After weeks of training, learning how to ski well, filling my brain with language I never knew I could speak and dreaming about powder days, I finally got to my goal.
In the beginning of the season I didn't truly know what was I doing, where did I get myself into this time. After endless summer I felt like I needed to get some cold weather and jump on my board again. I contacted EA to see what could I do with them, in an hour I got a phone call that made me sign up. Unluckily I couldn't join the snowboarding course but the ski instructor course still had some empty places, why not?
EA organized the start for all of the interns, we had accommodation for the first weeks and social evenings together, go carting, trampolines and lot more.
7years out of skiing didn't stop my plans, I walked into a second hand shop and bought a pair of shit ex-rental skis and even worse boots. Was a good plan until the skier me woke up and I started to find my turns again. I wanted more.
I sold my car to get new boots and somehow I managed to find skis that would take me through my level 2
Busy school holidays and many many long days teaching beginners made me sure about this career. EA helped me to get into this industry with the internship programme and I'm definitely staying. The only way to learn is to do and surely I had days I didn't know how to manage my class but that's only something to learn from.
We moved to coronet peak for the L2 training, wasn't funny at first because we knew the conditions could change a lot and the ice could cover the whole mountain. My trainer always remained us ; your not skiing well enough if the ice is slowing you down " true true, and we started to ski better.
Every day was a learning day, every day I tried to get closer and closer to the level I needed to pass. On the days off I kept working at the Remarkables to earn my lunch and rent. Was always lovely to go back to work, staff room was always full of people I knew asking how's the training going. Lot's of positive vibes.
Exams started with a slushy day, I had a new pair of skis that I got to borrow for the exams. I had skied them once before and they were big boy skis. Didn't perform them too well on the first day.
Next day I skied better and better everyday. I found the strength and the confidence and finally everything paid off. Unluckily we got heaps of rain and more wind during the final exam days so we moved the teaching to a yet hanger. Was interesting to teach advanced parallel turns on concrete but oh well I guess it was memorable.
Final day, rain and wind. Two runs of each demo and my mind was somewhere else I think I've never been that prepared to anything but still I didn't think I would've done my best.
That evening and night was the strangest party so far, everyone was celebrating but only a few of us because of the success. This time no one jumped in the lake, we should've but we'll save it for later. After all it was a long journey, many weeks of training, working and enjoying skiing. Now I'm back in the office teaching more skiers to get better and getting ready for next season in the northern hemisphere. New Zealand has treated me well I arrived here almost a year ago to train horses and look what I'm doing now. Soon is time to pack my bags again and jump on an airplane, don't know the direction quite jet but that only makes this more like me.
