Hi, my name is Jordan Pierce.
I have arrived at Castle Mountain after a few weeks travelling around the West Coast of Canada. On my travels, I checked out Whistler, Sunshine Village, Lake Louise and Mount Norquay. Lake Louise and Norquay have EA programs as well so I was able to catch up with a few interns in Banff over a friendly game of futsal. One thing is for sure is that EA has a ski slope for any age, ability and style.
After checking out these resorts, it was time to meet my future training partners and housemates at the EA Castle orientation in Calgary. The orientation was a great introduction to the program. Plus, I nabbed some much-needed downtime in a 4-star hotel to prepare for the season ahead. We also organised our SIN numbers, bank accounts and snow gear.
After the orientation, it was time to hit the road to Castle. The anticipation built up as we arrived to a bluebird day. We were fortunate enough to squeeze in a quick opening day snowboard session that morning. There was 3 metres of total snowfall to play with; in early December! My stoke was not left unnoticed by the local news which can be viewed here.
After a few days of exploring what the mountain had to offer, it was time to get stuck into our three-week training. The training was intense so that we could prepare for our Level 1 exams. Our instructors Peter and Fabio made sure that we were more than prepared for the exam.
The result was not only passing the level 1 exam but also learning how to ride ‘properly’. I had to fix some of the bad habits including riding my snowboard like a surfboard. We celebrated our 100% success rate at the local T-Bar, which is where all the fun occurs when you are not on the slopes. The community-feel of not only the bar but also the whole resort has ensured this was the right mountain for me.
But, the night was short-lived as I had to prepare for my first instructor shift the next day. In my first lesson, I had a ball teaching three 11-year olds the basic principals of turning. I left them with some homework to work on their toe-side turns. If you want a resort with awesome terrain, rewarding work and a place where everyone knows your name then you cannot look past Castle!
