Today, we have an EPIC blog entry from Instructor Josh from the trip to La Plagne 26th Feb - 6th March.
We have just got back from a very successful week in the sunny French Alps, with a great set of skier's, helpers and Instructor team. All the skier's succeeded expectations on the snow and this is down to their determination, the wonderful conditions and a very experienced instructor team, which included:
Dave Whitehead, the big chief, BASI Adaptive Trainer and lead instructor at ChillFactore and X-scape Castleford
Steve West, BASI Adaptive Two instructor and DSUK Trustee
Joshua Murphy (me), BASI Adaptive Two instructor and DSUK Instructor at the Ski School at Cairngorm
Keira Young, BASI Adaptive Two instructor and lead instructor at the Central Belt
Sam McGuiness, BASI Adaptive Two instructor and DSUK instructor at ChillFactore
Willie McCloud, BASI Adaptive Two instructor and coordinator of the DSUK Glasgow local group.
This team of six worked closely together to get the best out of the skiers on the trip.
Day one was all about getting the skier's equipment fitted and to get the skiers used to the slopes we were going to use for the week. Some of the skiers have never skied in the mountains of Europe before and was a totally new experience for them. The 12cm of fresh snow over night was a lovely bonus. I had the honour of skiing with Ed Carter, and managed to ski some powder with him, who was in a Bi-Ski. Additionally on day one, Dave, the chief instructor on the trip took all the Crystal guys, who came out to La Plagne to be helpers, to get them used to using the Bi-skis and explained how they worked on the lifts. They all got a go lifting the Bi-Skis onto the Chairlifts and were very successful at this tricky maneuver. Well, all but Liz, who forgot to lift the Bi-ski off the lift with Rob sat in it!!
Day two, we woke up to a few more inches of snow and blue sky's. BLUE BIRD DAY!! Keira worked hard with John Riach and managed to get him skiing without tethers, which was his goal for the week, and to do this on day two was unbelievable. Willie also worked hard with Chris Jenner and got him skiing parallel down the blue runs. Next up for Chris were the steeper reds. Everyone enjoyed a well deserved drink in the hotel bar at the end of skiing before evening dinner.
Day three was another lovely day. Plenty of sun cream was being dished out between the instructors and skiers. Jonathan managed to ski down some pretty steep blues in brilliant control. Day three also saw Ed Maurice and Susan Hall skiing together. They skied together really well with Ed helping Susan up when she fell. Our instructor Sam was very pleased with Paul's progress in the Bi-ski. He was choosing his own line down the pretty busy slopes with the fixed riggers (which from experience, is not a easy thing to do).
Day four, once again was a sunny and warm day. The snow was holding up pretty good, but got a little bumpy in the afternoon after all the crowds had created mini moguls on the slopes. Today saw myself skiing with Ed Carter in the Bi-ski and Dave skiing with the cheeky Sam Gosland in another Bi-ski. We skied together, but Ed and myself couldn't keep up with Dave and Sam, as Sam kept shouting 'FASTER! FASTER!!'. By this time John and Keira were skiing down Blue runs without Tethers and without a trombone link of the front of this ski's. Their goals for the week were completely smashed. Day four also saw Louise Chard skiing with Steve. Apparently Steve was the instructor, but Louise's skiing was that good, it looked like Steve was struggling to keep up. Evening time saw a large amount of the group going down to the local pub/disco, the Igloo bar. Here we had our helpers dancing with Sam on the dance floor. Then Sam had enough of the Crystal helpers and started dancing in his wheelchair with local French women.
Day five; Sun, sunglasses and sun cream. There were a few sore heads that morning. But still, great skiing from everyone. By now Chris Jenner was becoming the next freestyle skiing world champion. Doing 360 degree spins. Which later in the day he tried to teach Liz. Not much luck there Liz? Our final Bi-skier of the week was Stella Alabi. By day five she was skiing the Bi-ski (with hand held riggers) so well that Dave wanted to take his tethers off. This would be left to the last day. Lunch time today was not in the hotel, but we managed to get all the skier's, all the helpers and all the instructors to the top of the mountain via the cable car and everyone had lunch together, in the sun looking down at Courcheval and the peaks of the French Alps.
