Tag Archive for: Whistler
Rob Haylock Award
In memory of our friend, we present this award to the instructor trainee who best exemplifies Rob’s virtues of excellence and grace.
Winners of the Rob Haylock award for January 2017
Congratulations to Matt Bos (Skier) and Peri Kitchen (Snowboarder) our whole team where impressed with your continued enthusiasm & kindness to others during your course.
Best of luck to you both in your future endeavours …on or off the snow!!
Cheers
Welcome New Instructor training clients!
Welcome to all our new skiers and snowboarders on the YES instructor training program.
We hope you have an amazing time with us… 4, 7 or 11 weeks of powder fun!
Cheers
B
Snowtastic! 10 Dec 2015
A snow-demic has hit Whistler yesterday and we received 20cms of snow from am to pm, making 139cms in the past 7 days. Our base is now sitting at 158cms measured mid-mountain at the Pig Alley weather station. As of last night it was still dumping snow and conditions on the mountain are fan flippin’ tastic!
7th Heaven Chair and Glacier Chair are due to open today so we’re in for an epic weekend.
End of Season Bike Ride
As some of the YES Crew had been biking since Febraury, it was only fitting that the end of season YES Adventure would be a bike ride down the Sea-to-Sky Trail. Starting in Whistler, 50km later we would arrive in Squamish with our tour guides, Rob and PJ leading the way. (Well Brackendale really but that's close enough.) The crew met at Olive's in Function Junction to get last minute gels etc. Then it was off to the trail-head in Cheakamus. A beautiful winding trail that passed through the forest with beautiful views along the way brought us through Cal-Check and over a suspension bridge – where PJ almost bounced half of his staff into the river – before arriving at Brandywine. Then it was a small section of highway before stopping at Chez Linc for a quick fuel stop and water top-up.
Which way to Squamish?
PJ gathers the troups.
Suspension bridge over the Cheakamus River.
A beautiful section of trail brought us downhill past Shadow Lake before ending up at the Powder Mountain turn-off. From there it was a brutal climb half way up the canyon into killer a headwind. Luckily the punishment didn't last too long before we turned off the highway to rest up at the Tantalus Range view point. After taking in the views it was time to get back on the trail. A nice descent over varying terrain, and some loose rocks cooled us down after the long climb. A hike-a-bike section over the rail tracks and then it was off past Starvation Lake before popping out in Paradise Valley. From there is was quite the slog on a mixture of fireroads, gravel road and finally back onto the blacktop. Roughly 15km of flat, into a killer headwind, until our final destination. Jaron was a machine leading the pace as the group split up on the run home.
View of the Tantalus Range.
One of the many lakes we passed.
View back up the Canyon. (trail is top right)
The WaterShed was a welcome sight as some weary bones were in need of some hydration. Once the last of the crew arrived we unanimously gave out the sore saddle award. We won't mention the name of the guy that won, but needless to say, that guy needed some ice. That guy also needed a inflatable doughnut and that guy wasn't really able to sit down for the whole afternoon. Poor guy, who shall remain nameless of course. The crew quickly got hydrated through a combination of beer-garitas and buckets of Coronas. Apparently we actually drank them out of Coronas and Triple Sec. Great work gang! Another great adventure to wrap up a good season on the slopes. Can't wait for the next adventure…….stay tuned.
Bucket of beer.
It's Beer-garita time!!!
Whistler – Dryland Training
What have you been doing to ready for the ski season? Well, the YES Crew has been working hard in the gym to get ski-fit. Nearing the end of our 12 week intensive program run by none other that our personal pain master, J.P. Fok, we are rounding into shape. Or was it round is a shape? Anyways, many a curse has been muttered (in several languages) as J.P. has put us through our paces. Stair running, lunges, squats, stair running, planks, bridges, battle ropes, stair running, bike sprints, bike hill climbs, rows, split squats, running sprints, curls, dead lifts, stair running, seal walks, box jumps, wall sits (one legged), kettle bells, side planks, hip thrusts, balance drills, pull ups, mountain climbers, did i mention running up stairs!
