tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26108573163583719362024-03-06T08:24:08.076+00:00Dave Burrows writesDave Burrowshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00025875740376398137noreply@blogger.comBlogger73125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2610857316358371936.post-19904708366264108612013-05-12T13:28:00.000+01:002013-05-12T13:28:03.495+01:00I've movedHello<br />
<br />
I've moved my blog to <a href="http://daveburrowswrites.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">here</a><br />
<br />
See you over there<br />
-x-<br />
<br />
<br />
Dave Burrowshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00025875740376398137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2610857316358371936.post-82765720731206531942013-05-10T12:03:00.000+01:002013-05-10T12:03:40.252+01:00The End
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So last time we spoke, I was back in the teaching groove
after finishing my BASI Level 3 technical and teaching exams.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The season soon wrapped up, with ski teaching
work dropping off in Morgins immediately after Easter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Annoyingly, even now, I can see there is snow
up the top and the mogul field is still there, looking lonely.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6GxdzlfP7z2XTSqm51TNCewquXIMDly3CfmU9xlibm8yZnl47p_ZTqHCVsKxBUfYZZOeo1m7tjo6Tqn_RDXveVc62ggXRf9vGbzAhuM-KGb_X3ZDZsF9-enamyosDk21LgLo0SMmDqNuN/s1600/tux.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6GxdzlfP7z2XTSqm51TNCewquXIMDly3CfmU9xlibm8yZnl47p_ZTqHCVsKxBUfYZZOeo1m7tjo6Tqn_RDXveVc62ggXRf9vGbzAhuM-KGb_X3ZDZsF9-enamyosDk21LgLo0SMmDqNuN/s320/tux.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">above the clouds in Tux and a rare pic of me skiing (complete with spear throwing pole plant)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Easter was quite busy this year in Morgins, probably due to
Easter actually being at a reasonable time of the year when there was still
snow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The first season I was here,
Easter fell at the end of April and the resort was already shut by then!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So now all of the lifties in Morgins are happy again because
they can finally get their cows out of the shed and get on with their main
summer profession, farming.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>May has been
a little disappointing so far, in that it has rained more or less
constantly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t know why I am
surprised because it always rains for a month in May and then we get on with a
long hot summer from June.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I started my summer job in the second week of April this
year, meaning no break between the ski season and the summer football
season.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After a month of it now, I’m
fully back in the groove and playing football for myself 3 nights a week, in a
vain attempt to get fit and fight my aging body.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I suppose I did have a little break between the ski season
and the football season by having to go to the Hintertux Glacier in Austria for
the BASI Level 3 Mountain safety course.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>For various reasons, I wasn’t looking forward to this course much but
mainly because of the tales I had heard from other people about having to walk
up mountains, in order to ski back down them again. For me, this is something that
I just have absolutely no interest in, my preference is to use the lift that
are there for your convenience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When I
see people skinning up the mountain, I am normally thinking ‘weirdo’ in my
head. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">However, I guess the point of the BASI system is to
challenge you to become a more rounded skier and so I tried to be positive and
get stuck in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The course itself was very
different to your standard BASI course in that it was run by a mountain guide
from Chamonix, Dave Cummins.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dave didn’t
appear to be hung up at all on our skiing level; he was more into the walking
up stuff and mountain navigation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That
said, he did ask us for ski tips during the week and he was definitely skiing
better at the end of the week than the start!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The course covered a lot and I enjoyed the bits I was
expecting to enjoy, namely learning more about the snow pack and avalanches, navigation,
working with transceivers and skiing off-piste.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Luckily for me, because the snow conditions over the week deteriorated due
to the heat, we didn’t end up doing that much walking up but I got a feel for
what it was all about and getting away from the crowds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As part of my level 4, I have to go and do 6
days of touring anyway, so I’m going to have to learn to love it I guess.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Another bonus of the week was skiing again with my good
buddy <a href="http://www.freezefestival.com/modal/athlete_profile/640" target="_blank">George Walton</a></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">,
pro skier and all round good guy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’d
seen George piste skiing in my Level 3 tech exam but it’s clear that his
passion is off-piste and considering we spent most of the week ripping about
hunting fresh or skiable powder and spring snow, his skills were on show and a
pleasure to watch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHccAOgA-4JOd2PatM7BAyIJLJgiF6SNKALGle4Wsal7LFhgge4bKXh_mr_EwanoJZmZCxzBEZGUFPBN16YPSShbpQgUynWIM3o4G4UaZULn1iAzYXXq6MqAHFeMOLEGzM6HKK5pcJKHWb/s1600/walton.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHccAOgA-4JOd2PatM7BAyIJLJgiF6SNKALGle4Wsal7LFhgge4bKXh_mr_EwanoJZmZCxzBEZGUFPBN16YPSShbpQgUynWIM3o4G4UaZULn1iAzYXXq6MqAHFeMOLEGzM6HKK5pcJKHWb/s320/walton.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Georgy rock jibber</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><br />So at the end of 6 days, another course was passed and that
only leaves me now with 1 course left until I get my full BASI Level 3 ISIA
stamp.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The exam I’ve got left is the Common
Theory which you have to go to Scotland to do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Everyone that I have spoken to says that this course is a dull one as it
is classroom based but I’m determined to be positive about it, not least
because the theory side of skiing is something I am hugely interested in.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So summer starts now, I need to get fit and have a
determined think about whether I go forward to the BASI Level 4 or not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wrote down a pros and cons list as to
whether I should, which came out 13 for and 4 against (is it wrong that a lot
of the 13 pros were to stick it to people who told me I was crap at skiing??)
so I suppose I had better get on with planning which modules to start training
for next season.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m sure one of those
will be to start going to Giant Slalom race camps in the summer so no doubt I’ll
have a few summer blogs to add too.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">See you soon.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
Dave Burrowshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00025875740376398137noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2610857316358371936.post-45891284857972367632013-03-25T17:31:00.002+00:002013-04-01T21:04:00.646+01:00Back at the coalface<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I only just realised that the last time I
blogged was 6 Feb.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since then, I have
been teaching non-stop for 4-weeks, followed up by 2-weeks of BASI level-3
exams.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Looking at my calendar, today is
the first time since the start of February that I’ve been off skis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At the moment, there isn’t a part of me that
doesn’t ache.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">celebrating L4 exams </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The way that the English speaking work has come in this year
(all in one long period of consecutive weeks) meant that I didn’t really have
that much time for ski training in preparation for my Level-3 exams.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They only way that I could practice was to
snatch a few runs after work with Ben, my mate at the ski school, who was also
due to take his level-4 exams.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So after
work we would go for a quick hour and ski-2 runs of short turns, 2-runs of
long turns and 2-runs of bumps.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I guess
this made for focused and precise training as we both passed our exams! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Bens success is a bigger achievement than mine, as the technical
level-4 exam is the highest one in the BASI system and not many people get to
that level (there are only something like 350 full BASI level 4 skiers in the
system).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ben won’t mind me saying this
but up until we started training, he was skiing shit but he is kind of
mercurial and he obviously pulled enough performance out to impress the right
people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I also think that he got an
examiner that appreciated the scruffy, womanising, drinking model of ski
instructor that he is..</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The week after, I went to my own technical skiing exam.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I got lucky with my group and there were some
excellent skiers in my group who very much dragged the group onwards and
upwards, especially in the moguls which you may remember I was not happy with.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We also had an excellent trainer, a guy called
Andi McCann, who knew an incredible amount about how the body worked and how to
get the best out of it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The low pass rate of 7/16 on the level-3 course reflected
that the exams become tougher at this level.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Personally, I didn’t feel THAT challenged (which is going to sound
horribly arrogant) and this gives me confidence to see how far I can take my
skiing.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDOS2g4Vp5vL5PMa41YhWFKYaTExG7liu06MOvbzvl95-R7JeXqkrHYpWowWiNSMxBQgmQcfPsOBgJaCHI0Xss0fwpQ_yuMbMR5hL00vf9ThUaHJ4zxR9jWRpDaLCR4xnC-rePEz4g6gVj/s1600/Photo0015.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDOS2g4Vp5vL5PMa41YhWFKYaTExG7liu06MOvbzvl95-R7JeXqkrHYpWowWiNSMxBQgmQcfPsOBgJaCHI0Xss0fwpQ_yuMbMR5hL00vf9ThUaHJ4zxR9jWRpDaLCR4xnC-rePEz4g6gVj/s320/Photo0015.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">destressing during the L3 teach</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Following a huge hangover on the Saturday morning, the
following week was the level-3 teaching exam, which again was challenging.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had to teach our peers during this week and I felt that a lot of people mistook doing drills
as teaching and didn’t really understand enough about the subject they were
teaching to teach it well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This really showed up at times
during the week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Again, I felt confident
on this exam and only had to teach 4-sessions during the week and got given
Friday off.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The standard again was a
fairly high bar, with 10/15 passing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> (For those of you that I know who will read this on FB or whatever, I'm not trying to be a prick, I'm just being honest.)</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Following another exam success<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>hangover, we are back into the real world of
teaching, a far cry from the high speed larking about of the last two
weeks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>Today I had 17-beginners
scattered around the magic carpet in the fog…<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span><br />Dave Burrowshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00025875740376398137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2610857316358371936.post-61312814825250430582013-02-06T14:44:00.002+00:002013-02-06T14:51:55.363+00:00Training days<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Unless you are interested to hear me talk about the ski
training that I have been doing more or less constantly since mid-January, I’m
afraid you might find this blog entry a little boring.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ll try to jazz it up as best I can though.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXr17vfxUKoWLpAmk7JkXSmtS2ZqArGpt4SxQGvqHBJt87GjLr3Jo96HwAeTo30vGxu7LDsySmgufrYx_3Yx4fkURNoyt0qHune4v_BxUYYpB4eW-ckdAC89NJRVyryyH7dbZx_BRpDBy6/s1600/Photo0408.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXr17vfxUKoWLpAmk7JkXSmtS2ZqArGpt4SxQGvqHBJt87GjLr3Jo96HwAeTo30vGxu7LDsySmgufrYx_3Yx4fkURNoyt0qHune4v_BxUYYpB4eW-ckdAC89NJRVyryyH7dbZx_BRpDBy6/s320/Photo0408.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">GS training in the rain = dead phone</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So last time we spoke, I was off to see where I stood
amongst my peers on a BASI ISIA level 3 training course in Morzine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The good news is that I seem to be in a good
place, with all of my skiing in fairly decent order with the exception of my