We have just got back from a very successful week in the sunny French Alps, with a great set of skier's, helpers and Instructor team. All the skier's succeeded expectations on the snow and this is down to their determination, the wonderful conditions and a very experienced instructor team, which included:
Dave Whitehead, the big chief, BASI Adaptive Trainer and lead instructor at ChillFactore and X-scape Castleford
Steve West, BASI Adaptive Two instructor and DSUK Trustee
Joshua Murphy (me), BASI Adaptive Two instructor and DSUK Instructor at the Ski School at Cairngorm
Keira Young, BASI Adaptive Two instructor and lead instructor at the Central Belt
Sam McGuiness, BASI Adaptive Two instructor and DSUK instructor at ChillFactore
Willie McCloud, BASI Adaptive Two instructor and coordinator of the DSUK Glasgow local group.
This team of six worked closely together to get the best out of the skiers on the trip.
Day one was all about getting the skier's equipment fitted and to get the skiers used to the slopes we were going to use for the week. Some of the skiers have never skied in the mountains of Europe before and was a totally new experience for them. The 12cm of fresh snow over night was a lovely bonus. I had the honour of skiing with Ed Carter, and managed to ski some powder with him, who was in a Bi-Ski. Additionally on day one, Dave, the chief instructor on the trip took all the Crystal guys, who came out to La Plagne to be helpers, to get them used to using the Bi-skis and explained how they worked on the lifts. They all got a go lifting the Bi-Skis onto the Chairlifts and were very successful at this tricky maneuver. Well, all but Liz, who forgot to lift the Bi-ski off the lift with Rob sat in it!!
Day two, we woke up to a few more inches of snow and blue sky's. BLUE BIRD DAY!! Keira worked hard with John Riach and managed to get him skiing without tethers, which was his goal for the week, and to do this on day two was unbelievable. Willie also worked hard with Chris Jenner and got him skiing parallel down the blue runs. Next up for Chris were the steeper reds. Everyone enjoyed a well deserved drink in the hotel bar at the end of skiing before evening dinner.
Day three was another lovely day. Plenty of sun cream was being dished out between the instructors and skiers. Jonathan managed to ski down some pretty steep blues in brilliant control. Day three also saw Ed Maurice and Susan Hall skiing together. They skied together really well with Ed helping Susan up when she fell. Our instructor Sam was very pleased with Paul's progress in the Bi-ski. He was choosing his own line down the pretty busy slopes with the fixed riggers (which from experience, is not a easy thing to do).
Day four, once again was a sunny and warm day. The snow was holding up pretty good, but got a little bumpy in the afternoon after all the crowds had created mini moguls on the slopes. Today saw myself skiing with Ed Carter in the Bi-ski and Dave skiing with the cheeky Sam Gosland in another Bi-ski. We skied together, but Ed and myself couldn't keep up with Dave and Sam, as Sam kept shouting 'FASTER! FASTER!!'. By this time John and Keira were skiing down Blue runs without Tethers and without a trombone link of the front of this ski's. Their goals for the week were completely smashed. Day four also saw Louise Chard skiing with Steve. Apparently Steve was the instructor, but Louise's skiing was that good, it looked like Steve was struggling to keep up. Evening time saw a large amount of the group going down to the local pub/disco, the Igloo bar. Here we had our helpers dancing with Sam on the dance floor. Then Sam had enough of the Crystal helpers and started dancing in his wheelchair with local French women.
Day five; Sun, sunglasses and sun cream. There were a few sore heads that morning. But still, great skiing from everyone. By now Chris Jenner was becoming the next freestyle skiing world champion. Doing 360 degree spins. Which later in the day he tried to teach Liz. Not much luck there Liz? Our final Bi-skier of the week was Stella Alabi. By day five she was skiing the Bi-ski (with hand held riggers) so well that Dave wanted to take his tethers off. This would be left to the last day. Lunch time today was not in the hotel, but we managed to get all the skier's, all the helpers and all the instructors to the top of the mountain via the cable car and everyone had lunch together, in the sun looking down at Courcheval and the peaks of the French Alps.