Hard at work.
Bob running from………
Hopefully you have been doing your own regime to get ski-fit as it will increase your on-snow enjoyment and help reduce injury. Looking forward to seeing you all on the slopes soon.
Improvised gym while on vacation
YES Down under!
YES is heading downunder for it's 19th year – come and say hi at one of our YES apres functions or a one of the many ski show locations around Oz. We'll be talking all things Ski, Snowboard, Whistler, Niseko, Wanaka, Instructor, Improvement and much more…
Sydney YES apres – Thursday May 22nd at the Firehouse Hotel, North Sydney – Time: 5:30pm – 7:30pm
Sydney Travel Expo – Sunday May 25th at the Sydney Exhibition centre – Whistler Blackcomb Stand – Time: 9am to 4pm
Melbourne YES apres – Tuesday May 27th at the Emerald Hotel, South Melbourne – Time: 5:30pm – 7pm
Melbourne Mogul Ski show – Wednesday May 28th at the Kooyong Tennis club – Whistler Blackcomb Stand – Time: 5:30pm – 8:30pm
Travelplan Melbourne show – Thursday May 29th – Melbourne Exhibition Centre – Time: 5pm to 9pm
Brisbane YES apres – Friday May 30th – The Paddo Tavern – Time: 6pm
Travelplan Brisbane show – Saturday May 31st – Brisbane Event and Exhibition Centre – Time: 10am to 3pm
Travelplan Sydney show – Sunday June 1st – Australian National Maritime Museum – Time: 11am to 4pm
We look forward to seeing you at one of these events
Happy Skiing
B
Surf the POW!
There is nothing quite like riding the endless wave of powder to awaken the senses.
The opportunity to learn to achieve this sensation is completely possible with YES. Our professional Level 4 CASI Snowboard pros Rob Leblanc and Jaron Pauls have a combined 30+ years of experience teaching the art of snowboarding. The fact that people feel that they will never be able to "ride like that" is not something that we believe here at YES. Everyone can achieve their goals with a little training, confidence and guidance.
So come and join us in Whistler, Niseko or Wanaka… take the plunge to become stronger at a sport you love. Everyone can improve with the right instruction and practice in a safe and controlled environment. We know we will exceed your expectations.
Do it with YES!
**Image taken by Steve Andrews from http://500px.com/steveandrews
BASI Course – Whistler, BC
This year YES has arranged for a Level 2 BASI course to be offered here in Whistler. I had the honour of joining the group for the first of two weeks to see what the British were up to. BASI course examiner Alex Leaf came over from Europe to run the course. The week started on Sunday with a meet and greet at the Alta Vista Chalet. Alex was introduced to the group of 8 that were taking the course.
BASI Examiner Alex Leaf
The BASI Group
Manuals and workbooks were handed out as Alex went over the course curriculum and the plan for the next 10 days. The first days were spent bringing us up to speed on the terminology that BASI uses. The 5 skills became the Fundamental Elementals, pivoting became rotation and the Fast Track to Parallel became the Central Theme. Alex introduced the new concepts on snow as we adapted to the British technique. Plough parallels (Christies) were explained with a slight twist as the emphasis was on stretching the leg to press on the new ski at the start. The group started teaching on Wednesday with the rest of the week alternating between ski improvement and practice teaching. Different teaching methods were explored such as command, reciprocal and inclusive just to name a few. Piste shorts (short radius) were introduced on Thursday and the whole group marvelled at how short Alex's short turns were. Friday brought about more teaching as everyone had a crack in front of the group.
On-hill practice teaching
A relaxed moment
James leading the group
I had a great week shadowing the course and learnt a lot about the British system. A big thank you to Alex for letting me tag along. The group was great and open to the new ideas/terminology and the atmosphere was fun. Good luck to the group for week two and I hope for some strong results on Friday. Cheerio!!
Meesh observing, Euro-style