kryptonite, mogul skiing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">For those of you that have never been on an instructor
training course before, there is an awful lot of standing about discussing
theory, which was tough going on the feet when the temperatures over there were
down to -15 at one point.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(I discovered
mid-week that if you put gaffer tape over the seams of your boots, it makes
them slightly warmer.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is also
lots of work on short and long turns, getting right down into the tiniest
details of technique, things such as the precision that you load your new
turning ski with etc etc.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">For me, things went well for the first couple of days when
we did lots of work on long turns and my personal favourite, short turns but I
suppose that it was inevitable that at some point we had to head to what Jaz
(our trainer) described as ‘the best bumps run in the world’.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is The Renard, which is a black bumps
run just to the left as you ride up on the Chaux des Rosees lift in the Pre La
Joux area of Chatel.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So this was my weak point and I had a trainer watching who I
know is likely to be one of the assessors on my actual exam.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I tried my hardest on that afternoon, not
really helped by some terrible visibility but despite my worries and
frustrations, I actually managed to put in a very slow looking but neat video
run.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This gave me some confidence but I
knew then that I needed to ski bumps for a month before my exam, a thought that
was echoed by the trainer.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So, the following week, I was booked on another training
course with BASS in Chatel run by a guy called Peter Kuwall (PK).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My mate and fellow ski instructor Ben really
rates PK as a trainer having spent 8-weeks with him in New Zealand two summers
ago, so when PK asked us what we wanted to work on, I said, ‘I need to work out
how to ski bumps and fast’.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So on day 2
we arrived in the bumps and PK basically told me that my approach to bumps
skiing was probably wrong tactically and set about sorting me out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Lo and behold, 2 hours later and another half day of bumps
skiing later,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am much more confident
in what I am doing and more familiar with being in that environment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We shot some more video and it looks visually
better, if still pretty gentle!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">As if that wasn’t enough, another quiet mid-season week
means that I’m off for some afternoons of Giant Slalom training this week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is with a view to getting more familiar
with racing in gates skiing which I’m going to have to do more of in order to
work towards level 4 skiing.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’ll let you know how it goes but it may be some time as we
are almost into the madness of half term and all that brings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s starting to get busier here in Chatel
and it won’t be long before the masses arrive.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
-x-<br />
<br />
online <a href="http://maddogski.com/news-and-blogs/training-days" target="_blank">here</a>Dave Burrowshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00025875740376398137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2610857316358371936.post-46970206440798262262013-01-11T16:01:00.004+00:002013-01-11T16:15:38.930+00:00Well busy mate<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It’s been over a month since I blogged, what with friends and
family coming to visit, teaching at Christmas and New Year and some training, I’ve
not had a moment to sit down and write.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This is my first day off skis since the 22 December.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">sorry for picture repetition but the stupid blogger system isn't letting me upload new photos. get it sorted.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">First up, friends coming to visit and the default thing for
the last few years has been that we all get drunk and generally destroy ourselves
for 5-days then everyone goes home. Much to my surprise, things have actually
changed amongst my circle of mates from back home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Cheeko is half the size he used to be because
he is training to do the London Marathon, Hughsey seems to have lost his
drinking ability because he is happily in love with his new girlfriend and
Stavros was one flight away from New Zealand, never to be seen again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Sometimes, change is good.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Once we got rid of those guys, my Mother-in-law came to
visit at Christmas, which was a very pleasant time for Mrs Burrows. She misses her family at this time of year and it was good that she came here to see where and how we live. Personally, I didn't see her much because I was too busy teaching
skiing in the rain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Teaching in the rain
is one of the more miserable parts of Christmas week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It always rains at Christmas and every year
we act surprised.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There cannot be many
more contradictory sights in the world than ego filled ski instructors, especially the new ones who think they are slightly above fighter pilots in the ego standings, soaked
through from a day skiing in the rain.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">New Year passed with the usual armageddon of people setting
fire to their money through the medium of fireworks and a shivering, frightened
sheepdog under the bed, followed by a smattering of lessons that brought us to this
week where my year really gets going.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">This year I introduced to the ski school another instructor
Al, who I met on a course about 2-years ago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Al is almost all the way through the British BASI system, with only one
exam left before he gets his Level-4 and the full ‘Carte Pro’ which allows you
to work anywhere in Europe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Al’s been
quite inspirational to me and I’m now focused on seeing how far I can go in the
system, including the dreaded European Speed Test.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So in contrast to last year, where I would just teach and
ski straight home, I’m now looking to finish off all of my level-3 ski modules this
season, and start working towards level-4 myself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After teaching now, I’m now putting in a
couple of hours a day training by myself or with people better than me (more or
less everyone then..) and noting down discoveries in a little
notebook.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Next week I’m off to a
training week in Morzine to see where I stand in relation to the level-3
standard and see what I’m up against in terms of the other people on the
course. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So far, the less drinking more skiing thing is working (apart
from a couple of non-graceful falls from the wagon) so let’s see if I can keep
this focus up and have a good couple of weeks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I’ll let you know how I get on when I get back.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
-x-Dave Burrowshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00025875740376398137noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2610857316358371936.post-63170709756630225202012-12-04T15:51:00.000+00:002012-12-04T15:51:24.367+00:00Winter is here at last
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So it’s dumping down outside, the snowploughs can’t keep up
with the volume of snow that’s falling and I haven’t seen sunshine for about a
week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Winter has arrived at last.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Last year, I was a little apprehensive about the arrival of
winter after a long hot summer and very dry autumn.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This year has been very different with much
more rain but the arrival of winter came on the same week and so the cycle of
the seasons, more noticeable living here in the mountains, continues.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3FF2bdld03AJPTHjS7_5Vdi-1gQr-8CYQTnhTM-0DajAgS33VKrrLASoGSDQyuYnoAYltRBsp6hdTy9RRKAZyaVBf2NZr2Mviq9FO0SyvLzjlYR6GIM8algSo2EnYPdbmR2y31HuUr3xO/s1600/Photo0298.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3FF2bdld03AJPTHjS7_5Vdi-1gQr-8CYQTnhTM-0DajAgS33VKrrLASoGSDQyuYnoAYltRBsp6hdTy9RRKAZyaVBf2NZr2Mviq9FO0SyvLzjlYR6GIM8algSo2EnYPdbmR2y31HuUr3xO/s320/Photo0298.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">a quick pit stop for a photo on my commute to work</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">One of the things bothering me last year was worrying about
whether I would remember how to ski. So this year, myself and a couple of the
guys went to Saas Fee as soon as they had more runs than just the glacier open
and went for what is now becoming a traditional season opener.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had a great day, getting up early in the
miserable rain of Chatel and driving for 90-minutes towards a patch of blue sky
that gradually opened up into a bluebird day of great skiing.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">All fears of not remembering were gone within 10 seconds and
whilst my personal technique on the day left something to be desired, I enjoyed
myself and tried not to think of anything technical.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just skiing for the love of it.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I was also breaking in some new kit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I currently have a spare room full of stuff
that replaces old worn out kit or shiny new stuff that is of course, essential
to my very existence…<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>New stuff for this
season includes a full NTN Telemark set up on <a href="http://whitedotskis.com/" target="_blank">WhiteDot</a> One skis (they look so
cool, cannot wait to try these), new race boots, new teaching skis, helmet and
poles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is the one similarity that
skiing has with cricket, a former passion of mine back home, you get to have
loads of equipment that you can fuss over, discuss at length and banter about.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5KdiodCl9cuba9dVxKIQPnT4PVaZ-sF5Q5qOt5MVvWX0nJ0bQAx0A37KF5nGIUCqYxNMIsPj3EwbuYJZs0xNOH-amUk5a1P0ej10W0bISEAYPLRn4TanEOJa-sV1Cd41HyEAuClSiHe_p/s1600/Photo0301.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5KdiodCl9cuba9dVxKIQPnT4PVaZ-sF5Q5qOt5MVvWX0nJ0bQAx0A37KF5nGIUCqYxNMIsPj3EwbuYJZs0xNOH-amUk5a1P0ej10W0bISEAYPLRn4TanEOJa-sV1Cd41HyEAuClSiHe_p/s320/Photo0301.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">new telemark set up - NTN on Whitedot One's</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The deluge of fresh snow means that everyone and their dog wants
to go skiing on Saturday when the lifts open.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This means I’m working as of Saturday when the kids from one of the
International Schools in the valley come up to bomb about in the fresh
snow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After that on Sunday, the first
collective week starts and then we are into the season for real.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">To add to a hectic start, I’ve got Cheeko, Hughsey and
Stavros arriving, as well as Mrs Burrows’ friend Emma, all on the 15
December.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All are looking to get smashed
for 4-days and each one of them is looking for an opportunity to take me
down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have plan to combat them, the
first part of which was to find them an apartment in the same block as ours but
not actually in my place so they can disturb each other and not us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is a good place to start.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Plans for this season include a whole bunch of training for
my Level 3 ski exams in March, less hangovers and more skiing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ll let you know how I get on.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">-x-<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
Dave Burrowshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00025875740376398137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2610857316358371936.post-70255778524815283492012-10-01T20:51:00.000+01:002012-10-01T21:02:03.000+01:00'So, what do you do in the summer?'<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Probably the most common question that I get asked during
the winter season, be it in my capacity as a ski instructor or sometime
transfer driver to the airport is, ‘So, what do you do in summer?’.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGRvO_1QyRzzWNIcnKT6SFUp5DqaGpQnrHO6Zvvi2aQEq-D58WvfEwIH37R5BqY-hxnqZBqyBCIL-vOex7L4CsSqwtffmA5_ZZV8hmkZhkYR21fNPoeoLBoP-qnRswCiSaT2gXDMQbsO3L/s1600/lifes+a+beach.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGRvO_1QyRzzWNIcnKT6SFUp5DqaGpQnrHO6Zvvi2aQEq-D58WvfEwIH37R5BqY-hxnqZBqyBCIL-vOex7L4CsSqwtffmA5_ZZV8hmkZhkYR21fNPoeoLBoP-qnRswCiSaT2gXDMQbsO3L/s320/lifes+a+beach.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">life's a beach</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">This is normally the second or third question after the two other
