the current band does not have Sweet Caroline in their play list. I believe that the expressing “Ski Holiday” consists of two words; ski and holiday. This means that people should enjoy the skiing part and also the holiday side. Some people will overdo the holiday side, especially on the Monday night bar crawl. This often means that, they will miss the Tuesday lesson. If they are beginners, they will find that their class will have improved so much that they are unable to rejoin the group without holding everyone else up. Sometimes, we find that someone will be so keen on the skiing side that they never go out in the evening and always have early nights. This is also a pity, as the resort is such a friendly place they are missing something of the holiday. The answer is a happy balance between skiing and après ski. Some of my group want to come back here next season. But as they had very mixed conditions they were asking, “When is the best time to go skiing?” It is an impossible question to answer correctly. If I wanted to go sailing in Weymouth and I asked you what is the best week to go there for good wind and sunshine. I am sure you would be unable to give me a positive answer, other than to say avoid winter months. I am now going to describe the conditions that can expect throughout the season; December can be very cold with short daylight hours, but with good snow conditions and if you can avoid the Christmas and New Year holidays, it is usually very quiet on the slopes. The Spanish celebrate the Three Kings on January 6th, so the resort is crowded until that date. I think the remainder of January is my favourite time for skiing. It is usually still cold and the snow is in good condition and the days are getting a little longer. During February the resort is usually busy. Avoid the British schools’ half term holidays at all cost. Everything is crowded and overpriced. The conditions in March can be very different; the sun is stronger and is shining for longer. If we have the usual high pressure, the nights will be cold and the snow in the mornings, very hard. The sun will quickly soften it and by late afternoon it will become slushy. I think the best way to enjoy March is to start a little latter, then ski until about 3 o’clock then go down to the village and have a late lunch outdoors in the sunshine. At this time off year you will often see ladies wearing bikini tops sunbathing on the terraces on the mountain restaurants. April is usually very quiet and the snow can be very heavy, however it always snows in April in Arinsal. That has been true for over 30 years, except for last season. The late snow can be either great or the warm weather will make it very heavy. So, my answer to the question, “When is the best time to go skiing?” Is “Anytime! Because it is better than working.”

Ski Instructors Report 26th February 2012

I am now back in England, having travelled home on Saturday. I had a brilliant week, great weather and a really super bunch of dry slope/advanced beginners. Not only did they all ski very well they were great fun on and off the slopes. When we stopped for coffee someone would start gathering tables together so that we all sat as one group. This contrasts with some classes, who all split up into couples and family groups, when this happens I feel that I have failed to gel the group into a team. Om Friday I went to hear "Velvet Blues" play in Bogart's bar. They are a great blues band consisting of: a very raunchy keyboard player, who does a smashing cover of Amy Winehouse songs, a brilliant harmonica players, who gives the group a really bluesy feel, a lead and bass guitars and in the engine room, a great drummer. It is not all blues they played a wide range, including soft rock and even some numbers from my teenage years. A guest singer did a tremendous version of Johnny B Goode. I try to be positive with these reports but I must mention a down side to Bogart's. As you enter you are met by a wall of smoke. However if you have the courage to walk past this and turn right at the end of the L shaped bar you are into quite clean air, as they have an efficient extractor system. They reason for the wall of smoke is that the adjacent Piano Bar is non smoking, so the addicts come into to Bogart's and sit at the first two tables to pacify their addiction. This lead me to mention other bars with a non smoking policy.( Andorran has not yet caught up with the civlise world. They will eventually, after all they gave women the vote in 1970). El Moli allows smoking in the bar but NOT in the upstairs restaurant. Cisco's allows smoking in the bar but not in the restaurant until 9 pm. Smoking is allowed then as this is when the Hispanics go out to eat. They are afraid to lose this custom as some Hispanics will smoke before, during and after dinner. Strange people. The Derby has an innovative policy; they discourage smoking in the bar until 8 pm, whilst there are children present. Dean and Darren have provided a sitting area outside with tables , T.V and a heater. This is a great public facility, as smokers can meet other smokers (If a leper wants to meet a partner the best place is a leper colony) I think that it is nice that smokers can meet other smokers, fall in love and breed baby smokers. After all, the country needs their taxes, which more than covers the extra hospital care that they will need. I think that the Department of Works and Pensions should give a badge to everyone smoking 40 a day, as a thank you, for volunteering to die younger, so easing the Country's pension burden. Finally, the Palarine's dining room is strictly non smoking but it is permitted in the bar/Bambu restaurant. There are tables where non smokers can escape to if there are too many Catalans smoking in the Bambu. The Chinese banquet is very popular with the Catalans. I will declare am interest, as some of my readers will have worked out already, I am a non smoker myself. As a footnote,I would like to mention the following: In the Autumn, I invited 43 people back to my house, after a very successful performance of my daughter, as Anna in the "King and I" at the local theatre. These were mostly from the 50+ badminton club and they were all non smokers. It would have taken just one smoker to ruin the atmosphere for the other 42. Bring on the Ban.