Christmas Day.

My first Christmas without my family! So to take my mind of sad things i take the day to go ski Aspen Mountain. All by myself with nobody else on the mountain pretty much i was in heaven.

Finally some serious snow.

Just in time for the big Christmas weekend the clouds come in and dump 15 inches of snow overnight and then continue to snow for the next 3 days!

Water Conservation Work.

With such beautiful weather i have been able to get some great photos of the Roaring Fork river when working with the Conservancy. 

Exploring Aspen

Aspen really is a completely different world! All the other Ski resorts i have visited feature an array of cheap bars and a million ski hire shops. Here all you see are the likes of the super expensive shops like Gucci  LV, Prada, Burberry and so on! So today's shopping was done completely from the pavement looking in. But i did get some nice views of Aspen Mountain

Women's Mountain Retreat Camp

This camp was organised by the military specific side of Challenge Aspen called C.A.M.O. This camp was specified for female wounded warriors as a recreational therapy retreat. I had the honour of working with an injured medic called Beth who really was an amazing character who was so open about telling me stories from Iraq. Made me really appreciate what people like her do and also made me appreciate the work that i do to make these possibilities a reality for these people.

Roaring Fork Water Conservancy.

After a hectic week with the TSB gang. (see previous post) I started my placement as a Program Intern at the Roaring Fork Conservancy (RFC). Its a very small office with only around 8 employees but the work they do is critical to the well-being of the area as the RF watershed contributes a significant percentage to the total output of the Colorado River! 

Tennessee School for the Blind.

Today starts the first "camp" to come to Challenge Aspen. TSB (Tennessee School for Blind) arrived today. And with them comes my first visual impaired guiding! A big Responsibly being in charge of telling a blind person when to turn by shouting at them! And to make it harder my Participant Chaz has never skied before.

Me, Chaz and John the instructor

But he picked up skiing so fast and by the end of the second day i was guiding him down harder terrain without the help of the instructor!

Challenge Aspen Training Sit Ski

Another Challenge Aspen training today was all about Sit Skis of which there are 2 types. mono-ski and bi-ski. the difference being the number of skis the "bucket" is attached to. However we are having a very slow start to the season with no sight of snow any time soon! 

Challenge Aspen Training VI

Today I began my training to fulfil my role at Challenge Aspen as an Adaptive Assistant. Starting with Level 1 VI (Visual Impairment) training. First we had to become familiar with the differing scales of visual impairments and the different causes. We then had to practice guiding each other using implements that limited out vision. 

My first Elk Sighting.

Elk migrate through the Aspen area of Colorado in huge numbers. And certain people are permitted to hunt them to ensure the population is managed. Today I was called to help one called Doug. I found that he couldn't manage to push it up the hill to house and so had called my and Rob (my cousins Husband) to come help push it up the hill, and my was the thing heavy! 

Getting my Skis!

Replay Sports is simply the best sports shop I have been to...Ever! Purchased my first ever skis and they are amazing! also got my ski boots after trying on nearly every pair in the shop just to make sure they were the right ones for me! If I have to pretty much wear them everyday then I am going to make sure they fit perfectly!

Never Getting Tired of the Views.

Monday morning. Can't believe the difference between home and my new home! no more waking up to grey English skies and rain! oh no nothing but blue skies and snow here! the view from my bedroom is quite special!

Working off Thanks Giving Weight.

After eating a tonne for my first real American holiday. I decided to go and attempt to get in some kind of good shape to get ready for what is going to be a very physical job at Challenge Aspen. The hike also allowed me to check out the Snowmass Ski Resort, location of the Challenge Aspen office (see second photo)

My First Thanks Giving!

Today was a special day! Mainly due to the fact i consumed my own body weight in food! I have never seen so much food it was incredible. Oh and we had some fun with the GIANT Turkey. Hope the iPhone gives some perspective. 

Jet-Lag slumber

After the seriously long travel time to get here to Aspen i then spent nearly 2 days asleep! So the cousin I am staying with: Erika Decides i need some exercise! Well hiking is not easy when you are over 1 mile above sea level. We hiked a trail called Arbony and it gives a pretty good view of the valley. 

The Flight: London - New York

Well to start. I have never been one to sleep on a plane. and as this flight was during the day i decided to watch a constant stream of movies for 8 solid hours! In fact a specifically chose Virgin Atlantic so that i could do so. Upon arriving in New York i had 4 hours to kill until my flight over to Denver so i got myself a nice healthy snack... American Style...

By the time i left NYC the sun was setting and made for some amazing pictures, even if i couldnt portray that with my phone.

A Day Before I Leave.

Well the big day is just around the corner! tomorrow i set of on a nice 27ish hour journey to Aspen Colorado. And with such a long distance to travel. It only makes sense to take a worth companion.
Sony XB700 headphones. noise cancelling and covered in memory foam!  