guaranteed questions, being ‘What’s the snow like?’ (cold, white, attached to
the mountain) and ‘How long will it take to get to Chatel?’ (as long as it
takes, depends on whether you want me to drive like I am supposed to or if I
can drive like I’ve got a 74 number plate, which you <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">really</i> won’t like).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So I thought I’d write a blog about what I’ve done since the
ski season ended and for something to write about since I haven’t written
anything since April.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Non-ski season, I am a football coach and my 8 month off
season started with a week of Easter football camps and progressed into various
after-school coaching programs and summer camps.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are now into the after-school coaching
autumn season, with added rain, cloud, cold and general crappy weather.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">This year, after meeting another particularly good coach who
has joined the company that I work for, I have changed my approach to
coaching.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have realised that much of
the work that I did last year, although fun, wasn’t that constructive in making
kids better at football.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Trying to put
myself in the shoes of a parent, I figured if they are going to pay X to come
and have me coach them, then they should be a lot better at the end than when
they started.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even the ones who don’t
really want to be there.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I now work on a similar basis to skiing, with a lot of
questioning/discovery led approaches and a gradual build-up of skills in a particular
set order, which makes for development of individual football skills.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At the age group that we coach, 5-11
normally, individual skills are hugely important.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Team play etc comes after in development but
if you can’t do what you want with the ball, you’ll never get anywhere in the
game itself.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Apart from this, I’ve been on holiday twice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once on Danny’s stag do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>18 blokes go to Ibiza – can’t really tell you
anymore about that but I had two amazing nights, one at Defected at Pacha and
the usual Space on Sunday. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The highlight
of the Space night (apart from the eternity that we spent ensuring that
everyone was ‘ready’ to go to Space on Bora Bora sodding Beach – never again
Dan) was seeing one of my favourite DJ's Deetron live and the other DJ who dropped a Dr Dre track into the
middle of his set at about 4am.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Dan won't remember this though as he was having his face painted as a tiger at the time.</span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The second holiday was a very pleasant 3 days that I grabbed
with Mrs Burrows to Italy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We went back
to the place that we went on honeymoon, Cesenatico on the Adriatic coast and
spent a couple of days on the beach and 3 nights eating in lovely Italian
restaurants.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was great and it was driveable from Chatel in about 7-hours.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It’s close enough that we are considering renting an apartment there
next summer for a month and just chilling by the beach.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Getting out of the Chatel goldfish bowl for a
while.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">In an effort to offset the epic drinking that counts for the
summer here, I’ve been helping a mate out who has been landscaping on an
amazing Chalet up at 2000m above Les Crosets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It’s interesting trying to do a day’s work at that altitude because if
you don’t keep yourself fed and watered properly, you start making silly
mistakes due to the effects of the height.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Also, it’s tough trying to put a decent shift of work in at 2000m
and fatigue certainly was setting in at 8 hours + a day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whether this was just me being 35 years old
and not used to manual labour after my previous life in suits and offices or
the work being genuinely hard, I am unsure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Anyway, we’ve got a break now until November so I can rest up.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">As an aside on the subject of epic drinking, I got so drunk
the other day at a wedding, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I seem to
have actually scared myself into soberness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I haven’t had a beer for about a week and a half now and the worst bit
about it (apart from the rather worrying fact that this is about the longest it’s
been since I started drinking at 15) is that I’m starting to feel quite
good.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am even considering seeing how
long into October I can go for without.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The next thing you know I’ll be finding god.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’m not missing the hangovers though..<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
Dave Burrowshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00025875740376398137noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2610857316358371936.post-83382682998364983992012-04-07T13:33:00.000+01:002012-04-07T13:33:26.251+01:00Teletastic<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Last season I ended the winter on a high note, passing the first module of my BASI Level 3 ISIA qualification.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A year on and I’m 4 modules in, having just ended this winter passing my Second Discipline module.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVBJkhUcW6Kb6IERvwa_IdDLQCYuf_kcdSdsb3To5ALlUr6wzhYH0I90i3BJnqKof4ZJdPOAtOuao5cGCdfkJ1XgJuG0TO9vZthXGRPQLJvdqMBzwuezH4hSmGhs9OLRyLjTMhNhyphenhyphenypo3V/s1600/tele1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="317" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVBJkhUcW6Kb6IERvwa_IdDLQCYuf_kcdSdsb3To5ALlUr6wzhYH0I90i3BJnqKof4ZJdPOAtOuao5cGCdfkJ1XgJuG0TO9vZthXGRPQLJvdqMBzwuezH4hSmGhs9OLRyLjTMhNhyphenhyphenypo3V/s320/tele1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The Second Discipline is to make you a more rounded ski instructor I guess, showing that you are adaptable and that you don’t only just teach skiing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The problem that now have is that for my second discipline, I chose Telemark skiing and I think I’m in love with it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I genuinely think I may have found something that I can work on for years to come and I know what I’ll be doing on my days off next season.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">For those of you who don’t know what Telemark skiing is, have a look at the above picture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Where a regular ski boot attaches to the ski at the front and rear of the boot, the Telemark ski is only attached at the front.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This leads to a way of skiing that is completely different to regular Alpine skiing.<o:p></o:p></span></div><span style="font-family: Calibri;">It’s difficult to describe the sensation but the balance points, the way in which you use the skis, the possible different ways of skiing – in fact everything – is different.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s also as cool as it looks – the rhythm<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>of the turns are completely different to Alpine skiing and it feels really free.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Those that saw us in Les Gets on Friday last week would have had a real visual treat as 11 Telemarkers of varying ability and style were tearing around the pistes.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The end of the season is fast approaching with Morgins shutting on the 15 April and end of season parties in full effect.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’ve had all of the live music on the pistes parties in the Portes du Soleil, Retro ski day in Chatel and the annual beer race in the Lior D’Or dutch bar.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I didn’t go to the beer race as I had to work the next day and I didn’t want to get roped in but I heard it was messy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They usually have a hose on hand to wash the vomit down the street….<o:p></o:p></span></div><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The end of the ski season means also it’s time to replace or retire a load of equipment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The season is hard on skis that are constantly being skied over by kids, boots that are flexed into submission by bend the knees demos and poles bent through too much leaning on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sadly, I’m retiring my Head teaching skis this year which have served me well for two and a half seasons and looking to replace them with new teaching skis, race boots, telemark boots and bindings and googles.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We’ve got a school group here this week for what looks to be the final weeks serious work of the season and it’s supposed to rain all this week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Teaching skiing in the rain is the ultimate misery but we are all a bit demob happy after a bumper season so everyone is making the best of it.<o:p></o:p></span>Dave Burrowshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00025875740376398137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2610857316358371936.post-33201634336324179542012-03-21T10:10:00.000+00:002012-03-21T10:10:16.765+00:00At last, a rest.<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">It’s been a while since I last blogged, mainly due to how busy it’s been at the ski school during the school holidays.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m looking at the list of days worked here in front of me and tomorrow will be my first day off snow for ages and I’ve had 5 days off from teaching since the start of February.</span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG7InbcQRQJAbdE7ELtwefLB3FihmaQzUwyIwp8v1NyJ3Ax-F-ynWbhavt9irCuX7qUjs2bnrO62CArq6oVSfLdVaXMYY_HnDKDgQHM4GFiK1WRxgoEiHNyUEJXTTF4wk6BL9MlclHgDb3/s1600/IMAG0008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG7InbcQRQJAbdE7ELtwefLB3FihmaQzUwyIwp8v1NyJ3Ax-F-ynWbhavt9irCuX7qUjs2bnrO62CArq6oVSfLdVaXMYY_HnDKDgQHM4GFiK1WRxgoEiHNyUEJXTTF4wk6BL9MlclHgDb3/s320/IMAG0008.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">get your lunge on</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><br />
This is a massive volume in comparison to last year and I’ve already gone way past the total amount of hours worked last year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is great from an earnings and experience point of view but it’s taken a toll on my body and ski technique.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Trying to balance a winter lifestyle built around après ski along with constant skiing means unexpected leg cramps, an aching Achilles and ski equipment that is starting to break down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">An unexpected bonus of this bumper ski season was my first proper week teaching in French in the ski collective groups in the middle of the Swiss school holidays.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This was a little unexpected but once I got into the swing of things it was pretty straightforward.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The important thing for me was that once I learned the right phrase for the thing I wanted, was to write it down that night to ensure I don’t forget it for next time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m pleased that the ski school trusted me with it and the kids I taught had a good time.<o:p></o:p></span></div><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I thought I might get a rest at the end of the holidays but in early March, Cheeko and Hughsey from home came visiting and brought with them their usual week of drinking and carnage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You know well enough by now what happens when they come here but this time, they discovered the Dutch après ski bar in Chatel and bars in the sunshine up the mountain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My leg cramps got worse that week…<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’ve been practicing my telemarking skills for the BASI level 1 telemark course that I have next week (see pic) which was interesting in the mogul slush conditions this week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Myself and a friend even resorted to having a lesson from someone who knew what they were doing, just to get the technical knowledge that I needed to square this new technique in my head.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It’s started snowing big again today in the Portes du Soleil, laying a new layer of snow over bumpy slush and mogulled pistes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The real question I suppose is whether I will stick to my plan for a day off or be tempted up the hill for some fresh tracks…</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">online <a href="http://maddogski.com/news-and-blogs/bumper-ski-season-chatel-dave-burrows" target="_blank">here<o:p></o:p></a></span>Dave Burrowshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00025875740376398137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2610857316358371936.post-11420674453625856322012-02-11T11:45:00.000+00:002012-02-11T11:45:03.040+00:00and so it begins..