The Day the Music Died.... Again.

Going to the gym in the mornings they have a little set up in the wall where you can plug in your iPod or whatever to the wall and have the whole gym playing your music. Early in the morning it is pretty much just me and others from the ski school so it works out pretty sweet...

This morning I went to plug my iPod into the wall and to my horror the screen had a massive crack running through it. Dear god, what is this conspiracy against me and my beautiful, beautiful music?! Seems that I had it in my breast pocket while riding yesterday and must have leant on it or something; especially odd considering I didn't take any hard falls. Hopefully I can get it fixed when I am back in Stockholm but I shouldn't think it'll be the cheapest thing in the world to sort out.

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.

The Day the Music Died

Who would have known Don McLean would have predicted the downfall of my speakers? One of the best purchases I have ever made in my life has finally put one foot in the grave as the sound starts to crackle out at higher volumes and the bass shows its age.We have been through a lot my old girl and I. I originally got her from eBay at a dirt cheap price of US$50. I was working at a summer camp in the US at the time and it was a beautiful sunny day when the package arrived. It's been over a year and a half since and she hasn't let me down. Amazingly good sound and amazingly compact. A perfect traveler's companion: she really came into her own recently when I finally got my hands on a cable to hook it up to my laptop. Suddenly I had a portable home theater and James the Wanderer hasn't been the same since.

We have been through our share of tough times. One fateful day in Seattle we were almost parted forever. Through a rushed packing job, hungover daze I left my beautiful mm50 all alone in a hostel locker as I headed to the airport on my way to Orlando, Florida. It wasn't until a few days later I realised the gross act of irresponsibility I had undertaken. Getting thrown out of camp for the indirect supply of alcohol to minors? Bah. Getting the sack in the last weeks of work for embezzlement? Pales in comparison to leaving my pearly princess all alone in the dark. It took some time to forgive myself.

I was in a panic. I made frantic phone calls in an effort to find out the fate of mm50 and after several night without sleep I managed to find her securely in the hands of the hostel reception. My extreme panic settled to mild heart palpitations from time to time as the silence began to take hold. It was a painful process riddled with financial blockades but I eventually worked out a deal with the hostel staff. I worked out that I would be in Montreal around the time my precious cargo should arrive and I awaited patiently...

Days went by and turned into weeks and still no news from my beloved. My sedated apprehension slowly returned with no news. As I began to pack my things and rang for a taxi to the airport my heart sunk and I had all but given up hope when the doorbell rang. The timing was incredible: My taxi was due to arrive within the hour and there she was. Her majestic ivory gleaming more brightly than the first day she had arrived on my doorstep. It was like falling in love all over again.

As I sit here and reminisce about our past together I begin to lament her imminent departure and I feel dirty as I search online for her replacement. I would like to say that you will forever hold a special place in my heart mm50, but I know that the dazzling spectacle of her succeeder: the Pure-Anywhere will quickly wash away the pain.

The day the music died. We were singing...
bye-bye, miss Logitech mm50... Them good old boys were drinkin’ whiskey and rye And singin’, this’ll be the day that I die. this’ll be the day that I die.

Simmering Down...

...is not what is happening at all. It is officially dead here. Weeks 7 and 8 were pretty full on, booked solid all week with hardly a second to scratch myself. Now I have all the time in the world; giving me a lot of time to work on my skiing/riding and to start thinking about my next step. I went through the park with Roberto and his camera the other day and I must say I was very disappointed with myself. I need to grow a pair. Those terrible pictures have fired me up to practice as much as I can. Seems I still haven't gotten over the horror of my 'incident(s)' last season. Since then, I have been hitting the park as much as I can in preparation for the next photo shoot. My goal is to get a photo like this one that didn't need a helping hand from Photoshop.

I will be wrapping it up here in about 6 weeks. I have the option to head up to Sweden again and sit my ski instructor's certification but I don't know if I can afford it. I still haven't got my visa sorted out and so I am still not really sure how much I am getting paid. It should be sorted out in the next week or so. At any rate I am pretty set on heading back to Sweden for a while. It is so nice every once in a while when I hear someone speaking nice clear Swedish and I can understand what they're saying... not like these crazy Norwegians and their mumbling. Pontus gave a biomechanics clinic at work yesterday and I got at least 90% of what he said. Not being able to understand Norwegians gets to me sometimes...