Purchased.

Today I paid for my nice new Rockport snow boots, an absolute steal at only £70. And seen as they were from Peterlee, there is a moderately high probability that they are stolen! But anyway at £150 RRP I don't really care. They are very warm, very comfortable and perfect for trekking around Aspen in.

I also just purchased my ski jacket for the Winter season. I managed to find the Burton Arctic Jacket that I wanted on a website in the US, which saves me money as I am just getting them shipped to the address I will be staying at when I'm out there! Also saves space in my suitcase.

Ski Jackets, Again.

I have started a new search for the perfect ski jacket now. Although I do like my previous find. The Grenade Astro Jacket, my contacts in Aspen recommend a better quality jacket that will last the whole season. I've turned my attention to the Burton Snowboard Brand. My first love on this website was the Heritage Ranger Snowboard jacket. The colour combination and style attracted my eye, the £250 price tag however provided the contrasting view. As did the difficulty of finding "brick" coloured snow pants!

Next was the Burton Restricted 3L Sentry Jacket, A much less conventional Ski jacket but a very unique look that I can bet nobody else on the slope will have! What I like about the jacket is that it could be used for everyday things both in Aspen and when back home. The "Technical Faux" Leather is apparently very waterproof.

Finally, what is probably going to be the most likely candidate, the Burton Arctic Jacket, although very similar to the Heritage jacket, the price tag is a little closer to home, especially on last seasons jackets which are closer to the £100 mark than the £300. However after finding the perfect jacket on Ebay USA, they didn't have my size!! Leaving me to have to select the same jacket from this seasons line! which has switched the colour scheme from mainly red to mainly beige, annoying as beige pants are much easier to red than red.

Flights.

Well last night I officially started the process of buying everything I'm going to need for my winter season, starting with flights. After hours sat with STA travel, who are very helpful by the way, I decided to look directly through Virgin Atlantic's website where I found it was hugely cheaper! I decided on Virgin for their amazing policy on sporting equipment which they carry for free! Unlike American Airways which used an external company to transfer excess baggage at a huge cost!

However before I get excited to by skiing up in Aspen, I must remind myself of the hell i must go through in order to get there:
3.5 hour train journey from Durham to London Kings Cross
1 hour tube ride to Heathrow
8 hour flight to New York JFK Airport
4 hour wait in JFK
5 hour flight from New York to Denver International
3.5 hour drive from Denver to Basalt where I will be staying!

So in total a nice 25 hour trip. WOOO.

Confirmation.

Well today I received my passport back, and with it my lovely B1 Visa!! My proposal for the Royal Geographical Society has also been read over and apart from a few minor details to be changed, it looks like I may by buying flights, insurance and other critical things very soon!!!

American Visa Day.

Well today can only be described as THE most stressful day of my entire life! My day started at 7. This is because the blinds in my room don't quite fully close, and I need to be in pitch black to sleep!! Anyway I set off at 8.20, and headed straight into morning rush-hour on the tube! To even get onto the train I basically had to rugby tackle a women to move further into the carriage. The journey on to Leicester Square was like being in Hell, if Hell is a hot, sweaty and cramped place and in a suit believe me it was Hell. From Leicester Square it was onto South Kensington, This was because the US Embassy will not allow anything electronic into the building and I had a meeting about my gap year after my visa interview. So I underestimated the walk to the RGS. which didn't take 2 minutes, but more like 10, so I was stressing out as I made my way back to the tube to then get to Marble Arch, again I underestimated the distance from the tube and arrived at the embassy. Which with it being 9/11 was surrounded by men with guns, not the little ones you usually see, but big, huge machine gun rifle things!! So I was a little nervous.

Getting into the embassy is weird, You are made to stand outside the huge fence that surrounds the building until exactly your appointment time, which for me was 2 minutes away. Talk about cutting it close! Only one person is allowed to enter at a time, so going through security was fine, belt off, watch off, empty pockets. However you have to put your things back on once into the embassy, which is about a 100m walk, which sounds easy but with belt, watch, wallet and documents all in one hand while the other keeps your trousers up is not dignified!

Once in you have to sit and stare at these big screens waiting for your number to be called. The whole visa process was not what I thought at all! No interrogation rooms, just windows like I was in the post office. First up was a preliminary thing, showing the correct paper work and giving them fingerprints and your passport, no questions, then back to the waiting. Called again, I thought this was the interrogation part, but no, yet another window, fingerprints again and with a few more questions. However after stressing about confirmation letters from my placements, university and others, no proof of what I was saying was needed at all. I could have been making it all up!
Then the inevitable, them wanting more money from me. £14 to get my bloody passport back!! Bringing the total I paid them up £150! But on the plus side, I'm one step closer to America!

Royal Geographical Society Celebration Day.