This was a great time to get pictures with lots of tanned faces and stunning views. The evening consisted of the Crystal Quiz, which is held every week in La Plagne to raise money for DSUK. And the DSUK group this week brought plenty of winning. Raffle winners included Pat Chard, who won a Ski-doo ride. Sarah Gompertz won the top prize of a Snow boarding lesson. The winning team from with quiz included, Chris, Don, Rob (and his iPhone!!) Jonathan and a few other people. Well played I say. I thought myself and Liz, who turned up late, made of team of 2. Now we’re not the most clever of people and a team of 2 compared to teams of 6 and 7's didn't seem fair. So we managed to get the help of Bar Manager Lars. Cheating? No, we saw it as using useful resources, and still lost. A good night was had by all.
Final day, day six. Another few sore heads, but they disappeared as soon as everyone got onto the slopes. Stella skied the Bi-ski with no tethers. It’s a massive thing to do in the Bi-ski and the whole instructor team were chuffed to bits. That was down to the hard work of Dave and Rob who worked with her for most of the week, and her determination to do it. This biggest sore head must be from Sam, but as soon as he got into his Bi-ski and zoomed around the mountain he loved it. The final afternoon I managed to take Ed in the Bi-ski into the HALF PIPE. I also skied with Ed Maurice and Susan that day and their skiing came on leaps and bounds throughout the week. Paul was skiing his Bi-ski with fixed riggers amazingly. John loved skiing with tethers and a link following his Mother, Kirsty down the steep blues. And Sarah, after winning her snowboarding lesson in the Quiz, she managed to get moving around on a snowboard. Sarah also found a new crush from her Italian snowboard instructor. On the final evening we had a presentation where awards were handed out to the skiers. The instructors also received a gift and a pen each (as all week we had one pen between six of us).
So, to describe the week skiing in La Plagne - AMAZING. Thank you to all the skiers, who reached their goals and even smashed them. Thank you to the helpers who were always ready to do anything on and off the slope. And the instructor team who worked together to get everyone having an amazing time on the snow. An extra thanks goes to Lisa Hall who was our Party Leader for the week! Lisa made sure everything ran smoothly and kept us all in check :) Thanks Lisa!
See you all on the slopes soon!
Final day, day six. Another few sore heads, but they disappeared as soon as everyone got onto the slopes. Stella skied the Bi-ski with no tethers. It’s a massive thing to do in the Bi-ski and the whole instructor team were chuffed to bits. That was down to the hard work of Dave and Rob who worked with her for most of the week, and her determination to do it. This biggest sore head must be from Sam, but as soon as he got into his Bi-ski and zoomed around the mountain he loved it. The final afternoon I managed to take Ed in the Bi-ski into the HALF PIPE. I also skied with Ed Maurice and Susan that day and their skiing came on leaps and bounds throughout the week. Paul was skiing his Bi-ski with fixed riggers amazingly. John loved skiing with tethers and a link following his Mother, Kirsty down the steep blues. And Sarah, after winning her snowboarding lesson in the Quiz, she managed to get moving around on a snowboard. Sarah also found a new crush from her Italian snowboard instructor. On the final evening we had a presentation where awards were handed out to the skiers. The instructors also received a gift and a pen each (as all week we had one pen between six of us).
So, to describe the week skiing in La Plagne - AMAZING. Thank you to all the skiers, who reached their goals and even smashed them. Thank you to the helpers who were always ready to do anything on and off the slope. And the instructor team who worked together to get everyone having an amazing time on the snow. An extra thanks goes to Lisa Hall who was our Party Leader for the week! Lisa made sure everything ran smoothly and kept us all in check :) Thanks Lisa!
See you all on the slopes soon!
You can view a whole load of photos from this trip on our facebook page but below is one of our beautiful instructor team!
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