Easter approaches

As the Easter weekend approaches so too does the end of the season here in Geilo. Easter marks the last big rush before things die off permanently. It's been a good season here in Geilo and I couldn't really have asked for a better entry into the industry. From here things start to get interesting...

Earlier this week I was luckily enough to have time off while the demo tents were set up on our side. I was able to test out some of the best snowboarding equipment money can buy- I demo'ed about 4 or 5 boards in all. All much softer with more of a freestyle stance than my current set-up. One K2 board weighed about 1/3rd of what I am riding now; very nice. If I wasn't so broke with many expenses coming up I would have bought the Amplid board I tried out right then and there. I spent a solid couple of hours in the park enjoying the flight paths of these beasts. As an instructor (I tested out the gear in uniform so I would get a bit more cred) I would have even gotten half price.

Yesterday was a good day overall. Did a little private instruction with a young English kid, when they're 5 years old like that and starting out it's more of a matter of teaching the parents how to best deal with the kid and help them out getting little James comfortable on the snow.

I was free for the rest of the afternoon so I strapped on my (finally replaced) bindings and headed out for the first time. A few weeks back one of my bindings shattered in the cold and I have been since using one rental binding along side one of my own. With all due respect to the rental department... it was horrible. It also looked pretty messed up having two completely different types of binding on one board; now I have been sent a replacement high back- even though it is black the my original was brown, it looks pretty sweet- they're sending me out a black one for my other binding as well so soon I may have a respectable looking deck to ride around on.

I ran into a few people I knew and we ended up being a group of about 6 people all riding together. It's so nice riding with other people in the park; they push you to try new things and I generally feel better on the jumps with a bit of pressure on. Mats had his video camera but I don't think he got any good footage; not exactly an expert cameraman; I have yet to check it out so maybe I'll get lucky. I am slowly starting to shake off the nightmarish fears stemming from my surgery last year and trying to do new and bigger things... As long as I get a couple of decent shots by the end of the season, I'll be happy.

The weather here at the moment has been fantastic. Nice covering of snow and warmish temperatures sets up a nice soft base to ride on while the lengthening days and blue skies make for great visibility and signs of a bit of colour in my cheeks. Nothing but a t-shirt and my jacket and I am still sweating. Before too long I will have to lose the jacket. This reminds me of the end of last season; everyone is smiling and playful and in a good mood.

As with all busy periods here in Geilo I am going to be slammed with work and sure to be out most of the week enjoying the crowds of tourists in town. Let's hope I survive the coming chaos.