Levelling Up, Grouping and Progress Quest

[afty]

Just curious, what level have people reached - I'm wondering who is going to be grouping with whom in the first day or so, and who is going to be giving tuition to the newbies, and when...

I know andyf is going to be spending the first day or so on the nursery slopes, and will need lessons for basic boarding... anyone else out there planning lessons early in the week?

Name : Afty
Tuition Level : N/A
Ski/Board : Ski
Experience : 3 Weeks abroad, several snow slope trips in the UK
Start Of Week : Blue/Red
Aim For End Of Week : Black
Tuition Wanted : No, but may consider carving lesson towards end of week.

Everyone want to slap their info/guesstimates into the above?

[bvark]

Name : bvark
Tuition Level : God calls me for boarding tips occasionally.
Ski/Board : Board
Experience : 150 days, at least three of them without a hangover
Start Of Week : Pasty yellow
Aim For End Of Week : Lovely bronze. and a 360, before nj does, or I will never hear the end of it.
Tuition Wanted : Might consider getting a guide/teacher if there's backcountry ninjaing to be done

I would offer to teach, but I think the curse of bvark is undeniably strong now.

[Mingtea]

Name : John "Mingtea" Evans
Tuition Level : Full suite of lessons at snowdome
Ski/Board : Board
Experience : around 30 hours on snowdome
Start Of Week : Not even sure how colours work....
Aim For End Of Week : To be able to board better.
Tuition Wanted : Pointers off a few better boarders would be nice, just want to chill and cruise.

[Big Giant Head]

Name : BGH
Tuition Level : N/A
Ski/Board : Board
Experience : 5-6 Weeks abroad, untold hours at indoor slopes
Start Of Week : Blue/Red/Black if my legs can take it
Aim For End Of Week : 180 (nice looking one preferably) ;)
Tuition Wanted : Mebbe a little bit on how to do friggin moguls

[her0n]

Name : her0n
Tuition Level : Originally had 12 hours worth of lessons on dry slope, about 4/5 years ago. Lessons with school ski trip (first time I went on snow) too
Ski/Board : Ski
Experience : 4 Weeks abroad, several snow slope trips in the UK, Millions of times on Dry Slope (One of the places I work funnily enough :p: )
Start Of Week : Blue/Red
Aim For End Of Week : 'Nice' Blacks (it's all about style dahling!)
Tuition Wanted : Not really but really benefitted well from instruction from a private instructor who taught myself, Wiz and Killing some leet style and finesse carving skillz ;) So may opt for that again, wallet pending!

[Njoroge]

Name : Njoroge
Tuition Level : When you're ready you don't have a level
Ski/Board : Weeeeeeeeeee!
Experience : Anywhere between 6 and 30 days per year for 20 years skipping a few years here and there.
Start Of Week : Where the wind takes me
Aim For End Of Week : Gloating at bvark
Tuition Wanted : Not really, but I'll offer tips to anyone who wants to listen.

[BiGW]

Name : Billy
Tuition Level : intuition is what i do best
Ski/Board : Board
Experience : Can drink plenty of beer without passing out. Have boarded once before with bvark. Have had plenty of lessons at milton keynes snow dome. I can also burp the alphabet. Twice.
Start Of Week : To use a snowboard for longer than 5 minutes without falling over and demonstrating my infamous faceplant trick.
Aim For End Of Week : Get down a red run or two. Maybe land a 180 or something. Get selected for the british snowboarding team.
Tuition Wanted : Am happy to be given advice from people who are willing to stick around and give it.

[Silk75]

Name : Andy
Tuition Level : N/A
Ski/Board : Ski
Experience : Some lessons at Xscape, Leeds, plus last years experience of how to fall down a lot and not get bruised.
Start Of Week : Get parallel turns confirmed in my head, green for 1 hour then blues.
Aim For End Of Week : Get down a red run alive, oh and work out how to stop quickly and stay on feet.
Tuition Wanted : Will be seeking advice at some time during the 8 days.

[Aardvark]

Name : Aardvark
Tuition Level : Various ski school gubbins over the years.
Ski/Board : Ski. The ONLY way!
Experience : At least a week in the Alps every year from the age of 3-16. A week roughly once every other year since (~180 days all in).
Start Of Week : Ness sitting :rolleyes:
Aim For End Of Week : To go backwards as well as I go forwards :)
Tuition Wanted : Might get a carving lesson at some point, although education does irk me :D

[Pingman]

Name : Pingman
Tuition Level : Reached level 7 at Dry slope a few eyars ago when learning
Ski/Board : Ski
Experience : 3 Weeks abroad, Loads of dry slope when i was learning
Start Of Week : Blue/Red
Aim For End Of Week : Black And some PHAT Air!
Tuition Wanted : No, but may consider carving lesson towards end of week.

[andyf]

Name : andyf
Tuition Level : i stand on a plank of wood, how hard can this be.
Ski/Board : Board
Experience : ice-skated at Pleasure Beach for 1 hour when 15.
Start Of Week : Sober
Aim For End Of Week : Not sober, bruised, happy, reduced mass, having fun.
Tuition Wanted : On a constant basis.

[Aardvark]

Hmm. So despite all the advice to the contrary, you have in fact had no practice at all Andy? You realise this means you have absolutely no right to complain if you suck.. right? :)

[afty]

Yep, utter FAILURE on andys part... what date do you get back to the UK andy? Perhaps we can get you over to Castleford for a level 1+2 quickstart?