<span style="font-family: Calibri;">They’ve arrived.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I walked out of the apartment this morning and scene of French chaos greets me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Three cars with their bonnets open and their owners slipping about on the ice, juggling with jump leads.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Another car owner faffing about with bits of cardboard, trying to drive directly up a sheet ice slope without snow tyres.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Another guy taking relentless run ups trying to drive out of said iced up driveway, making it even more slippery in the process.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Torville and Dean could skate on our driveway at the moment.<o:p></o:p></span></div><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Add this all to the herd of elephants that have apparently moved in above me and the Dutch drinking songs being sung at 1am this morning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Half term is here.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXWgiSwVcwAZ29s2Q6QUESRPSdjLDKjVt9ZC6P1rrRHs_oLstP0JQH6Ynk0Fr2Rawb-zI6j72EWJ4MCu9RnR8llnAnGfQ-RF9VqlRfEZp5aWKQc3Q5B0fwGQleRTWvUHW8-HbXbqguR1O8/s1600/Photo0109.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXWgiSwVcwAZ29s2Q6QUESRPSdjLDKjVt9ZC6P1rrRHs_oLstP0JQH6Ynk0Fr2Rawb-zI6j72EWJ4MCu9RnR8llnAnGfQ-RF9VqlRfEZp5aWKQc3Q5B0fwGQleRTWvUHW8-HbXbqguR1O8/s320/Photo0109.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chatel sunset captured from Le Sherpa.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">To be fair to the tourists that are abandoning cars all over Chatel at the moment, it was -18 degrees this morning and La Smart car only just started, which is an improvement on last week when the temperatures dipped into the minus twenties.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At -25 degrees, it was completely not interested and had to be jump started every day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Winters here are brutal on cars.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Reliability and function are paramount in choosing a car to live with all year round.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s due to snow next week too which will be very interesting because the village is salting the roads much less than in previous years which will mean epic amounts of faffing about which snowchains.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The extreme cold is getting to the humans too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I skied to work the other day because the car refused to start.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Normally, skiing to work is a nice thing and gets you nicely prepared for the day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, -28 degrees at the top of the Morclan lift in Super Chatel was something else.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It took an hour for my hands to start feeling normal again after that.<o:p></o:p></span></div><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I nipped down to Monthey yesterday and picked myself up a thin down jacket which hopefully is going to keep me warmer and not make me look too fat, as well as investing in two oversized wooly snoods at H&M for going to the pub use.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Work starts in earnest tomorrow and the ski school is stacked out with work for the next 3 weeks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’ve had to draft in extra instructors to cope with the demand which is a change from last year when we were all scrapping for work.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I thought I’d get this blog in early because the chances are that I won’t be able to for the next few weeks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>See you in March. x<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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</div>Dave Burrowshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00025875740376398137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2610857316358371936.post-25905341586228772852012-02-03T18:27:00.000+00:002012-02-03T18:27:51.993+00:00Missed powder days and domestic crap.<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Is missing a powder day a crime?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some would say yes but I guess on some days, it’s a question of priorities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHR4Co4wZoHPSbATMC325v1taUXFzTu-QQMQWIFpCN0mWbpShAYnkevjnzQsPdKsJyogQIdQClVRFwAiU1P8lgvILpg1zh931bi9fHzdSeUia8bGzG_4aCihyphenhyphenkcglszvFk3tn3bJzBWQTL/s1600/Photo0119.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHR4Co4wZoHPSbATMC325v1taUXFzTu-QQMQWIFpCN0mWbpShAYnkevjnzQsPdKsJyogQIdQClVRFwAiU1P8lgvILpg1zh931bi9fHzdSeUia8bGzG_4aCihyphenhyphenkcglszvFk3tn3bJzBWQTL/s320/Photo0119.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Dents du Midi from the top of Super Chatel</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">When your estate agent from the UK rings you up while you’re riding a chairlift and tells you that he’s sold your house, I guess it’s inevitable that you spend the next day doing paperwork concerned with getting rid of the millstone around your neck that is your remaining link to the UK.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">So I’m sitting here looking at all the pretty pictures on Facebook of people ‘shredding’ the pow in the Portes du Soleil, with comments like ‘kerpow’, ‘faceshots’, ‘epic’ and various other words that are code for people falling on their face in the deep stuff.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I console myself that I’m getting something productive done while I filling in boring forms and questionnaires concerning where the water meter is on a house 700 miles away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Grrr.<o:p></o:p></span></div><span style="font-family: Calibri;">It’s a funny time of the season at the moment, with not much teaching work around and the village seems to be taking a breather before next week when the true winter madness of half term in Europe gets under way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m personally taking this time to rest up and fix my aching back and knees which are taking a bit of a hammering this year, through better ski levels of clients and endless powder days.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I had probably one of my best ever days as an instructor yesterday when I was looking after one of the race groups for St George’s International School who had come to Morgins to participate in an International Schools race.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The group I had were the Category C girls and I knew many of them from coaching football at the school in the summer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We did all of the racing in the morning and our inspection runs of the GS course were mainly exercises in clearing a foot of fresh powder off of the course.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My group came third in the team event but the real fun started in the afternoon when we had time to free ski in powder so deep it was over my knees.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We skied everywhere and did a bit of everything from open powder fields to trees and bumps and I can genuinely say it was one of the best days I’ve had on the mountain ever.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Right, I’m off to soak myself in a hot bath and try not to feel guilty at wasting yet another powder day in the Portes du Soleil.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
Online here - <a href="http://maddogski.com/news-and-blogs/when-real-life-gets-way" target="_blank">http://maddogski.com/news-and-blogs/when-real-life-gets-way</a><br />
<br />
-x-Dave Burrowshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00025875740376398137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2610857316358371936.post-22317470634335377912012-01-20T16:57:00.000+00:002012-01-20T16:57:38.695+00:00Ghosts, Injuries, Illness and pow.<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p>Dear Blog</o:p></span></div><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’m sorry that I’ve not had time to write.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unfortunately, I’ve been working more or less non-stop since the last time I wrote and when I finally do have a week off to myself (such as this week), a load of blokes that I used to work with have come here for a lads weekend, so I’ve had to show them around and get drunk every night.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><br />
The really curious thing about these ghosts from my past is that at some point in the last few days, more or less all of them have asked me about how difficult it is to live out here and aren’t I brave for making the big leap into the unknown and leaving the rat race behind. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Frankly, judging by the reports that I am hearing on how crap life is in the commercial property finance sector, I’m glad I did make the big leap.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There seems to be a crushing pressure on most of these guys that wasn’t there the last time I saw them and I guess life in the UK is as tough as reported.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Still, it’s nice to see them all again and it’s been nice to ski socially and to be able to ski at a fairly leisurely pace, especially as I seem to have been injured and/or ill for the last month.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><br />
What a lot of people don’t see when they sign up for ski lessons is that half the time, the person behind the goggles is dosed up on Nurofen or skiing around with one working leg or fighting off the latest seasonnaire cold that is going around.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">For the last few days, I’ve been trying to demo good skiing technique with a lower back that is more or less locked solid and sending shooting pains down my thigh.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Last week, I was fighting off what according to Wikipedia was Measles but my Mum said I probably had it as a kid so apparently it was just a rash then Mum…</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Before I was ill and injured, I had a chance to ski for a day with my new best powder day buddy Nico (interviewed previously by me for MDS).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He’s pushing me to do bigger, better, faster things on powder days and I’m surprising myself with what I can do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I draw the line a cliff drops and stuff as I have work to do but it’s nice to go out and be shown the best secret spots.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This does mean that I’ve had to equip myself with all the avalanche kit because I don’t feel safe venturing to some of the places we are going without.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I think Nico likes me being there too as I can just about keep up and I’m happy to film him for his sponsors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I attach a clip of some of the January conditions in the Portes du Soleil.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyEFPQ2jLFJ-Q0z1-KtwHB8JZg4BdmilpPE1QeUPM3QkN8nGP9JumzXfw7UH39YRQeeeo1yCxPvZ8SkBBptqQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">It’s dumping down again here tonight, with a good 20cms already fallen today and big snow predicted overnight and into the weekend.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>Time to rest up and dust down the fat skis.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> -x-</span></o:p></div>Dave Burrowshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00025875740376398137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2610857316358371936.post-27444460389813496242011-12-29T18:58:00.001+00:002011-12-29T19:01:42.361+00:00Christmas in the Alps<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It’s a funny thing being out here in the Alps at Christmas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Christmas isn’t generally celebrated by a day of complete shutdown like it is in the UK.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The French and Swiss normally have a big family meal on Christmas Eve and then spend their Christmas Day either working or skiing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Both myself and Mrs Burrows were working on Christmas day so it passed as a bit of a non-event.</span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnflNgjRZ41ED3eO_zFRvDJrQ3v5H7DFePUSI7PyV2SX7HsK5-DhmYrZss1VgifXNXguGyymY2_wjl4AVRpL0U8N3WwClJ0D2cRxmpk9N36xnYcdG7S0SIUbYxS6weogxrqg3H3tD7er1Q/s1600/Photo0100.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnflNgjRZ41ED3eO_zFRvDJrQ3v5H7DFePUSI7PyV2SX7HsK5-DhmYrZss1VgifXNXguGyymY2_wjl4AVRpL0U8N3WwClJ0D2cRxmpk9N36xnYcdG7S0SIUbYxS6weogxrqg3H3tD7er1Q/s320/Photo0100.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">better than last year</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I had planned to cook Mrs Burrows a nice breakfast and open presents in front of a roaring electric heater but in fact, the phone rang the night before and I found myself basking in the sunshine at the top of the ski lift in Morgins, waiting for my client to turn up for a 2 hour private lesson on Christmas day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a great lesson, a parallel level skier wanting technical advice on how to improve.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is quite a rare lesson to get (the usual is debutants) so it more than made up for not being able to rip open wrapping paper!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The mountain actually gave me my Christmas present the day before anyway, as yet another big dump of snow meant that on Christmas eve, I was up skiing deep powder along with a few mates on snowboards.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not wanting to bust my knees right at the start of the ski season, I settled for making pretty S shapes in the snow while they jumped off things and generally fell over loads.