After the craziness of President's week

Paul and I went over the mountain to Reno to visit the 'airlift victim'. She walked out (with a bit of assistance) to the entrance of Renown regional medical centre (the poshest hospital I have ever seen) to see us, which was great!! She has now had all the tubes and drips and everything taken out, so has a bit of freedom, although I think the nausea is still pretty challenging after the surgery. I saw the scar..... it looked as if it was weeks ago, rather than days ago..... and it appears the whole thing is going really well. She has now been released from the hospital, but is awaiting a fitness to fly letter to be allowed to go back to the UK.

As for renown, they appeared to have a piano bar (with a live pianist) a Starbucks, a few 'boutique' shops, a Ben and Jerry's ice cream place and all sorts of other things. There is a little hotel 'attached' so family members can stay, although the room she had was private, and large, and had a pullout sofa, so the family could have easily stayed in the rooms too! If I ever need a hospital (I pray I never will) this one will certainly do!

Up on the mountain, things have calmed down hugely. I shovelled snow around the yurts today (to keep them from collapsing) and then taught a private lesson to a family, consisting of a 3 year old, a 7 year old and the two parents. It was a challenge, but quite fun, really. Let's see what tomorrow brings!

Peace and Quiet (and windy conditions)

The guests have left..... aside from the airlifted one, who is still recovering in Reno. So far, so good on the recovery front. We are visiting her on Friday. So, our lives are getting a bit quieter. But the conditions on the mountain are WINDY. Snow too, but loads of wind. This means we end up doing a lot of moving around. I have taught at both the California base and the Boulder base in Nevada. Good fun, and nice to move around too.

Cousins are coming up this weekend, so it will be great to catch up with them! And the landlord is doing another trip to Houston, so we will be looking after the cats and the Labradoodle for a few days too. Life is always interesting around here!

Airlifting guests

The large group who have been here this week (including Paul's family) are decamping tomorrow. Or most of them are. They all went snowmobiling today. And one crashed into a tree. Injuring the driver. She was airlifted to Reno, and has since had her spleen removed. She is doing well, however, and should be well enough to travel back to the UK next weekend, God willing. All I can say is.... be sure you always have travel insurance, as this is a very pricey way to get yourself fixed. The rest of the group are flying home in the morning, very early departure.

In the teeth of the storm

This is supposed to be the 'big storm' where 4-5 feet drop in a few days. We are getting snow, pretty consistently, but only at the 'few inches a day' rate, so it is unlikely we get as hammered as they keep predicting!

However, the National Weather Service has issued an Avalanche Warning for any backcountry trecking, so maybe there has been more snow around us, and Heavenly has been located in the Bermuda Triangle of Snowfall.

So, the mountain conditions are still fantastic, with beautiful snow on the groomers, and reasonable conditions in the trees, but there are still a few rocks and stumps around, so we are all being careful! I wear my helmet now, for many reasons..... it keeps my ears warm, my head warm on a cold day (and it is ventilated for the warm days!) and protects me from splitting my head open when I ski in the trees and from crazy-insane skiers and snowboards losing control on the slopes. Lets hope I never need to test its effectiveness, but I wear one anyway!

Have a great day everyone! The snow is fantastic.... but we could still use more!

We are on the Heavenly website now!

So, we are now officially on the Ski Heavenly website..... our instructor profiles are there, so if you want lessons..... book with us!

http://www.skiheavenly.com/schools_clinics/instructors/#TaylorJennifer

and it's snowing again! Its about to become busy with President's weekend and the UK half-term, so we have loads of people coming into town, and family and friends coming up to stay. Life is good!

Paul's Strolz boots

Paul has feet that hate ski boots. We made a lovely trip to Austria to Lech to get him some Strolz boots a few years back. This was before he lost weight. The old boots are now too big. I know, lose weight in your feet?? but the feet and the lower legs are definitely smaller now. So, the trip down to Mammoth was needed, as there are only 3 places in the USA which do Strolz boots. One is in New Hampshire. One is in Oregon, and the last is in Mammoth. So.... away we went to have a new liner for Paul's boot made... once which would fit his new svelt physique. So we went to Footloose Sports. In the snow.


Corty is the specialist there, and here follows a photo-logue of the foaming of the boots:


Corty assesses Paul's feet. And the foaming bottles ready to go.

Padding is placed on the bare foot to allow room at usual 'pressure spots'


Padding and toe caps on to allow room once the foam is added to the liners


Putting the bare leg with padding in a plastic bag and then into the currently empty liner.

adjusting the liner, almost ready to foam!

adjusting position on the foaming board

discussing what comes next!!

boots ready to get foamed!

and the foaming begins!

After brisk shaking, the foam bubbles through. Corty is checking the venting at the front of the boots to be sure the foam is flowing evenly.

Pressure downwards ensures no foam goes under the feet where it is not supposed to go.

Yes, it is painful. High pressure foam is like parking a large SUV full of people on your feet!


preparing the foam on the second boot


watching the foam flow through the other boot. Both worked perfectly!

checking the flow was completed!

pulling out the foaming tubes - removes some of the pressure as it leaves just leg and foamed liner in the boots!


discussing the foam and checking the vent tubes for the last time.

fully re-foamed boots!

and the boots can finally come off!

baggies being removed (phew!)

removing the extra padding.

the boots on the workshop bench awaiting final clean-up.
(the ones with red buckles are mine, actually)

the boots in their finished state!

Side view, showing the added 'shim' to adjust the cant and forward flex of the boot. Happy feet for Paul now!!

Corty really IS the best boot fitter in the world!

SNOW!!

Well, on Friday, we drove south to Mammoth (and back) in the snow. Well, California had snow.... actually, the snow was mostly around Mammoth, which made them very happy indeed! The snow was thick and fluffy, and there was even chain controls to enter the town of Mammoth Lakes! Luckily, Champagne Charlie has all-wheel-drive and good tires! We had no problems getting there... aside from the lack of views going through California right at some of its most scenic places! The way home was a bit easier, as the snow had lightened up considerably!

The nicest part was coming back over Daggett Pass, which is also known as Kingsbury Grade, and there was snow falling up at Heavenly! (not much, but it was snow!)

However.... that night.......... we woke up to 2 inches of snow outside the house, which was about a foot up on the mountain! We skied fresh tracks in the powder (sierra cement, rather) although suffered from iced up goggles! Someone needs to invent a goggle with a defrost on it... not just a venting fan, as the ice was on the OUTSIDE from the fog and snow. But maybe in another lifetime! Teaching students in the snow is fun. The snow keeps them slower and more in control. And if they fall, its soft and fluffy! I had three MBA students from Stamford in my class, and they certainly had a fantastic time! As did I.