As a ski instructor at Mont-Sainte-Anne, less than a month from the start of the season programs, I am feverish.
Will my groups be homogeneous? Will there be special needs among my students? Are my teaching tools up to date? Will I find any of my former students? All these questions get answers from the snow school. Marvellous ! Life is Beautiful !
Have you ever attended the departure of group lessons on Saturday morning? A real hive! The coordination is impeccable and there are smiles for nearly 800 young people.
The parents will extract the children from their safe booster seat, installed in their safe car. They will entrust what they hold most precious to the world. I then become responsible for the safety of their children. I teach alpine skiing, a risky sport, but I am trained to manage this risk.
But I can’t manage the biggest risk at Mont-Sainte-Anne: the ski lifts.
The ski lifts have, for the most part, reached the end of their useful life. The repeated problems of the cable car are eloquent examples of this! The “Turtle” is more often down than it works and, if the northern chair scares you, there is always the t-bar… not young, but it freezes less there than during the frequent stops of the chair.
Fortunately, more seasoned students have access to the ski lift in the expert sector, which is more recent and comfortable. You know, it’s the one that leads to the magnificent chalet on the ridge… abandoned at the start of the contract with the operator of the resort, Resorts of the Canadian Rockies!
Mr. Legault, will I have the chance to teach alpine skiing to young people this winter? I know you don’t have grandchildren, Mr. Legault, but if you did, would you take the risk of entrusting them to me in this context?
* Viviane Drolet is certified Level 2, Alliance of Canadian Ski Instructors (CSIA), and certified Level 1, Adapted Sliding Sport Canada (CADS).