My good friend Roberto has sadly left us to be closer to home. I am surprised he lasted this long away from his wife and newly born son actually. I am going to miss the crazy Peruvian... We had a nice heterosexual dinner at the local Chinese place the other night as a kind of send off. One of the best non-Mexican meals I have had in a long time...

Marek had a friend of his come to visit for a few days and sent him off with a 'P' party. Right in the middle of my white week I was not up to my usual partying standard but I still managed to get my costume on. Marek the pizza and James the Pervert. I am doing my best in a battle against the cold that is going around town at the moment. I have been putting up a strong fight but today I fear I may be loosing the battle... Wish me luck. Marek the pizza again along side Christina a.k.a. Pippy Longstockings

In an effort to be just a little more responsible...

I am doing just that. Easing back on the partying for now and stepping up the work enthusiasm. This week is 'week 7' (imagine it being said in a booming and ominous voice). Probably the busiest week of the year with around 200 students starting lessons at one time. Fun! My schedule has been solidly booked so far and I find myself running in and out of the ski school changing from snowboard to ski boots and back again.

I started out with a group of kids on skis. They were a pretty mixed bunch to begin with: I had criers, quitters and star athletes all at once. Over the next couple of days we shifted around and I ended up with just me 8 Danish girls and one Icelander between 8-11 years old. Sweetest little girls you could imagine; can be a little trying at times- some of them are much better than others and some have no patience for waiting around just want to fly down the mountain like maniacs... that and the fact that I can barely understand what they're saying half the time. Good times. We've come along mina sma tjejer and me: tomorrow is our last day. Gonna miss the little maniacs. We try to teach each other Danish/Swedish while we sit on the chair but the conversation seems to inevitably work its way back to toilet talk. The perils of 8 year old Danes I guess... or maybe 25 year old Australians?

In the afternoon I had a snowboard class; quite a big one compared to the usual size... 5 English and 4 Danes; saying everything twice was interesting... kinda fun though. Had some pretty gifted students and secured myself some private lessons later in the week. Teaching certainly has its high points. The smile you put on people's faces when they really get something, the feeling you can share with other people and the connection you can make with others. But then it has it's hard moments; when you simply cannot communicate to someone what they need to be doing; no matter how many different ways you explain it, how many images you create or metaphors you concoct, when you simple cannot help them calm their fear or slow their growing frustrations. Snowboarding is a hard sport in the first few stages, there is a lot of falling over and not a lot of going. As much as you can tell people this in a group situation, they will never stop comparing themselves to the other students.

Things will get easier. At least a little?

Playing Catch-Up

February started out with a road trip down to Ål with the boys. It's a much higher level of skiing there with more difficult and steeper runs. What they failed to tell me was that there were no chair lifts in Ål, only T-Bars. Now while T-Bars are a little slower than chairs, they are no big deal... unless of course you are a snowboarder...

Whereas on skis, the bar sits comfortably under your butt-cheeks, on a snowboard all your weight is supported in one small fleshy spot of your inner-thigh just below your crotch. Sounds lovely doesn't it? The main T-Bar is also one of the longest and steepest in Norway constructed with the kind of engineering genius making similar new constructions illegal today. Awesome.

Despite my whining, it was a fun trip, the weather was cold yet beautiful and I got in some serious boarding. Good times.

This week was full of adventures for me. I had my first adult ski group. Started out with about 14 people and two instructors and on day two we divided up into two groups; I managed to convince Malin to let me take the more advanced skiers which set me up for a fun week. They were all English guests and I managed to have a good laugh with them and they all seemed to really enjoy themselves while getting a lot out of it. My ski instruction skills are coming along nicely...

Gulla's pad (my place) is starting to fill up as we have just welcomed our 9th house mate all the way from the snowy mountains in Australia. Marek knew how to break into the group dynamic as he cracked open a fresh bottle of duty-free Jagermeister to get the evening started. I must remember that trick in future...

