Which basically means 'to have the blues' or 'to be down in the dumps'. There is plenty of moaning amongst my colleagues at the moment down at the school, because there are hardly any lessons around, ie little work. All ski instructors are self-employed so little work means little pay, an issue of course. We do live and work in an amazing environment however, so being an optimist I quickly phoned around some friends in resort to make the most of these quiet times. I had an afternoon whizzing around with my mate and fellow ski instructor Martin Jeffers, pictured above. Then I contacted Rick, pictured below looking rather moody.
Just over a week ago I introduced Rick to a different skiing discipline, telemarking. Telemark skis are similar to normal alpine skis, but the boots are different with the bindings only attaching the boots at the toes.
Each turn requires the telemarker to bend down on one knee!?! It's like doing constant lunges all day long. Rick is an expert alpine skier, so for him to go back to learning sliding again from scratch was a shock and a challenge. However, he has picked up the skills and knowledge really well and has pledged to continue practising in the future after his muscle aches have disappeared!
On Sunday I'm going to meet Phil and his friends, who will be my first complete beginners of the season, and I can't wait. Phil has been emailing constantly to keep asking questions about all sorts of things skiing related. He sounds as though he is about to explode with excitement. Learning to ski is one of those experiences that most people never forget. Mine was at the Tonbridge dry slope in Kent before heading out to Bulgaria for the real thing. I love teaching beginners because it's just such fun for everyone, and very rewarding for me to see them all succeed as well.
Do check in next week to find out how they all got on. Oh, try and stay away from any of those pesky cockroaches as well.Martin
No comments:
Post a Comment