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I took a video on my phone that you should be able to see below which shows you just how much snow there is out here in the Alps so far this winter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwrpMFUIprdkeugcJUEsT7FS2JkuNXYb5bUnc0i5Z0qy9wAIfCbf-2iibmmJBQ82DBoapQ4imZlHicH6fxqOg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It seems as if Europe is certainly where the snow is at right now and I don’t think that since the lifts have opened, I’ve skied on the piste yet, except for instructing and even then, the temptation is to jump off the side and into the deep stuff.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’m trying to make a point this year of going out skiing with people who are better than me and this is leading to discoveries of lots of hidden valleys and gullies that are full of snow and where to go according to what conditions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s been great and I’ve never skied so much snow in my life.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’m also learning to take the right tools for the right job and I can highly recommend the Scott Pure’s that I bought in the summer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At 101mm underfoot, they float really well and are fast becoming my favourite for days when it’s dumping up top.<o:p></o:p></span></div><span style="font-family: Calibri;">As if loads of snow before the tourists arrived couldn’t get any better, the skies have cleared for the arrival of the masses at Christmas and New Year and we are now teaching under bluebird skies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nice and warm for instructors who have until now been absolutely freezing in the fog, cloud and mist.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s suntan time!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Despite all of the roads now having been cleared of ice and snow, it seems that once the visitors to the region have managed to get the snow chains on their cars when there was a little bit of snow around, they can’t be bothered to take them off again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are all very amused at the moment by the sight of expensive low profile car tyres being ruined by clanking about on snow chains on clear dry tarmac.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Please people, take them off – it’s not due to snow for a week and you’ll be able to get much faster and more comfortably…<o:p></o:p></span></div>online <a href="http://maddogski.com/news-and-blogs/christmas-france-skiing" target="_blank">here</a><br />
<br />
-x-<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><br />
</div>Dave Burrowshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00025875740376398137noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2610857316358371936.post-12693317000397402792011-12-12T20:36:00.000+00:002011-12-12T20:36:33.744+00:00La neige arrives<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">After a lot of people getting very nervous and some dire predictions by local farmers that the snow wouldn’t arrive until February, the snow is here and winter has started at last.<o:p></o:p></span></div><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I was wondering who the arrival to the village would be that would ‘bring the snow with them’ and it turned out to be my mates from home Cheeko and Hughsey, who flew out to surprise me for my birthday at the start of December.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My wife had organised a surprise party for me at The Avalanche and I couldn’t believe it when my boys from home showed up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(actually I cried – sad I know)<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Of course, you know by now the usual carnage that follows and I was pretty glad to get rid of them a few days later, as my liver had taken a real pounding.</span><br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQb2hfprP7P4fmtnLQKuSrtIc7MQv6vjvco4tp21xGRErNLSDtmVAUW_FKEodKZj3f4jBKk-9Pi94u81qo4Zu_lXmai8tiB-np31EVEGTz9gWpAVDyAlUHbxW8NELzHO6UKbre0fX9kUct/s1600/Photo0080.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQb2hfprP7P4fmtnLQKuSrtIc7MQv6vjvco4tp21xGRErNLSDtmVAUW_FKEodKZj3f4jBKk-9Pi94u81qo4Zu_lXmai8tiB-np31EVEGTz9gWpAVDyAlUHbxW8NELzHO6UKbre0fX9kUct/s320/Photo0080.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">oh dear<br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: Calibri;">This weekend was the formation weekend at the ski school where we all get together for a ski and work on things like technique and the progression of skiing from a complete beginner all the way through to parallel skiing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Last year, this had to be done in two groups of French and English but this year was done entirely in French as there are only 3 British instructors at the ski school (which should mean more work for all of us!!!).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After a year abroad, I understood most of what was said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is what progress looks like.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmIgvTjdp5McHMhXiHmEetzKrqqvfzvCT2gUo4bjDjOr_k9gruZ1rMfrL3sAbBsFRzFCXBe8GTyh87fqemI9tTOqrBEV16fHCTB2WquFB1KVSqTPHV0THrvdJmPaK58UfLvfzu2GH3VTVu/s1600/Photo0096.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmIgvTjdp5McHMhXiHmEetzKrqqvfzvCT2gUo4bjDjOr_k9gruZ1rMfrL3sAbBsFRzFCXBe8GTyh87fqemI9tTOqrBEV16fHCTB2WquFB1KVSqTPHV0THrvdJmPaK58UfLvfzu2GH3VTVu/s320/Photo0096.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">my office</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The seasonaires have started arriving in Chatel and the girl’s night out kicks off the winter season tomorrow night with 44 of Chatel’s finest ladies tearing the village up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This also means that there will be plenty of local single chaps out checking out this season’s talent and trying out their best moves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Judging by last weekend’s efforts, it’s pretty obvious who’s got game and who hasn’t.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let’s just say that inviting the new chalet girls to an X-Factor final party doesn’t count as good ‘game’..<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It’s snowing big outside and a few of the locals have been out riding the powder and one guy going to the effort to skin up the local highest peak, the Mont de Grange (2400m+)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not really my style to be honest but we were all pleased for him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve just dragged my big fat skis out from the cave in anticipation of a powder day tomorrow morning :DDD</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">online <a href="http://maddogski.com/news-and-blogs/winter-arrives-chatel" target="_blank">here</a> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">x<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><br />
</div>Dave Burrowshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00025875740376398137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2610857316358371936.post-29730826791493189522011-11-14T21:39:00.001+00:002011-11-14T21:45:28.853+00:00Rememberance Day Trip to Saas FeeIt’s mid-November here in Chatel and there is still no sign of the long awaited snow. A lot of people here are getting quite edgy about this but as I keep pointing out to them, I arrived about this time last year and it didn’t snow meaningfully until the start of December.<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNHJwDypR5E0eW_61rLbHJhywCHx9W3ulr8V4rVlObbUzFA3x9NQZjSSQ_lTj8V43jvORl_JDpophMmNiRKPTwkGE-ky-nJNHo5O3hRepHf1O9V-yzVG7FktFXL4K2EJ3qi01VDTFUF4u8/s1600/daveburrowssaasfeenov2011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" nda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNHJwDypR5E0eW_61rLbHJhywCHx9W3ulr8V4rVlObbUzFA3x9NQZjSSQ_lTj8V43jvORl_JDpophMmNiRKPTwkGE-ky-nJNHo5O3hRepHf1O9V-yzVG7FktFXL4K2EJ3qi01VDTFUF4u8/s320/daveburrowssaasfeenov2011.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">my piste. mine.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
In a bid to beat the Movember blues (and the tragic-ness that is my moustache attempt), Irish Matt, French Miche and myself took a day trip to Saas-Fee on Friday as we had heard that conditions were good. Additionally, it was a day off in France for Remembrance Day but crucially, not in Switzerland as they don’t celebrate it, so we were sure of the place to ourselves.<br />
<br />
What a day it turned out to be. A 6.30am start in Chatel as well as a few stops for coffee, fuel and breakfast, meant that we were heading up the familiar lifts to 3500m by 9am and we were greeted at the top by fresh powder lines and immaculate pistes.<br />
<br />
As is my style, I took the wrong equipment and was struggling to get my GS skis to float in the flatter sections of pow, so I couldn’t hit the fresh snow like my snowboarding mates but we were still having an absolute ball nevertheless. <br />
<br />
The only issue at Saas-Fee when you are up on the glacier is looking out for crevasses that have been covered up with new snow. I was feeling a real sense of foreboding the times that I was skiing off piste and I didn’t stray too far into the deep. I’ve learned to recognise and listen to my 6th sense on days like this.<br />
<br />
I thought that we would be skiing the glacier all day but it turns out that snow had fallen all the way down to 2500m and that you could ski all the way to the middle station. The pistes were in incredible condition and at the sort of gradient that you could really get your carve on. I was now loving my skis, using them for their true purpose but by the end of the day, I was skiing back with cramp in both legs after making the most of the super grippy snow. You can really feel the difference between real snow and snow cannon snow when you’re trying to get everything out of a stiff ski. <br />
<br />
We went for a total of about 5 hours in the end with only a short stop for coffee (CHF27 for 3 Irish coffees – wow!). The lift ticket is steep at CHF68 but with the instructor licence, it was only CHF41 for me! It takes about 1h45m to get there from Chatel and is only a 5 minute walk to the lifts from the car park.<br />
<br />
We had a short moment at 11am to remember those who died making our way of life possible for us all and when I think back to how I used to spend the 11th day of the 11th month in the UK, a day enjoying fresh snow in Saas-Fee strikes me as a much better tribute.<br />
<br />
online <a href="http://maddogski.com/news-and-blogs/dave-goes-search-snow" target="_blank">here</a><br />
<br />
xDave Burrowshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00025875740376398137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2610857316358371936.post-47687990679875012632011-11-01T21:52:00.000+00:002011-11-14T21:52:37.055+00:00Blogging season beginsI’ve been sitting here reading through the blogs of my fellow Mad Dog Ski bloggers, looking on enviously as they blog about their recent snowfalls and upload snowy images of the hills around them. Unfortunately, if was to do the same, all you would see would be the cows in the field over the road happily munching away on green grass.<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIGiJcM2QMT1n9W4abv2i37s2iQVEcWiBL9vgcpdtBYb0ICTtuII3jZpIR7iKpPa2HIfnxpk6mu0zuAbRw3-TNszsrzwdNo2cDjiD5V9j-K4axV985b2xqRsrnIhykrn7t8yF8cRSIRBTK/s1600/pures.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" nda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIGiJcM2QMT1n9W4abv2i37s2iQVEcWiBL9vgcpdtBYb0ICTtuII3jZpIR7iKpPa2HIfnxpk6mu0zuAbRw3-TNszsrzwdNo2cDjiD5V9j-K4axV985b2xqRsrnIhykrn7t8yF8cRSIRBTK/s320/pures.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">this picture has nothing to do with this blog but I thought you'd want to see my new skis..</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
It has snowed in recent weeks though all of this snow was gone in about 3 or 4 days because it’s been a long hot summer but it’s a good sign and if I look up to the Tete du Linga, there is a white covering of snow hanging on, waiting for winter.<br />
<br />
The sound of autumn in the Alps is hammering, sanding and heavy trucks going back and forth as all of the tradesmen are desperately trying to finish off half built chalets and public projects before the winter comes.<br />
<br />
I’ve been up to Saas-Fee to ski quite a bit over the summer but haven’t been for the last month or so because I’m not under so much pressure with exams now. I had to cancel all of my level 3 exams because I’m needed for my other football coaching work right up until the start of the ski season. I guess I’ll now have to train in the season and then take the exams at the end of the season. I’m trying to organise for a few of the guys to take a trip to the glacier at Les Diablerets which opens this weekend.<br />
<br />
The guys in Chatel are occupying themselves with Movember for the next month or so and I think that it’s safe to say that I won’t be in the winners circle for this given that I grow a sort of First World War ginger fighter pilot moustache. I’m looking forward to the various Tom Selleck’s and Fu Man Chu’s that some of the more accomplished facial hair growers could achieve. Last year, Webby won it with a full on Handlebar ‘tash.<br />
<br />
Apparently it’s going to snow at the end of this week so fingers crossed for this and I’ll send over some pictures if it does (and my pathetic moustache growing attempt if you want..).Dave Burrowshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00025875740376398137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2610857316358371936.post-61305956519177461442011-09-13T11:47:00.000+01:002011-09-13T11:47:42.370+01:00Back into the weekly grind and self discovery.The summer is finally over and the brain exhaustion process that are football summer camps is finally over and I can get back into some sort of normal weekly routine whilst I wait for the snow to arrive.<br />
<br />
