Powder dreams are made of this...

One week on since arriving and I think I will be able to get used to this ski instructor lark. We have had a couple of days of teaching 4 and 5 year-olds to allow the ski school to see how we handle actual children (rather than other instructors playing at being kids - remarkable realistic at times!). Luckily they all seem to enjoy being guided around by a motley crew of Swedish, English, Tcheq, French and Swiss people, none of whom have that much experience at this sort of thing! But to be honest, as long as you keep them entertained by waving your arms like an airplane, whooping like a red indian or vrooming like a Ferrari, they will follow you down anything. Although I think taking these Verbier-born and bred kids in charge is a completely different proposition to coaxing little Johnny and Emily from leafy Surrey down a steepish slope on a windy and cold white-out day... All that to come - can't wait! I am just grateful that the groups are limited to 6 people. Only one week of trainig left and then we get our funky yellow uniforms. Then I can really start posing on the pistes of Verbier.

Vicki has been working ridiculously hard since she was dropped off here a few days ago. Her first challenge is to cook for 8 colleagues (oh, and the Head Chef of the company) in the "cook-off". This could effectively decide which chalet they each get allocated, so no pressure... Today involved Host training - hospital corners on the sheets, which is the Oxford pillow case, which spoon goes on the outside, etc, etc, etc. All tedious stuff, but the standards have to be set I guess. However, Vicki did not seem keen on demonstrating her newly-acquired skills in our studio. In fact I would go so far as to say that my suggestion was met with what can only be described as a disdainful stare. Some people are just not keen to practise...

The snow is just unbelievable. It is apparently the best start to a season in Verbier for about 50 years. It snowed all night last night, and has been steadily dumping down today without showing signs of stopping yet! The expression "it might not settle" is not something anyone here has ever heard of. When it comes down, it just keeps coming. The powder in the trees off-piste is out of this world - waist-deep in a lot of place, as I found out when I overbalanced earlier today! Getting out of that was a whole lot of fun!! However, I regretted taking my new skis (bought for 200CHF (about £100ish) second hand for use teaching on the slopes) rather than my fatter twin tips. No floating whatsoever in a pair of slalom skis!! Ah well, makes it all the more challenging.

Verbier itself is a nice little town. Shops and bars are slowly starting to open now, which makes things a little livelier. It also means the WiFi connections are slowly getting up and running - hence the general lack of communication over the last week.
We get a discount card as instructors for one of the main bars to get a pint for about £3, and that is a good deal in these parts. Vicki on the other hand gets a discount card for a different bar, slightly more well known, to get a pint for a mere £1.50!! Outrageous. I'll just have to make sure I get Vic to buy the beers when we go out!

Plenty more fun to come, and hopefully Vicki might even allowed 5 minutes break over the coming few months to actually post something! I do feel I got the better end of this deal somehow... True love eh?!