Return-hire training today. I was supposed to have eight instructors but only five showed up (Stefan, George, Tony, Michael & Patrick), then we lost one on the first run of the afternoon (got separated on the trail and he never found us again). Beautiful snow today!

Return-hire training again today. Started with four instructors (Tom, Molly, Erin, & Austin) but one wasn't feeling well and left at lunch. There was a steady rain all day and we suffered through the cold dampness with a few extended breaks inside. We went up to the top of the mountain once, but it was windy and frozen over, so we spent the rest of the day looping the Black Ridge lift.

Breezy and warmish, a few raindrops. Took a couple runs to the top. No lessons. Left after 10 o'clock line-up.

First day riding with Anna all day. The snow was not as terrible as i anticipated. Late game at winter league ultimate—we won 35-22. Wheaton hucked me one which i missed because i jumped early due to defensive pressure. Rrgh.

Turned 54.

Taught a 7-year-old level 2 in the morning. Left after 2 o'clock line-up.

Cold morning (-8 at my house, but 4 at Okemo). I ran a rehire training clinic all day with Heather, Isa, Eliza, and Shannon.

All-day lesson with a brother and sister who were blue/black level.

I was the only snowboard instructor on the clocktower side—well, the only one who could teach. There were four new instructors who hadn't shadowed any lessons yet. There was one all-day lesson of a green/blue level kid who'd been with Stefan the day before. We looped Sapphire a lot.

All-day lesson with Anna. We cruised over to Jackson Gore and back and did a lot of jibbing along the sides of the trails, finding leftover fresh snow where we could.

After four straight days of all-day lessons, i wasn't sure how i'd hold up at winter league ultimate (late game), but i was pleased to find out that i did pretty well, playing defense without sagging off too much. Missed one long huck that got defended by Henson, who poached off of his man. The game was tied a number of times, but we pulled away at the very end, winning 31-26.

Drove down to Glebe Mountain Gardens in Londonderry and bought a tree and a wreath.

I taught a ski instructor how to snowboard in the morning, with two new snowboard instructors shadowing, then picked up a 1-hour private at 12:30 that was booked as a ski lesson. No afternoon lesson.

After work i went to the farm and took pictures of everything that i could find that was brightly colored.

Day one of new-hire snowboard training. I was supposed to have three instructors in the clinic, but only two showed up. We rode a lot on slushy (alternating with very scrapey) snow and went over the levels 1-4 lessons over at South Face in the afternoon.

Day two of new-hire snowboard training. Bit of a scrapey/foggy/windy/chilly day out there.

Super windy day, which made it feel a lot colder than it was. The Sunburst Six never opened so Anna and i had to ride the Sachem and Glades Peak lifts to the top. I decided that we should have lunch at Jackson Gore so that we wouldn't have to take those two lifts again. For the last forty-five minutes of the lesson, we hiked one of the boxes in the Robbins Nest terrain park (actually, i just towed Anna back up the hill each time) so Anna could learn board-slides.

I came in to run new-hire training for the South Americans, but i was told that there were none to be trained, so i took a couple of runs. When i showed up at 9:30, though, there was a new hire from Connecticut there for training, so i rode with her all day, condensing the two-day training into one.

Rain. Rain rain rain rain rain. Steady all day. No lessons for me. Left after afternoon line-up.

Crazy windy day. 41° to start the day, dropped to 25° by closing. I had a 2-hour private at 10:30. then another 2-hour at 1:00. By the afternoon, the wind was blowing harder than i'd ever seen it and branches were blowing onto the trails. One tree fell over and hit a guest!

The moon was huge in my rearview mirror this morning. All-day blue-level group of one 10-year-old girl. She was kinda quiet, but it was a pretty good day. Got home just as my parents arrived from Philly. Nina, Isaiah, and Naima arrived soon after and filled up my fridge with food.

2-hour private at 10:30 with Alex, a kid that i'd been teaching for a couple of years, then a 2-hour private with a 7-year-old first-timer. At some point during the day i ran into Nina and Naima on the hill.

Xmess.

Picked up a two-day two-hour private with two kids that was mistakenly booked as a ski lesson. I was worried that the younger girl would fall behind the older boy, but she listened and worked at it while he didn't listen and fell a lot. Nothing after that.

Same two kids again, then another private with a kid who had the same name and same birthday as one of my nephews!

Two-hour private in the morning, nothing in the afternoon. I was starting to feel sick.

2-hour private at 10:30, 2-hour private at 1:00.

Still feeling sick. I was scheduled to have three 2-hour privates today. The 8:30 no-showed. The 10:30 no-showed. At 11:30, i asked if i could go home and have my 1 o'clock private switched to someone else.

Didn't sleep too well—still feeling sick. Had a request two-hour private first thing in the morning, then had lunch and picked up one kid from Joe henderson's class in the afternoon who wanted to learn terrain park stuff.