Let's make an "Epic Promise"

A polar vortex brought us cold weather this morning but it was another blue sky day! My weather app said -22c at the top and our morning meeting consensus was to stick to gondolas. Axel, Finley, Riddley and Soldis were here to brave the conditions. Kinder classes were pretty small today so we teamed up with Elyse and her two charges, Cameron and Kye. Bundled up with additional layers, hand warmers, neck warmers and balaclavas, out we went.

Skis on at Raven’s Nest, our two classes skied the squeaky snow down Crossroads onto Lower Franz’s. Not too icy and we were the only ones on the run. Elyse and her team skied the right side, we took the left. Poles were a nuisance with hand warmers in mitts. We crossed back onto Dave Murray through the bumps at XY junction. The snow cannons were busy so we had first tracks through the sugary snow. The snow spray stuck like glue to my goggles testing my blind skiing skills. :)

At the bottom Chaand checked for any frostbite symptoms. None of his kids were here today, so thanks for helping us. Skis off, we went into Dusty’s Backside for a brief warmup. Back out, kids left their poles where we parked them and up we went for another lap.

Much better turns with no poles! I found a GoPro selfie stick on the run, and as part of our Epic Promise to keep the mountain clean, picked it up and left it on a pole by the gondola outside the learning area… then, into the Minions building for our 11:15 lunch reservation we went.

Axel managed to score two grilled cheese sandwiches and Finley got an extra jam sandwich. Riddley wasn’t impressed with the the mac and cheese, so I swapped my grilled cheese with him. Swamp water today was cranberry juice and lemonade. In the scramble leaving Riddley’s vest went AWOL, and we had to hunt for Soldis’ and Axel’s FLAIKS on the patio… sheesh!

The kids were excited to have a race to the beaver bench on Expressway… that got everyone warmed up again. Axel had helmet “issues”. Elyse and I had frozen fingers trying to put it back together. On the gondola ride up we read Robert Munsch’s “Stephanie’s Pony Tail” then into the Roundhouse for some well deserved hot chocolate. Kye managed to spill a full cup soaking Elyse’s neck warmer… and Axel showed us how easy it was to fix his helmet… :( Back out, my poles had gone AWOL! I hope I left them on the gondola. Another seniors moment… last week I lost my ROBINSKI name tag.

Riddley had a good yard sale on Upper Whiskey Jack doing hockey stop turns to the Chickpea. We skated the flats to Orange Peel with hands behind our backs. Elyse thought that drill was interesting. Good Big-S turns and tucks to Pony Trail. Over the jumps towards Goat’s Gully and regrouping at the entrance to Bear Cub… Dave Murray got the thumbs up. Elyse didn’t want to mention it was a black diamond run to Kye and Cameron. However, all skied it with panache!

Regrouping at Raven’s Nest, we made the decision to ski out. So… Crossroads to Lower Franz’s. It was icier than this morning. Finley took the class through some hard bumps at the side of the run. There were a few splats and one of Soldis’ gloves ended up 30ft below her! We picked up the pace from XY junction on Dave Murray to the bottom almost on time for our 2:45 end-of-day.

I didn’t dare pull the camera out today… so this stop action video from a few years ago is your entertainment for this entry. The boys always seem to have enjoyed it.

All in all, the day was much better than I expected. I did have another brain freeze though, and forgot to give the kids mid season progress cards. I’ll keep them in my jacket for next week.

Next week’s theme is “Show the Love” and from Scotty’s notes: Friendships grow like trees, you need to give them attention, care and love to help them grow strong. What do you like most about your Kinder Friends? Add your message to our tree, so everyone can see.

Free Ride Week

What a cheery group arriving this morning! Maleah had new skis and boots… Scotty let me know that Axel wasn’t going to be with us today. Too bad. :( A table top, small jump and rainbow arch have been set up at the CLC for a little competition with the village and Blackcomb Kinder Kids groups.

"What time is it Mr. Wolf?”

The “wolf pack” was out the door at 9:00am sharp and it was a routine ride up the gondola and Red chair. We regrouped at the light board and spent some time holding pole straps properly. All are getting it but not easy for little hands in big mitts.

We skied into Ego Bowl stopping at the terrain park across from the table top. No one was in the park to attempt it, but I gave a couple of hints: no pizza stances and give a “pop” off the box. The bumps were a little firm into Cougar Trail so, just emphasized “squishing bananas” in turns and Maleah led the pack through all the jumps on the side of the run to the Emerald chair.

Kids demonstrated good carving on Olympic exchanging positions leading the class. Finley took the pack on the last stretch to the entrance at the CLC. The hike up to the magic carpet was a good herring bone and side stepping drill. That sure got everyone warmed up!

We were fortunate to arrive early enough to get one practice run over the box and rainbow arch. By the time we got back up the magic carpet there were village and Blackcomb Kinder teams there. Lots of shouts of encouragement from all the instructors. Yay! Doug’s Creekside class won the first leg of the “Triple Crown” competition.

We skied Crabapple to the village. There were lots of interesting jumps on the side of the run. Bent knees to absorb, hands up and in front resulted in no splats the whole run! We read Robert Munsch’s “Mud Puddle” on the gondola ride up.

Skis on at the Olympic rings, another wack at Roundhouse Roll got a thumbs up. We took the first entrance through the trees today: more fall line skiing on that route. Confidence and skills improving!! To the Chickpea we went: hockey stops, side slipping forward and backwards (falling leaf) then skated the flats to Orange Peel with our hands behind our backs. “Little-S” turns an the left side of Orange Peel then tucked to Dave Murray followed by 360s on the snow to Bear Cub and some big jumps. Maleah, Soldis and Beckett had good splats: experiential learning! From the Roundhouse to Raven’s Nest, it was all drills and the wolf pack didn’t even realize it… :) Skis parked, we were down for our 12:30 lunch.

Back up to the Roundhouse, the clock said 1:50… I had plans of doing a bump run in Green Acres but had to rethink that one because of the time. So… had Finley lead the class as fast as he could to Upper Whiskey Jack. Good job young man! We did Big-S turns to the Chickpea with some behind-and-below tests… much better but should be automatic by now. Skis off at the Chickpea, whiskey jacks checked us out as we enjoyed some dried mangoes. Skis on, we crossed the road to Banana Peel and through the bike chicane above the Tree Fort. The fort is still closed because of the large crevasse. We repeated this morning’s route through Bear Cub. Way to go team: much better control through the jumps and down for our 2:45 sign out. My Ski Tracks app said we did 18.3 km; 3,635 m and 5 runs.

Hard to believe, but we are half way though our season together! I’ll have progress cards for your children next week. Our theme is Let’s make and “Epic Promise”. From Scotty’s notes: the mountains we live in and our community give us so much, it’s time to learn and to give back.