My lovely house-mate representative at the ski school sales desk, Filipa, set me up with a full week of private snowboard lessons with an 11 year old kid from Luxembourg. Suddenly the pressure was on and I had to fish around in the mess I call a brain for some French words. Day one was rough but by the end of the week my French was flowing once again- it amazing how it all stays floating around in there somewhere- admittedly from time to time some Swedish words would fly out unexpectedly; but that's to be expected isn't it?

This has also been a pretty solid week of partying. Starting out on Tuesday night with Solfest- marking the day the sun begins to shine on our side of the valley bringing us out of the shadow cast by the mountain that looms above. Free alcohol was flowing all night and as we moved onto the reception at one of the best hotels in Geilo we were treated to a very impressive and ridiculously tasty banquet. Free alcohol kept on flowing and as the stand-up comedian tried to prey on my language weaknesses I fought back with a solid effort and surprisingly coherent retort. A little more free beer and wine and I had the mic in hand and was reeling off pure gold Australian humor. Anyone who has heard the one about the man and his musical octopus knows what I'm talking about. Gold. I did get a few strange looks from my colleges and my colourful language came out- what's a joke without a bit of swearing eh?

Thursday was the ski school's staff party. We started out in the snow with some activities, beer and a barbeque. Blindfolded obstacle courses and cross country races saw the eruption of all kinds of laughter. We then retired to the ice hylla for some more drinks as we were handed some knives and spoons to begin our ice sculptures: we were assigned the task of creating a sculpture and a back story to go along with it. Through sheer coincidence just about all of the groups created a sculpture of one of the more 'character' types on staff: Martin.

The ski school is teeming with instructors at the moment in preparation for the all important weeks 7 and 8 as we are inundated with English and Danish on holiday so as the staff party moved back to Lilla Bla aka Martin's house; we felt our numbers on show. The night got a little hazy as we were not too accustomed to starting drinking at 5 o'clock. The best example of this was my fellow Australian, Clinton's 'walk' home. Enjoy the show:

Click here for the video

I must admit the only thing separating me and Clint here was that he was in front and I was behind the camera. I mean... just what the hell am I saying in the first part of the video?

Keep on rolling Clinton...

Australia Day Norway Style

Australia Day has been and gone. Festivities have been had all over the country in the traditional sense: Beer, Australian Music and Barbeques. I might be in the icy tundra of south-central Norway, but I wasn't going to let that stop me.

Me and the Butcher brothers, Duane and Clinton, make up the Australian trio working at Geilolia Ski School. Preparations started on Friday afternoon as we started shoveling snow from Clinton's roof onto his front porch. The initial plan was to make an igloo to house the party guests and set up a barbeque out the front. Still being reasonably unfamiliar with snow shenanigans - my enthusiasm got the better of me and what should have been 5 minutes of snow shoveling turned into about 3 hours. After building up the snow mountain with snow from the roof we hurled ourselves into the powdery field below to start hollowing out the cave. We needed to be careful about it as the unstable structure had the potential to collapse at any moment. Between digging I kept looking at the holes we'd made jumping off the roof- these formed the beginnings of our ice bar.

Geilo has received insane amounts of snow the past weeks and last week was no exception. We had a lot of snow to work with which gave us a lot of potential and a lot of potential shoveling. But it was all worth it in the end. The pictures I took don't do the whole set up justice and in all the excitement we can only hope to build it up further over the season. Right now the cave can only handle 4-5 people at a squeeze but we plan to fix that with time.

As the Barbeque began to sink slowly into the snow over the course of the night so too did people sink indoors out of the cold. We ended up having just over 20 people at the party and a good 15 of them made it out on our party bus to off piste. The Spark VM was on the same weekend so there was actually a pretty decent sized crowd out. A big night of drinking and dancing ensued. One of the best I've had since New Years Eve.

Good onya Aussie.

Det Bajsar Snø

Since New Years... and a little before... we have had about 48 hours where it has NOT been snowing. I have never seen anything like it. It's pretty nice though. Snow everywhere.