Looking after 20 mini footballers and 2 assistant coaches was not the most taxing work I have ever done but stressful in its own way especially when you consider that you are responsible for parents’ most precious things ie. their children for 7 hours a day. Luckily, most of the kids this summer have been great and I’ve only had to tell a couple of the kids how it is over the course of 6 weeks of summer camps.<br />
<br />
After the summer camps, I had a very welcome week off which I spent most of in the pub in the absence of anything else meaningful to do and now I’m back into the weekly routine of autumn term after school football coaching. This means afternoon sessions on Monday through Thursdays with long weekends from Fridays to myself.<br />
<br />
The odd thing about these after school sessions compared to the summer camps is that they are only an hour or two of actual football coaching. Obviously the travel time and set up means that it all takes much longer but in terms of the actual session, it’s a wonder that we actually get as much done as we do. It seems so short compared to the endless hours of summer camps.<br />
<br />
You have to plan your sessions so that they are short and sharp so for example, yesterday’s session was a quick 10 minute warm up game to get everyone moving, 2 x 15 minute skill sessions and then some small matches at the end. It helps if it’s all related to so that one theme blends into the next and there is a chance of skill improvement by the end of the session.<br />
<br />
From a personal progression point of view the football coaching, I’m sure, is going to assist enormously this winter with the ski teaching. In addition, I’ve also started to fill my autumn evenings here with visits to the local boxing club on a Tuesday night, French lessons on a Thursday night as well as playing for the Val d’Abondance Football Team on Friday nights (particularly difficult as this is entirely in French.)<br />
<br />
The boxing is very interesting from the perspective of learning a new skill and coming at something from the perspective of a learner. Most of the year I am teaching something, be it football or skiing and to have to learn something new from scratch is a really useful insight into learning and the ways that people learn. <br />
<br />
I have discovered that I am not very comfortable just throwing myself into something new but prefer to talk everything through and understand it mentally before I try it, through fear of looking like a muppet. This also draws a parallel with French as I will only talk French in public if I am confident that I am one of the best French speakers there amongst the English. If other, more experienced English Francophones are there then I am effectively a mute for fear of making mistakes. It’s very frustrating and also the same with skiing for me. I went out of my way in Saas in the summer to ensure no-one saw me make mistakes and this is something I need to get over really.<br />
<br />
Anyway, enough soul searching, I have yet more new skis, this time anticipating a powder season to come. Scott Pure, 193cm and 101mm underfoot with a snazzy ‘venturi’ tunnel thing at the back which apparently makes them float better. They are seriously big and there had better be a bunch of pow this season or these bad boys aren’t going to see the light of day. <br />
<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpfOpryEhMhFhDZK1EvVAZ8uSLumKnpEi6_7_qZrs20l1OSxkK1lvZ0ALdCYinc8qgBYT2VTH2Gu4YmSct6NcwfeKvF6U1nyXKBAnZETm_HFYh1sk0V7aEvEOwHctPGUYVQ9q9-nQ8AEuV/s1600/pures.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" rba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpfOpryEhMhFhDZK1EvVAZ8uSLumKnpEi6_7_qZrs20l1OSxkK1lvZ0ALdCYinc8qgBYT2VTH2Gu4YmSct6NcwfeKvF6U1nyXKBAnZETm_HFYh1sk0V7aEvEOwHctPGUYVQ9q9-nQ8AEuV/s320/pures.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">big boys</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
I’m not sure if 5 pairs of skis is too much really but the only pair I could realistically get rid of are my Head Supershapes but I can’t sell those as they are the skis that helped me change my life to where I am now, so they will be going on a wall or in a sentimental corner at some point.<br />
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Bring on the snow so I can change the tracksuit for a ski suit. 3-months and counting.<br />
<br />
xDave Burrowshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00025875740376398137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2610857316358371936.post-68788305004699926822011-08-26T14:07:00.001+01:002011-08-26T14:10:39.262+01:00What do you do in summer? – an open letter to Misplaced PersonDear Christa<br />
<br />
Loved your <a href="http://misplacedperson.wordpress.com/2011/08/24/so-what-do-you-do-in-the-summer-err-not-a-lot-apparently/">last blog entry</a>, goading the collective ski related bloggers for their inactivity.<br />
<br />
Since I regard the 7 months of summer as little more than an extended wait until the 5 months of the year here when everything is covered in snow (except last year of course), I just couldn’t bring myself to write about the trivialities of my existence when it’s not ski season. <br />
<br />
Also, being an capitalist at heart, I don’t usually write unless I’m getting paid for it, hence the ski related topics of my efforts this season. That said, I often trawl the other blogs that I find amusing/racy and am also disappointed by the lack of activity. <br />
<br />
Since you asked though, here’s a rough list in no particular order of all the stuff that I’ve been up to since the snow went;<br />
<br />
<strong>1. Coaching football</strong><br />
<br />
<em>Now my main job in the months from late April until December. Somehow, I’ve become a football coach working for a company that does after school football and summer camps. Compared to ski teaching, it’s much more difficult due to the lack of ‘dead time’ that you don’t have. By dead time, I mean time on lifts, time chatting theory, time spent skiing from one place to another. With the footy coaching, it’s full on and the summer camps in particular have been pretty draining, especially in 35 degree heat. Frankly, the last thing I want to do after getting home from coaching is write and normally I detour to the pub – see point 4 below.</em><br />
<br />
<strong>2. VTTing</strong><br />
<br />
<em>I admit to twice having been mountain biking and I still don’t get the attraction. Perhaps it’s because like any sane and normal person, as soon as I got a car when I was 17, I sold my bike and never looked back. I actually used to race VTT’s when I was younger and I know I’ve still got all the old skillz BUT, it just looks like a money pit and potential injury minefield to me and I’d rather spend time on point 4 below. The first time I went, we went to Les Gets and did a load of downhill stuff which I admit, was rather fun. I then stupidly got all excited and signed up for something called the PassPortes du Soleil, which is essentially 70kms of uphill biking round France and Switzerland, cleverly marketed as riding round France only going downhill. Never again and if you are reading this and thinking of doing it, consider yourself warned.</em><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQVxE5Zb0LY97cfHZTlFtfWws534cRMCx4f3jwrsnclbhf9sCQLlT6WAWcMO3EoMxhzOEU0NbBIXXHcqBUHQPZROfPoCzC2yjFWey3pSc6qZ0iyJMAdoJY_0RJoaQLcl0pb4Hss5WBg7gZ/s1600/IMG_1576.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQVxE5Zb0LY97cfHZTlFtfWws534cRMCx4f3jwrsnclbhf9sCQLlT6WAWcMO3EoMxhzOEU0NbBIXXHcqBUHQPZROfPoCzC2yjFWey3pSc6qZ0iyJMAdoJY_0RJoaQLcl0pb4Hss5WBg7gZ/s320/IMG_1576.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">this VTT for the PassPortes - knife to a gunfight mate</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
<strong>3. Playing Vets football</strong><br />
<br />
<em>And I don’t mean playing football with M. Jacob the vet from Abondance, I mean a bunch of 35-years + French ski instructors, Butchers and Pompiers running about on a Friday night and generally thrashing the pants off other local sides like Morzine, Brevon and other obscure towns you’ve never heard of. The great bit about Friday night football is that it’s played on better facilities than I’ve ever played on in my life (for some reason Chatel has an unused UEFA B standard floodlit pitch) and the whole game is played in French. There are a couple of other English chaps that play (well, actually 2 are from Yorkshire) and we seem to be working our way into the team on merit, with myself falling back to my old favourite role of number 5, generally kicking strikers and cheating, with the others bossing midfield and creating numerous chances up front. For the team, it’s also quite social and everyone goes to eat together afterwards and sink a load of beers (see point 4 below).</em><br />
<br />
<strong>4. Drinking (& BBQ’s)</strong><br />
<br />
<em>Now we’re talking. Pretty much since the tourists left at the end of April, there has been a lot of drinking going on and in many ways, I’m a little bit over the remorseless drinking culture that has permeated the summer over the course of the various village fetes, happy cow competitions, birthdays and god knows whatever else we have celebrated this summer. The lack of work at this time of year leads to many of the usual suspects (of which I count myself) constantly in a state of, or topping up last nights drunkenness . This said, in many ways, there is little else to do so you’ve got to be a little disciplined and me working summer camps this year has meant that I’m out of town for 4 days of the week which leaves me the weekends to either go do something different or watch the test matches in the Avalanche and get pissed. A pleasing development though was the Chalet that some friends are renting just by the river which has a most excellent garden, river fridge and oil barrel BBQ, meaning a whole new (and cheaper) way to get wasted.</em><br />
<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_9g4BsqtMiJNGC3QUZhMms_ma9-iCrSa2xDZ_dnJxrTwP1LIvTekyeneRNxfsbdEuWc7qYNIZwQbrv1VhZOpgglFWJDOMAY2FV058NZFarszshqR_xV4kBhZ9PnTw0XRRw3VGESgLT_RJ/s1600/09072011112.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_9g4BsqtMiJNGC3QUZhMms_ma9-iCrSa2xDZ_dnJxrTwP1LIvTekyeneRNxfsbdEuWc7qYNIZwQbrv1VhZOpgglFWJDOMAY2FV058NZFarszshqR_xV4kBhZ9PnTw0XRRw3VGESgLT_RJ/s320/09072011112.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">river fridge - surprisingly effective</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<strong>5. Pitch and Put golf</strong><br />
<br />
<em>A interesting development this one, given the presence in the village of a European Tour caddy that plays a little bit, as I did when I was young. Ever since we found out that the course record for the Golf de Loy (6 holes – par 18) is 17, old man Chris and myself have been hammering the golf looking for a new record. We are not helped by appallingly kept greens and a fiendish 5th hold which is only 30-yards long. It completely proves my point though that regular golf is at least 12 holes too long.</em><br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7V5-kCUVhRQy5QJ2k8W2a0OXNXm5EDIOB0WukMDx83F5Rc4trD-VE-8RGNcgVlgz5jmEaZ4MOkIekLOmZDbqMHz8Vmxw8IcRlRbdKg2urUWnhpdvaZqyg5-V91vHRoZOFMi-HvUPfAmx9/s1600/16072011132.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7V5-kCUVhRQy5QJ2k8W2a0OXNXm5EDIOB0WukMDx83F5Rc4trD-VE-8RGNcgVlgz5jmEaZ4MOkIekLOmZDbqMHz8Vmxw8IcRlRbdKg2urUWnhpdvaZqyg5-V91vHRoZOFMi-HvUPfAmx9/s320/16072011132.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">some big numbers on this card</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
<strong>6. Ibiza </strong><br />
<br />
<em>The less said about this the better but I went to Ibiza with the Essex boys for 4 days and destroyed myself to the point that it took me 3 full weeks for my digestive system, sense of smell, cuts and bruises to recover fully. I’ve been on boys holidays before but this one was so far off the scale of what was normal and so hedonistic that it will be interesting to see exactly how much larger we can have it next year when it’s actually a stag do and not just practice. It was wonderful though to get back to the home of dance music and actually hear some proper stuff in its proper setting.</em><br />
<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHrmN2yuV8u0qeNyMj4pUE481KJn4Rh8tyBo6mxw7tXPcB_pFalHsjbWiTzhRX9XAamkSO3IQkV3VTW47COOGke1jC1jqLemrrsphTx6Q9KyTZyt6kw6w5IiGulQcnbx7F0B9Mbx4set1e/s1600/ibz.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHrmN2yuV8u0qeNyMj4pUE481KJn4Rh8tyBo6mxw7tXPcB_pFalHsjbWiTzhRX9XAamkSO3IQkV3VTW47COOGke1jC1jqLemrrsphTx6Q9KyTZyt6kw6w5IiGulQcnbx7F0B9Mbx4set1e/s320/ibz.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the only photo that made it back from IBZ</td></tr>
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<strong>7. Cricket</strong><br />
<br />
<em>They play cricket in Switzerland just so you know. There’s actually a league and everything, so much so that I had to get my cricket bag sent out here. Swiss cricket is heavily Asian influenced so there is limited room for a Chris Tavaré type player like me here. Most of the time, the Indian and Pakistani boys just tee off from ball 1 and I’m getting used to seeing some very big totals to chase. Luckily, I seem to be in the side for my wicket keeping, which for those that know me, will indicate very well the level of one of the best clubs in Switzerland….</em><br />
<br />
<strong>8. Boxing</strong><br />
<br />
<em>Slightly coupled with number 6 and the gradual realisation that I’m getting on a bit, last week I started at the local boxing club here in Chatel. Not quite sure what my aims are for this, other than getting slightly fitter and learning something new but if it means that I’m more confident getting my shirt off in Ibiza next year then it would have served its purpose. (we all know that ski instructing doesn’t keep you fit)</em><br />
<br />
<strong>9. Summer skiing</strong><br />
<br />
<em>The skiing you know about from other blog entries but this may drop off a little now that I’ve had to cancel my ISIA exams in November to accommodate football coaching work. The massive benefit of summer skiing being so close is that if you can be bothered to drive the 1h45m it takes to get there, you can have a great time and feel like you are in another world, if only for a day. I’m actually going there tonight. (see point 4 above)</em><br />
<br />
<br />
