So this was me, exactly 2 years ago this week. I had just dropped out of Uni, (I’m back now, it’s all good), and had no idea what I was about to do with my life. All I knew is that my parents didn’t want me lazing around the house for a year before they could pack me back off to university to start again. So what did I do? To cut things short, I rang SnowSkool and booked a 13 week Snowboard Instructor Course in Banff, Canada. Literally the best decision I’ve ever made.
I had just over four weeks to prepare and get my head around the fact I was leaving the country for what turned out to be over five months. First (and thankfully the most important) thing I did was sort my insurance out. It’s the most tedious thing to get arranged but on the fourth day of the course I got wiped out (unintentionally I must add) half way down a run and was out injured for four weeks, so good job I had insurance really!
After the boring stuff was out the way it was time to pack my suitcase! I had the same mind-set I’m sure anyone has whilst packing, ‘I’m going to spend 13 weeks on a mountain and when I’m not there I’ll just be in my trackies’. So my checklist pretty much just involved far too many hoodies and a ridiculous amount of socks. Nobody mentioned to me the words ‘Hoodoo’ and ‘Auroras’, the best clubs in town. I really hadn’t done my research. Banff has by far the best après-ski/nightlife I have ever experienced and I definitely didn’t pack accordingly. The awkward moment you have to go clubbing in your UGGs.
I would definitely say there’s no need to panic if you haven’t got weeks’ worth of thermals and the sickest ski wear on the slopes by the time you get to the airport. The majority of people on my course got kitted out in Banff when they got there, with discount available for SnowSkoolers in Unlimited, one of the best shops in town.
So I had everything ready to go. Suitcase, Board Bag, Boot Bag. They were all matching in the most horrendous shade of pink, embarrassing when I got to the airport and all the bags are piled together. After a crazy month I set off to Banff. Amazing!
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