This weekend was pretty crucial for my whole gap year plans. Yesterday was the Celebration Day at the RGS, which entailed the previous years scholars giving presentations about their Gap experience. I couldn't believe the complete contrast between them!! The more adventurous ones had some amazing stories, one guy travelled the whole of South America by himself, learning Spanish as he went along?! Another girl went off into the Bolivia forest for 2 months to research insects and monkeys! However the undisputed highlights of the day was meeting Sir Ranulph Fiennes, and by meeting what I mean is that he smiled and said Hi as I stood frozen Hah! Oh and also the food at the RGS is top-notch accompanied by the ever amazing open Bar!

Skiing Goggles.

Well recently I have been searching for some Goggles that are good enough to last the whole Ski season in Aspen Snowmass. So I thought I would share some of the best Goggles I have found so far. At the moment I'm using some that I got for like £5 from Lidl that have done amazingly well and look the part. I really am a fan of the black and orange, and also the mirror lens, but I can't see the orange going with the bright blue coat I'm going to purchase soon.

New Plans.

Well today has brought with it even more changes to my Gap Year plans. For some reason the USA will not let me just buy a one-way ticket?! The original plan was to purchase a one way ticket with my RGS scholarship money and then seen as Camp Leaders pay for the flights, let them pay for my return flight. The timings were too perfect. As I finished my Winter placements, I could move on to my summer camp placement straight away! Now though it looks like I will be returning home at the end of the ski season, even if it is just for a month. Very stupid but I suppose I don't mind as I don't pay for the flights back out. 

A Bit of Luck.

Sunday is the day I try to make some money. Searching through the endless amounts of crap people bring and sell at the Willington Car Boot Fair. Times are getting harder as people seem to think Sky remotes, Sky TV boxes and Wi-Fi hubs possess some kind of value!! If I wanted Sky, I would Pay a subscription and get all that crap FREE!! Moving on, they say "Knowledge is Power" and this really is true when trying to find stuff to sell at these car boot fairs. Finding something that is dirt cheap but can be sold on Ebay for a profit. I must say it is a lot easier than working a cruel shift in a fast-food restaurant. But today was a good day, it wasn't until I had searched the entire fair that on the last stall I stumbled upon a brand new French Connection Arctic Parka! It was the hottest day of the summer so far! so why they chose to sell it now I will never know. Instead of being £200+ in the shops, I paid £17 after some bargaining! So I am a happy chap, as I wonder around Aspen Colorado this winter in my wonderful coat!

Skiing Gear.

I have spend countless hours trawling through the millions of websites that seem to stock winter sports gear. And I've found it so hard to actually find a ski jacket I like!! Th problem is that I'm a skier, which means I should be searching for a ski jacket, obviously. However every single one under the price of £200 is so bland and boring I want to blow my brains out! On the other hand, Snowboard jackets are amazingly cool and quite the opposite. I find myself asking the question. Is there such a big difference between a skiing and a snowboarding jacket, both serve the same purpose: Keeping me dry as I throw myself down some very steep hills. Finally though it seems i might have found the one! Will it make such a big difference being a Snowboard jacket? I hope not. 

http://www.routeone.co.uk/Store/Snowboard/Type-is-Jackets/product-is-65251

Summer Camp In America

For anyone who would like to spend a summer abroad but can't afford it. I would highly recommend Camp Leaders. http://www.campleaders.com/gb/index

I cant wait to spend a summer in the "American Dream" that has been enhanced by E4 with their new series of Beaver Falls, If Summer Camp is anywhere near as good as it is on the show. I am going to have a good summer! 

Challenge Aspen

Cant wait to be out on the Snowmass Slopes working with people like this, hopefully the London Paralympics will inspire some more people to give more oppotunities a go!

Expensive Business.

Well I'm now hours into completing paperwork for my year away, and my to-do list doesn't seem to be getting any smaller. It is not helped by the fact every document I seem to need costs a huge amount of money! I am finding my self paying £45 for the police to send me a certificate telling me I haven't broken any laws, well thanks for the insight. You may be able to tell I'm in an agitated mood, as another thing winding me up is the fact every form is in PDF format meaning I can't edit them until I convert them through a website, not a great hassle but still enough to become annoying.

Departing.

So, do I want to fly down to Gatwick from Newcastle and then onto Denver. Or, do I get a train to Kings Cross and then on to Gatwick ?! Must admit the thought of dragging a years worth of clothes and snow gear through London doesn't really appeal to me, but can I justify spending more for the flight? Hope Dial-A-Flight can get me some cheap-as-chips flights!

Getting Started.

Well, my first ever blog post. must say thanks to the fashion blogger Evie Stothert for getting me all set up today. November 15th seems to be getting very close! But, with the ups come the downs as I seem to be spending all my time filling in forms!