So there you go Christa, that’s what I’ve been up to (unless you want to hear about how amazing my new Kindle is and my brother's wedding). Told you it wasn’t very interesting but I consider myself chastened and I will attempt to blog more, if only to keep you from slitting your wrists about your various cat related troubles..<br />
<br />
Yours in blogging<br />
<br />
Dave xxx<br />
<br />
Chatel, August 2011<br />
<br />
Dave Burrowshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00025875740376398137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2610857316358371936.post-84868456505717363482011-08-16T18:07:00.001+01:002011-08-17T21:46:43.979+01:00More summer skiing...Another week off of football summer camps, means that I’ve been up in Saas-Fee again this week for another 3-days of skiing and training.<br />
<br />
<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">wish you were here..</td></tr>
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The conditions have been great this week and apparently my timing is excellent as it was raining all last week. However, temperatures have dropped and the sun has come out, making for bulletproof pistes in the morning which hold up well until lunchtime. In fact yesterday, the pistes were still hard and great for carving turns all the way until the close at 1pm.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately for me, I’ve got to practice the stuff that I’m rubbish at which means I’ve got to spend time in the moguls which here in Saas, means zip and rut lines that you have to fight to stay in, rather than picking from different lines. <br />
<br />
Last year on my level 2 exams, this was the thing I found the hardest and although I’m better at it now, I’m still struggling. Perhaps it’s the choice of skis, as I only brought with me my super stiff GS skis which although I am learning to love them, they aren’t exactly ideal for quick short turns in the bumps. That said, I’ve had a couple of real breakthroughs in terms of technique in the last 3-days and I feel really good about my skiing today.<br />
<br />
Of course, with the glacier only open until 1pm, there is plenty of opportunity to do other things and in the times that I’ve been here, I’ve hiked up mountains, had my butt kicked at tennis and played beach volleyball and golf (real and mini). <br />
<br />
The curious thing about Tennis at 1800m is that the ball flies further than if you were at sea level so you have to adjust your game accordingly. This said, the fact that the village is so high up also means that you’re getting fitter without knowing it too… <br />
<br />
online here - <a href="http://maddogski.com/eatsleepski/saas-fee-summer-skiing-0">http://maddogski.com/eatsleepski/saas-fee-summer-skiing-0</a><br />
<br />
Dave Burrowshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00025875740376398137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2610857316358371936.post-34600783057772067902011-08-03T19:19:00.000+01:002011-08-03T19:19:53.637+01:00Back in Saas.So I’m back and so is the ski season. The summer ski season that is. This summer, I’m going to be making regular trips up to Saas Fee to prepare myself for my BASI Level 3 exams in Zermatt in November. <br />
<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Atomic SL's - Surprisingly good in the pow :))</td></tr>
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<br />
The technical level of skiing for this is a lot higher than the Level 2, so I need to be ready and a one week pre-course warm up in Zermatt just won’t cut it as far as preparation is concerned.<br />
<br />
It’s been really cool being back in Saas Fee. This time last year, I spent 9-weeks one a gap course with the Warren Smith Ski Academy in Saas Fee which lead me to my current life of teaching skiing in the winter and teaching football in the summer. Being back in the toytown village of Saas with the electric cars and familiar faces from last summer has been great.<br />
<br />
The journey up to the summer skiing on the glacier takes about 45-minutes, 2 cable cars and a funicular train before you emerge at 3800m gasping for breath. There are about 40kms of piste to rip and a great park with masses of kickers, rails and a pipe to keep the park rats happy. The Glacier opens at 7am (!) and finishes at 1pm when it gets super slushy so it means plenty of early starts.<br />
<br />
I’m here working on the technical elements of skiing, things like refining short turns and making them more dynamic, as well as hammering long turns and bumps. One of my coaches from last year, Scouse, had a look at my skiing and kindly mentioned that it had improved massively after a winter of skiing which is reassuring and has given me extra confidence that I’m heading in the right direction.<br />
<br />
A happy benefit of having been here before is that I’ve been able to stay at a friend’s place here in Saas. The friend in question is Maria Ramberger, Austria’s top ranked SnowboardCross racer who is also here training for the whole summer. It’s been great catching lifts and catching up with her and generally blasting around Saas glacier at high speed. She also cooks a decent pasta. <br />
<br />
It’s been a refreshing few days here, almost like a mini holiday and it’s been great to be on skis again. That said, I’m a complete convert to summers in Chatel, which I never expected. I was expecting summer in the Alps to be one long wait for winter but in many ways, the scenery, the sunsets and barbeques are even better than the skiing and drinking of winter. With summer skiing less than 2-hours away it seems I’ve got the best of both worlds.<br />
<br />
<br />
Online <a href="http://maddogski.com/eatsleepski/summer-skiing">here</a> at Mad Dog Ski.<br />
<br />
xDave Burrowshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00025875740376398137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2610857316358371936.post-6996749070728617762011-07-17T15:15:00.001+01:002011-08-03T19:16:14.648+01:00Why don't tourists ski 'good' skis?For a little while now, I’ve always wondered why tourists ski the skis that they do. The majority of them go into the hire shop and get given whatever the ski tech recommends and even the better level recreational skiers end up on something that is a compromise for the piste, which let’s face it, is where the majority of skiing is done for the average skier.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Set up and ready to go</td></tr>
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I’ve been banging on to anyone who will listen that what some of these better skiers need to really enhance their week on the slopes is a proper performance ski like a top level slalom or GS ski. Most people I talk to about this, mainly other instructors or ski techs, all tell me the same thing – recreation skiers wouldn’t be able to handle them, which is why they don’t ski on them and why hire shops don’t stock them. <br />
<br />
To put this to the test, we went to Snowline in Morgins and grabbed 3 sets of slalom skis from the rack, (Snowline being one of the rare hire shops that actually hold a stock of high end skis) and headed up the hill at Morgins in the Portes Du Soleil.<br />
<br />
The testers for the day were Rich Walker, Ross Jackson and myself, all ski instructors with the Morgins Ski and Snowboard School. None of us had actually skied a full on slalom ski before because normally when we are teaching, you need a fairly soft ski and depending on if you are teaching beginners or not, perhaps a twin tip so you can go backwards more easily. Rich skis a Head Peak 78 for everyday use and Ross uses a Salomon Tornado x-Wing. I switched all season between some Head Supershape Magnums and an old pair of Salomon 1080’s.<br />
<br />
To be honest, conditions weren’t great for testing skis, it was snowing and there was a small covering of fresh snow on top of end of season slush. It was pretty wet and cold but being the professionals we are with a rare day off and some new toys to play with, we got on with the job in hand.<br />
<br />
The skis we tested were the Elan SL Waveflex World Cup, the Head iSL and the Atomic SL D2 – all in 165cm length. The radius on the skis varied from 11.4m to about 12, so in theory, they were all pretty similar, all we had to do was ski them to find out how they went and for me certainly, put my theory to the test and try to feel if a recreational skier could ski them.<br />
<br />
Once we started, there were a few apprehensive turns from the testing team which then progressively became more aggressive and shorter in turn shape. After that, the whooping started as the team felt the angles and turn shapes that this collection of amazing skis could create. It’s a bit of a cliché but it really did feel like being on rails, these type of skis are not interested in skidding turns, just carving them and many times, it felt like just being along for the ride. <br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">On the second or third run down the backside of Morgins, Ross, who was skiing the Atomics, got flipped in the same style as you see on the TV when guys get high-sided from Moto GP bikes. I was watching from below and it looked like he loaded up the tails of the skis too much and got flipped over the top. It was enough to make Rich and myself slightly apprehensive when it was our turn to ride the Atomics. Once, he’d dusted himself off, Ross compared the difference between what we normally ski and the slalom skis like the difference between driving a VW Golf and a Ferrari (when he has ever driven a Ferrari I don’t know – or a Golf for that matter.)</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There was snow. Just not in this picture.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Once we had ridden all of the skis on the same routes, we sat down with a hot chocolate to discuss our thoughts and answer a few questions from me. Here is the feedback on each of the skis;</div><br />
<strong>Head iSL</strong><br />
<br />
In general, everyone thought that this was a ski that they could ski every day because it was the softest of the three. Everyone who skied it really liked it but it felt a little like a compromise because it was so easy to ski. Surprising, given Head’s dominance on the racing scene. Everyone rated it third for stiffness but I end up skiing it back down the hill and started to like it more the more I skied it. The iSL rated second and first amongst the team for smoothness and it was easy to vary the turn shape for short or long turns and they were good in the bumps.<br />
<br />
All in all, a good ski but felt a little soft for what was supposed to be a full on SL ski but crucially, one that perhaps an advanced recreational skier might be able to handle and even have fun on. I expect there are degrees of Head iSL with the stiffer versions only making it to racers and sponsored pros.<br />
<br />
<strong>Elan Waveflex SL World Cup</strong><br />
<br />
Personally, my least favourite of the group but I think this was the ski being too good for me than the other way round. The Elan was the only ski in the group that was (in the words of Rolf – Snowline boss) ‘a proper World Cup Ski’. It certainly felt like it when I got to use it first. For some reason, I couldn’t get it to turn into turns properly and felt like I had to force it to turn more, but I quickly understood that this was because I wasn’t physically good enough to bend the ski to make it do what I wanted it to do. <br />
<br />
This feedback was also reflected by Rich and Ross who rated it first for stiffness and said that it only felt like it would turn in mid-turn. Where the Elan was a winner was on edge grip where everyone rated it as a winner with Rich saying it was ‘solid and grippy’. In fact, after the test, Rich continued to ski the Elan so I guess he was more comfortable on it than anyone.<br />
<br />
In summary, probably the best ski here but so good that even relatively advanced skiers struggle to find out what it can offer.<br />
<br />
<strong>Atomic D2 SL</strong><br />
<br />
Everyone’s favourite of the test and I liked it so much that the next day I bought the pair we tested here. A great ski that offered a combination of the characteristics found on the other two skis. As mentioned before, the carbon plate that runs along the top of the ski making the ‘twin deck’ seems to eliminate all of the chatter that you sometimes get back through the ski and makes for a smooth ride and amazing edge hold. <br />
<br />
Both Ross and Rich said this was a ski that they could use every day but when you really wanted to crank things up a notch, they offered great control, grip and they were FAST. Pointing them anywhere near straight down the hill, they just took off. They rated second from the testers for stiffness and top for smoothness. I had a chance to ski them since both on a BASI Alpine coaching course and recreationally and they really are a revelation. Long turns and high speeds are handled with ease and short turns are like being in a centrifuge. <br />
<br />
<strong>Summary</strong><br />
<br />
I asked the question, ‘could you recommend these to a recreational skier?’ and the answer from Rich and Ross was the same. ‘Very advanced and/or expert recreational skiers only’. We tried to look at this from the perspective of a recreational skier but a lot of the time, we were having so much fun on these amazing skis that it was difficult to remain focused. <br />
<br />
Be warned though, these skis leave you tired. They ask for more input from you and because they are shorter and quicker to react, they demand that you are more balanced and athletic in your skiing. I wouldn’t want to ski them back down the mountain after a two hour boozy lunch in a mountain restaurant.<br />
<br />
As a whole, the skis were much more responsive and were challenging to us and our ski ability. Rich said that he felt you had to be ‘on it’ all the time with these skis and that it would be difficult to have a hangover day or a lazy day leaning back on these that you can get away with on softer skis. We all agreed that you could you use the Head’s every day and perhaps the Atomics if you didn’t want the risk of ski school clients running over the aggressive graphics.<br />
<br />
