Those red jackets

Training for level 1 and five long exam days are finally over. My skiing got to a whole new level and my interest to build a career around this industry got huge! Anyways 100% pass rate and everyone got their certificates. I can´t describe how proud I was of myself and my mates, felt awesome to scratch one thing off from the bucket list. Now getting ready for the level 2!

Saturday night was the biggest celebration so far, and for a really good reason. We had a table booked and everyone got some drinks to start the night with. Could tell that everyone was in a good mood after such long weeks and successfull training, those big smiles in everyones faces!
And as we are part of the EA programme we had one more task during the night, to jump in the lake. We didn´t care about the rain or the cold at that point but at least I felt amazing jumping to the dark water with the dream team.

Sunday and monday were already working days as we had little orientation to the mountains we would be working at, half of us at the Remarkables where I´m based at and half of us at the Coronet Peak. We got those so wanted red jackets which makes us look like pros. I think the first day I wore the uniform was pretty special because all the sudden people came to ask questions and lucky me got a few lessons done as well. Getting paid to do something you love is probably one of the best things I know. Same when I was still training horses days were long but full of joy.
Unfortunately Remarks was closed for a couple days during the week maybe it was a large possum on the power lines or maybe something else who knows. Off days are not fun when u can´t get up the mountain but at least the team is awesome so we did some other cool stuff instead. Went for a roadtrip to Glenorchy and trampolining at the SITE. We also hiked up the Queenstown hill with all the stuff to pick up some trash so hey stay positive life is pretty awesome! The problem got fixed and after that it´s been finally snowing! The visibility has not been the greatest but man today afternoon my last run with one of the team members was probably the best run so far! Fresh snow everywhere and because most of the people were hiding inside the slopes were almost empty. I would´t change a thing!

Oh I also got my camera fixed so now I can get some good stuff from the slopes once the weather clears up a little bit.
Cheers!

 Happy interns on serious work! This has been and is still going to be so big experience for all of us and I´m just super happy to be back in my own element! Me and Mary moved out from the hostel and found the cutest little box living (trailer trash as our lovely bus driver would describe it) an we are absolutely loving it and the whole mountain life. Few more full weeks of work before the training starts again. I will try to keep you guys updated of my exploring and work as a ski instructor. See ya up the mountain!

Let´s get started!

 

So where should I start?
Leaving Hawkes Bay wasn´t easy but knowing that great adventures were ahead I started my little car and made my way to Wellington, jumped into a ferry to Picton and after about 1800km on New Zealand´s roads I finally arrived to beautiful Queenstown. I could write a whole story about my amazing road trip but let´s stick into the most important: the internship programme with EA.
On the first day we all met at the Aspen Lodge where we´re living during the training, catching up with the new crew was exciting and fun. We all got EA hoodies which we´re wearing to match. (also when going out) From the first evening we all started to group up well and made a little EA family, on the following days our orientation included disc golf and fear at the haunted house of Queenstown, also pizza and lot of fun just getting to know each other. People from all over the world, different accents and different lives making the pack a bit more colourful.

Saturday 10th was the great opening of the Remarkables ski field and our so much waited first day of training, I was stoked to get started specially because I was on my skis after several years of snowboarding. The snow level was pretty low and we were all waiting for that perfect powder but concidering the conditions it was a good day of training. I got a lot to think about my position and to be honest everything about my skiing which was good. I felt like an empty canvas going to the first lesson and on the next day I could just fill the holes and start learning. To start doing something from scratch is sometimes easier than trying to correct years and years of doing something wrong. I guess I had a bit hard time accepting to be a beginner again but when the goal is clear it's easy to work hard.

On our day off I used the opportunity to get on my new board, finally! So much fun cruising on fresh snow that we got the night before, almost like surfing. What comes to my skiing it probably wasn't the best idea but for refreshing my brain it was perfect! Or as my roommate would say "lit bro!"

So what are we made of?

Early mornings trying to catch the first bus. Early evenings and not so early evenings. Cheap food and hostel life. 

Fridays in the middle of the week and Sundays whenever we feel like a break. Crazy bus trips up and down the mountain. Beautiful sunrises and windy afternoons. 

Accents that makes our days better and sayings from everywhere, awesome people.

Lot of laughs and good stuff, making every moment unforgettable and living the winter. 

Good and bad skiing and a bit of snowboarding, success and learning.

Sometimes everything goes wrong but we try again, we all have days of confusion and days of understanding. I'd say we're all here for the same reasons and that's why we make a great team. In a few weeks we'll hopefully be wearing those red jackets showing that we did something right.