Date: 17th of December 2007

Hi All,

In yesterday’s update I talked about how the jet lag was affecting everyone. Well it definitely kicked into full gear last night with many of the crew having a restless nights sleep. It wasn’t helped by the first of the 7.30am wake up calls as we’re now onto to our regular training times. There were plenty of glazed over eyes as I did a wake up call this morning. Those who had been with AWSC in the past were a little wiser and opted for an extra half hours sleep while the new people this year bounded out of bed with excitement. I’m sure it won’t be long before the figure out that they have an hour from the time of the first wake up to when breakfast ends.

Chris and Ridley joined forces again this morning to take the crew though a proper warm up and stretch.  After that was out of the way they began lapping the front side of the mountain witrh Whiskey Jack and Far Out being the runs of choice.  Again it was a pretty casual morning to make sure everything was getting back in the thick of things.  The coaches threw in the odd drill to work on mobility and stance related technique as well as a couple of switch runs on Far Out to get the feeling again and start to build confidence.  The group also had some fun taking advantage of the rollers on Whiskey Jack and the cat tracks off the home trail to catch a little air.  Some of the boys wasted no time getting right into it with Brodie throwing some switch butter 3’s and Conrad doing some nice 3’s off the cat tracks.

In the afternoon the freeski and moguls skiers split up to focus on some specific drills.  Ridley took the girls, plus young Max for the afternoon and began by working on some basic drills to get everyone’s feet back. The snow was dumping when the afternoon session began and provided the group with a couple of centimetres of fresh on top. After a couple of runs through the rollers on Whiskey Jack the group moved to Big Dipper where Max decided the group would benefit from a run through one of the tightest tree runs on the mountain. Kate took a fall and lost a ski while the others wiggled their way through the trees and stumps.  After a couple more runs down Whiskey Jack and Far Out where Lauren and Amy were taking some good air, the group moved closer to the home for one last run and a trip up the double chair for some nice views of the resort.   Chris had the boys which included Conrad, Brodie, Alex, Bryn, and Jack.  They found a bit of a jib run that ran through Whiskey Jack rollers then cut through the trees which had a log grind as well as a stump which the boys hit up with stall to 180’s out.  Then the crew moved over to Far Out and hit the cat track and hip on the side of the run.  The group was playing around with 180’s and switch butter’s as well as nose butter’s.  Couple of good crashes were had but everyone was in good sprits and enjoy their second day of training.  Tomorrow the groups will split into their mogul and freeride groups. 

Today the snowboarders couldn't even wait until nine o'clock to get started. With a few centimeters of fresh on the ground the group decided to try and ride the hill outside the lodge without their feet strapped in.  Oli and Jamie were both close to doing the whole hill, (quite a feat considering Jamie was fresh off a plane yesterday). After fifteen minutes of playing around waiting for the skiers to clear the lift line the group got into a few roller runs. First up this morning was a game of P.I.G. where the group had to call what trick they were doing and then do it or get a letter. All of the guys were picking some quite hard tricks including some switch 540s trying to push themselves and not caring about getting letters which was good.
Nath Fell was the first to go out but persisted until he had landed a backside 180.

Their main run today included three roller jumps followed by a short little powder run through the trees which included a natural tree railslide as well as a tree bonk. Next, it was onto a cat track drop which was perfect for all levels. Kane and Jake threw a few 20ft front 360s and 540s and then into a little cat track drop where a few people were playing around with pre-grabbing (grabbing before you leave the jump so when you hit the air you are already mid-trick). After the pre-grab cat track drop there was two little backside hips in a row with a nice flat run with another little natural log slide and finally finishing off with a roller. (Quite a mouthful hey!) The guys spent the whole morning riding the same run, came in for a quick lunch and then were straight back out for the afternoon session, this time with Pez tagging along taking photos for the website. In the afternoon session the Cozzella boys started to get comfortable on their boards trying a few nose and tail rolls (the first step towards landing 180s) The rest of the group was working on the spin to win theory, the more rotations the better. By the end of training today some of the snowboarders had rotated a total of over 20,000 degrees, needless to say the group was absolutely spent by 3pm. Maybe tomorrow they will slow the pace down a bit and go and check out the rest of the hill. Rumor has it the Silver Woods is due to open tomorrow so it’s a safe bet to assume that Beggsy will have the guys riding powder in the trees.

The daily shuttle headed downtown at 3.45pm with myself at the wheel and this time it was another groups chance to obtain adequate sugar and soft drink supplies. They did not disappoint when I picked everyone up at 5.30pm there was plenty of sugar fix’s including the odd slab of coke and “north American” super sized bags of lollies – I think there will be a few bouncing off the walls tonight!

Tonight’s dinner was a taste of Mexico with Beef Burritos and all the trimmings. Emma couldn’t really come with a Mexican dessert so what better than chocolate cake to make up for it! For first time burrito eaters, the experience can be quite traumatic as there is a certain rolling technique required in order to keep the contents inside the burrito. The biggest mistake made by first time rookies is over packing the burrito and finding themselves with a meat, cheese, etc explosion halfway through. While there were a few disasters made, many listened to the advice offered and we now have a new batch of the burrito connoisseurs on this years camp. 

Tonight’s activity was ice skating down on the frozen pond here in Silver Star.; Just about headed down for a skate, the first time for many of the crew. Chris and Min also strapped on the skates and while Min is a bit of a novice, Chris an experienced skater show the group a thing or two. There were plenty of laughs and everyone seemed to have a great time although there were a few sore behinds from the odd fall or two. When they were done some of the group headed over to the open fires and toasted marshmallows – great night!!!

Finally PINKY goes out to Lauren who challenged a hockey stick to a head butt and came off the winner. While she may be a little sore it definitely was PINKY worthy.

Until next time

Stowie