Incidentally, I had the chance to try out my theory of good recreational skiers skiing good skis when my ‘project’ for the season Lightning Bob and I went skiing near the end of the season. Bob is a ski tech and a fairly decent skier (especially after all of the free tuition he’s had from me) and we swapped skis on a busy Easter day in April. <br />
<br />
Bob loved them and is now a convert to what I would call ‘proper skis’ after an hour on the Atomics. Up until then, he was taking different skis from the rack in the shop every time he went out. I could see when I was following him that he wasn’t skiing the Atomics to their full potential by any means but he was having loads of fun and the grin on his face was enough for me to know that he had seen the light.<br />
<br />
<br />
Many thanks to the <a href="http://www.snowline.ch/page.php?page=27">Snowline</a> shop in Morgins for the skis for the morning and to Rich and Ross for giving up their time to test.Dave Burrowshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00025875740376398137noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2610857316358371936.post-59809574571376192742011-04-27T21:40:00.000+01:002011-04-27T21:40:26.139+01:00FINSo the winter season is pretty much finished here in Chatel, with the Pre-la-Joux area being forced to stay open until 24 April. Some modern day Jonny Halliday called Christophe Mae is playing in Chatel on Sunday night and they’ve sold a load of lift tickets to coincide with his arrival. Frankly, I hope M. Mae is not planning to ski much unless he likes slush and getting sunburnt. That said, if he is French then no doubt he’ll be up there in his jeans, snowblades and jester hat.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">old dog. new tricks.</td></tr>
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Morgins ski area where I work closed last weekend because there were more cows around than ski slopes and all in all it’s been a bit of a weird season but that said, one in which I worked far more than I expected to as a first year instructor. I’ve had an amazing time working with ski school this winter and all the other great instructors that they have there. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve said out loud ‘I can’t believe I’m getting paid for this’.<br />
<br />
I more or less hung up my ski boots for this winter season after doing a bit of ski teaching for Easter and completing the first proper ski module of my BASI Level 3 ISIA. The course we were doing was the Alpine Development Coach 1 which I got a lot out of. It was dealing with coaching in a completely different style, assuming that you were working with young racers or high level recreational skiers. <br />
<br />
It boiled down to talking less and focusing more on specifics, as well as lot of standing about. The standing about is a pleasant part of coaching at a better level as you get the students to ‘lap’ more and give them tips to go off to work on. In reality for some, it meant a final chance to work up that goggle tan.<br />
<br />
Our assessor was a guy called Peter Kuwall who runs the British Alpine Ski School in Chatel (BASS) and I really got a lot out of his teaching style which was very much along the lines of ‘do this and don’t be crap’ (mainly because it’s like mine). Hopefully, he will be running a few more of the ISIA modules next season which will be convenient for a lot of the ambitious instructors in the Portes du Soleil.<br />
<br />
So what to do for summer? I’m trying to finalise my contract for coaching football in Switzerland at the moment and if this week’s Easter football camp in Vevey was anything to go by, then I’m going to have an amazing sun tan come next winter season. It was about 25-degrees all week and the 1-hour lunch break combined with the 45 minutes of ‘free time’ for the kids, means plenty of time to bask in the sun like a seal in shorts.<br />
<br />
To keep my skiing eye in over the summer, I’m planning on heading up to the Saas-Fee glacier for weekends once a month and progressing from the good place that I left the ISIA module in. I’ve also picked up some amazing Atomic slalom skis in the end of season sales and I feel like I’m a much better skier than I started the season. I don’t want to lose this level, hence the proposed Saas weekends.<br />
<br />
My first winter in the Alps has been amazing and I’m glad that I did it. I’ve learnt a lot about what it means to live out here and how to do it and I’m about to embark on a summer of discovery to see what it’s like here off season. Here’s a short list of things I learnt this season for prospective seasonaires next year;<br />
<br />
1. If you are a ski teacher, value your time and put a price on it. Everyone wants a free lesson.<br />
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2. Snow tyres are essential. Just get them, they are amazing.<br />
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3. Everyone gets pretty partied out by March. Better to hibernate in February half term weeks to rest.<br />
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4. Bring loads of socks, 4-way English plug adaptors, hangover pills, shorts and flip flops (it gets hot in April which everyone forgets)<br />
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5. If you get to any decent level of skiing, you only need 2 pairs of skis. A proper slalom ski and a big fat off-piste ski for powder days. Anything else is a compromise.<br />
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It’s been great blogging for Mad Dog Ski this winter and hopefully, I’ll be back next winter for more of the same and perhaps a few summer skiing updates. Have a great summer.<br />
<br />
online <a href="http://maddogski.com/eatsleepski/chatel-finally-closing-season">here</a>Dave Burrowshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00025875740376398137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2610857316358371936.post-35265797560661826012011-04-11T18:08:00.000+01:002011-04-11T18:08:14.476+01:00Things I found out when my mates came to visit part deuxThings I learnt when my friends from home came to visit for the second time this season;<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg93AVWp6ssw_3pLekfKYiK4Zs-Y_TrhKMDdlV3MGUDnSlJygqEkOYU3jR9kmBBujaDFclvblFZV-WLNrdrghcVt23XpuZpgcws8CtiJio1kfu8yoK77CBuJ5Y7IieCZ03MKSYo_G7VNtn6/s1600/drinking+in+the+sun.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg93AVWp6ssw_3pLekfKYiK4Zs-Y_TrhKMDdlV3MGUDnSlJygqEkOYU3jR9kmBBujaDFclvblFZV-WLNrdrghcVt23XpuZpgcws8CtiJio1kfu8yoK77CBuJ5Y7IieCZ03MKSYo_G7VNtn6/s320/drinking+in+the+sun.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">hard at 'work'</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
1. ’33 Export’ is STILL the worst beer I’ve ever tasted and the fact that you can get 30 for 7 Euros is no reason to buy them at all.<br />
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2. Playing paper, scissors, stone for who gets to sleep on the floor next to the dog (who is currently shedding his winter coat) is a quick, easy and very excitable game.<br />
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3. That none of us has the drinking ability to ‘take Cheeko down’. Of course, we have already learnt this lesson on many occasions but we are still surprised when the latest drink that he is supposedly afraid of doesn’t work. <br />
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4. (Note to self – Sambuca doesn’t take Cheeko down. Perhaps it’s Ameretto?)<br />
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5. Le Sloopy’s is still a terrible discotheque however the more drunk you are the better it gets.<br />
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6. Telling people that they cannot dance is not nice. Especially when they think they can.<br />
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7. That when my mates come here they might as well not pack ski gear because we never actually make it to the slopes.<br />
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and last but by no means least;<br />
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8. Le Sloopy’s takes credit cards. This is a very bad thing to learn indeed because it means I don’t have to go home when the money runs out. Damn you clever French disco owners.<br />
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x x x<br />
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published <a href="http://maddogski.com/eatsleepski/painful-lessons-learned">here</a>Dave Burrowshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00025875740376398137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2610857316358371936.post-12357383025340430572011-04-08T15:17:00.001+01:002011-04-08T15:18:28.890+01:00HeatwaveIt’s a scorching 24 degrees here in Chatel today and you can almost see the snow melting off the pistes. The snow is not freezing overnight so it’s more or less un-skiable by about 11am in the morning. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOTRnivNvlJcsEOAoTmH7Qf7GO2SmOJ-HHkP4qP0O5pGhxR-4Jn27YhynBrkEi-aqbXtOmbdHmdx_D5S64AzqBUkdhJGuksyrKWOrZqjWLbn03v6UnPH98C_AyoSi8ou8FYDdbquwmcQEw/s1600/drinking+in+the+sun.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOTRnivNvlJcsEOAoTmH7Qf7GO2SmOJ-HHkP4qP0O5pGhxR-4Jn27YhynBrkEi-aqbXtOmbdHmdx_D5S64AzqBUkdhJGuksyrKWOrZqjWLbn03v6UnPH98C_AyoSi8ou8FYDdbquwmcQEw/s320/drinking+in+the+sun.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">winter</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
Unbelievably, there are still tourists arriving, although when they get here and are seeing bikers and people riding mountain bikes through town, they probably wish they’d spent their money going to the beach for Easter.<br />
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End of season means end of season parties and a few of us spent a very enjoyable afternoon yesterday getting sunburnt and drinking on a friends balcony, high up in the valley overlooking Chatel. It looks like summer here now and we’re starting to see and smell Chatel’s farming community starting work for the summer.<br />
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Summer inevitably means finding an answer to that eternal seasonaires question, ‘what do you do in the summer’ and it looks like a few more people are staying this summer, with many of the guys finding work building stuff. The missus has found a summer job in a local restaurant and I’m working on something in Switzerland that if it comes off will make me very happy indeed.<br />
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I’ve got a training course next week which will see me ticking off another module on my way to BASI level 3 ISIA, I just home the mountain doesn’t close before then because if this weather carries on, there will be nothing to ski.<br />
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x<br />
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published <a href="http://www.natives.co.uk/do/user_blogs.py/view_blog?back_url=/do/user_blogs.py/view_blog_list?user_id=32611&listcatid=31854">here</a>Dave Burrowshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00025875740376398137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2610857316358371936.post-68693372959043565732011-03-25T15:29:00.001+00:002011-03-25T15:30:44.727+00:00That end of season feeling...The snow is melting fast in the Portes du Soleil and unless you are looking in the right direction, you might be forgiven for thinking that we are in the middle of summer. A strange winter season keeps getting stranger, with yet another couple of weeks of remorseless sun and blue skies.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsFkKzcn5e9s-6iiAB9qKxqfNjMo2Pe3KciRus0LECVRdWElXVCxX8_91VsqfAu6pyr7RdUh62DM2vUHSf5oo04R6K_Or_Uwi-LCK0_EB-lLNzgsMEZx0WMC1Fk1w3Ll-vAARgi2d3xRQL/s1600/IMG_1376.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsFkKzcn5e9s-6iiAB9qKxqfNjMo2Pe3KciRus0LECVRdWElXVCxX8_91VsqfAu6pyr7RdUh62DM2vUHSf5oo04R6K_Or_Uwi-LCK0_EB-lLNzgsMEZx0WMC1Fk1w3Ll-vAARgi2d3xRQL/s320/IMG_1376.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No sarky comment. Just a pretty picture.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
The locals have taken to hiking up to local spots to get their fix of powder but unfortunately for them, there are only so many good spots and almost everything including all the difficult lines are now all skied out. Personally, I can sort of understand hiking for 45 minutes to find some fresh to ski for 2 minutes, but not when it’s 10 degrees and slushy, it’s too much like hard work.<br />
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With the complete absence of any new snow for weeks, the pisteurs are doing all they can to keep the various ski areas in decent nick but we now have ice in the mornings for a couple of hours and then slush, locally known as ‘soupe’ from about 11.30 onwards. Slush is fine if you know how to ride it but it’s getting so heavy at the end of the day, it’s almost impossible to use.<br />
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Teaching work at the ski school has dropped off a cliff with the last week or so. Pas de neige means pas de touristes. I’m planning to check the records of how much work there was this time last year because if this is normal for this time of year then next year I’m going to book a trip to Canada or the US to get some proper deep snow skiing done. <br />
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There is a real start of summer feeling in Chatel at the moment with ‘liquidation’ sales going on in all the ski shops (still not making them anywhere near cheap enough to consider buying anything) and people leaving for home early. All of the seasonaires starting to think about summer and whether they are going on staying, much depending on what work they can find. It seems sexist to stay but the way it seems to work is that all the girls go to work as waitresses and all the boys go and build stuff.<br />
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We’re all still praying for the usual expected but unexpected April dumps of snow but for now it feels like the winter is almost over and that’s very sad.<br />
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online <a href="http://www.natives.co.uk/do/user_blogs.py/view_blog?back_url=/do/user_blogs.py/view_blog_list?user_id=32611&listcatid=31743">here</a><br />
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x x xDave Burrowshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00025875740376398137noreply@blogger.com0