Failing that it's not a big deal, just means you'll be on the nursery slopes for the first day or two, and you'll need some yurodollah for an instructor. On the upside, the nursery slopes appear to be not more than a few hundred metres from the chalet.

[Pingman]

OMG, we seriously need to get Andyf some Big time practive, he at least needs to learn how to put on the skis, stand up in them, go forward, snow plow etc, then maybe when hes there we can teach him to parallel in a couple of days and get him coming out with us.

Or we could just leave him with Baroness on the nursery slopes lol

[phil]

Andy will be boarding. I hope you've got those sit ups sorted Andy, you've got to prepare for a world of pushing yourself off your arse ;)

[afty]

andys not skiing, he's boarding - and from the rumours I hear on the grapevine our Nessy got her rear in gear and has visited a slope at least once or twice recently..

[Pingman]

Boarding?

Shame on you andyf, i thought youd be up here wit hthe skiers rather than falling on to your bum and pretending you ment to do it :P

[afty]

Just in case you don't read psyms post, andy, start with 200 situps a day, and stop 48 hours before we go on holiday. You *WILL* thank us.

[Baroness]

Name : Rach
Tuition Level : 9 hours of lessons at Milton Keynes Snowdome. But still, how shall we put it, "lacking in confidence"... and not quite ready to leave the nursery slopes *just* yet. But after a day or two, hopefully.
Ski/Board : Ski
Experience : Lack of
Start Of Week : Nursery slopes
Aim For End Of Week : Off the nursery slopes, without fear. To achieve some classy-looking parallel turns. Not to fall off the drag lift every *single* time (perhaps every other time ....)
Tuition Wanted : If someone else would join me, I would like to take a few lessons, or even just one, for some further tuition. Bit pricey on me own. Want to be able to parallel like a pr0!!

[afty]

Originally posted by Baroness
Name : Rach
Tuition Level : 9 hours of lessons at Milton Keynes Snowdome. You've done this recently?

I'm no "pro" (only a few trips)" but I suspect we can have you off the nursery slopes and onto a green or a blue within the first hour or so. Seriously.

Once we're out on the first morning I'll head up the mountain for a couple of hours if you want to do the nursery first, then I and a few others will come abduct you to visit a higher place.

A green is basically flat, in case you didn't know - almost functionally identical to the nursery slope, except you can *just keep going* for hundreds of yards, rather than having to use the lift. Just a few (and I *MEAN* a few) trips into the greens and then we will go find a gentle blue... nursery and green aren't steep enough to learn properly on. In fact, the first few hours up there I can spend trying to find a nice, wide lazy blue.

Incidentally, andyf will need lessons. Not sure if you could get an instructor who would be willing to do both ski and board, but might be worth asking, and you could get a lesson between you for your first morning...

(Just to let you know how I progressed, I went *ONCE* at 11 years old for a week, then 12 years later I went again... I had forgotten EVERYTHING and had a lesson on the nursery slope for a morning... The guy about 2pm finished and told us to enjoy ourselves the day after, but one or two of the l33tors phoned and we decided to hurry up to the main slopes that first afternoon for the last couple of hours of the day, contrary to the instructors opinion. First run we hit was a blue... and it was superb. Fell a few times but falling on piste is no issue, and by the second day was flying down wide blues. If you've got the willpower and gonads, you can be on the mountain in *NO TIME*. And you will love it.)

[Ryvita]

Name : James "Ryvita" Turner
Tuition Level : None whatsoever, but I should have reasonable balance etc. I can skate like a demon. An icy demon.
Ski/Board : Board
Experience : Nada
Start Of Week : Nursery slopes
Aim For End Of Week : What's one up from nursery? Oh, and to have a new job. How many people can say they got that out of a skiing holiday?
Tuition Wanted : Will take lessons from anyone.

[afty]

OK Ryv, ordinarily this would be very VERY bad. But andyf is in *EXACTLY* the same boat as you, so you won't be alone, and can learn together.

Which is great, cos you will learn faster and lessons will be cheaper :)

[Pingman]

Looks liek you and Andyf are goign to spend the first day or so on the nursery slopes, id stronly advise you go and get a couple of lessons in the UK if possible, it will do yo ua world of good and should get you on the mountain a day earlier or so. good luck n00bs :)

[Aardvark]

Originally posted by afty
If you've got the willpower and gonads, you can be on the mountain in *NO TIME*. And you will love it.

I'm no anatomist, but I think she may have a slight deficiency in the gonads department :D

But yes. Suspend the fear, and remember: turning is easier as you get faster!

Well, to a certain point anyway :)

[afty]

Originally posted by Aardvark
turning is easier as you get faster! Yeah, alot of things are. And I don't mean speedy gonzales fast, just a little faster than you can do on a crowded nursery slope with a billion ppls around sitting down.

If you can forget the fear, and be willing to eat snow a few times, then you *WILL* learn a hell of alot faster.

[Njoroge]

Ryv on a board huh? Interesting..

[Ryvita]

I believe that would make it some form of Smorgesboard... <groan>

Ryv

[andyf]

Originally posted by afty
OK Ryv, ordinarily this would be very VERY bad. But andyf is in *EXACTLY* the same boat as you

We can prop each other up.

Or, Ryv can fall over, flail wildly, and pull me down with him.

Win/Win either way!