Days are getting busier, barely a second to scratch myself between running inside and changing boots; I have had days where I have gone from snowboarding to skiing to snowboarding to skiing to snowboarding again. Considering we are allocated 5 minutes between lessons... it's pretty hectic. I still manage to squeeze in a couple of runs in the freshly groomed pistes first thing in the morning though.

Flying down the mountain with my iPod on is one of the best feelings I know. Afterall, that's why I am here.

In music news: Every single night I have been out here in Geilo, I have heard Madcon - Beggin'. Being out of the international music scene a little I had assumed it was an American group. I was pretty shocked to find out they are Norwegian, and now listening to the whole album I am pretty damn impressed. It's all in English and pretty similar to the Black Eyed Peas' style. I highly recommened checking them out.

Gott Nyttår!

The past few days have been more or less the same as of late. Taking ski/snowboard lessons with Norwegians, Danes, Germans, Russians and English guests. I have been taking everyone from 3 year old German kids to 40+ year old Russian first time skiers. I had my first adult private on skis a couple of days ago and funnily enough it went really well. Having never stood on skis; in one hour I had Andrei doing nice even turns down the slopes. Go Russia.

It's New Year's Day here at the ski schol and everyone is understandably sluggish. I'm not quite as hungover as one might expect but I could certainly do with more than 2 hours of sleep. I am also fortunate enough to be scheduled on this week to set up/take down the

Our boss at the ski school, Linda, is a Swedish girl from Skåne (one of the southern provinces of Sweden) and is roughly the same age as me. Last night she put together a dinner for about 18 of us before we started the real new years celebrations at our local bar. After dinner we headed out the front and set off a few fireworks. Everything from little sparkler things to full on rockets.

Our regular nightspot here in Geilo is a bar/club called Off Piste. It sits reasonably high up and has a spectacular view of the whole village. After a brief but hefty dose of preparatory drinking/dancing we headed out to the balcony to watch as the whole valley lit up with all kinds of fireworks as the new year rolled in. Rockets were firing from at least a hundred different houses and street corners stretching out as far as the eye could see. We even had some people firing rockets on the street right in front of us up into the sky. I have to say this was far more impressive than any professional fireworks display I have seen and really gave a sense of a community of people all celebrating. Fireworks were still going off as I walked home around 4am. The money people must have spent on these things is simply mind-boggling. Sadly; New Years Eve 2007 saw the last legal private use of propelled explosives in Norway, I feel lucky to have had a chance to witness the end of such a long standing tradition. I understand why they're banning rockets:- I noticed they tend to shoot upwards at times and then at other times they decide to go a bit sideways... Aparently

A Sparka; "kick" in Nordiska (Swedish/Norwegian) is a small sled consisting of a chair mounted on a pair of flexible metal runners which extend back about 2-3 meters. There is a handlebar attached to the top of the chair back. The sparka is driven forward by one person standing on a runner, kicking backwards on the ground with the other foot, hence the name. The flexibity of the runners allows the driver to steer the sparka by twisting the handlebars. A kicksled works best on hard packed snow or ice- making the footpaths of Geilo ideal passageways. Living a good 15-20 minute walk from the village makes the sparka a godsend for me. A sober person can reach 15-20km/h on flat ground. Imagine what I can do down hill.

Spreading Christmas Cheer

Sometimes people can surprise you in the most unexpected ways. I guess that's what makes it so surprising...

Every Monday throughout the season I will be starting a 3 day
Snowboarding course. The group I start with is the group that
I finish with on Wednesday afternoon. The idea is to take beginners through the basic steps of snowboarding and get them out on their own by the end of the 3 days. The group I started with yesterday was pretty good. A friendly bunch of Englishmen who did reasonably well for their first time.

This afternoon when we met up again, a little girl in the group came up to me and said "Thank you for yesterday James, Merry Christmas." - she then handed me a little card and a chocolate coin. It was the sweetest thing I have seen in years, and for someone so far away from friends and family on Christmas day, it really cheered me up.