Yeah yeah - we know we're a little late but we have a great excuse - WE'RE HOME and the travelers among us have been in a bit of a daze ever since!! SnowSkool Banff 2013 officially finished last weekend as the last bunch left the beautiful Rockies behind. Read on for the last installment of our season's blog. Next stop ... Wanaka, New Zealand ... where the snow is already starting to fall ...

Here we are three months down the track. At the start, nobody on the course knew each other (with one or two exceptions) so it's amazing to see the friendships that have formed in this time. With the majority of exams out of the way and no more lessons in sight, all that was left to do were the Park Level 1 exams for skiers and snowboarders. That and a whole lot of shenanigans up on the hill! Everyone really came together for the last week and we had a super-rad time - until we had to bid farewell to half of the group as they started to make their way home ...

So there we go, then! Level 2 exams are done and we scored some record-shattering pass rates! 97% of our skiers passed the test and while a few of the boarders had missed some serious training time due to injury, three-quarters passed both exam components and nigh on everyone passed one of the two elements. We couldn't be prouder of all of our Banff 2013 SnowSkool gang! With the great news aside, here's what went down this week …read on as it's chock full o' nuts!

Bonjour for the very last time from SnowSkool 2013 in France! Sorry we’re running a little late – it’s been a busy time wrapping up what has been an been awesome 11 weeks in the Three Valleys.

And here we are for the final time! Hard to believe another season of SnowSkool in Big White has now drawn to a close and most are making their way home or on to their next adventure. We have about 10 days worth of news to report, which included a BIG week of exams coupled with some of the nicest snow and weather we've seen all season.

This week has been chock-a-block full of birthdays and excitement. We had four guys doing their Level 1 snowboard exam and the Level 2 exams were looming. Everyone was really stepping up their game!

In contrast to last week, no weddings, parties, anything! The two-week exam period kicked off here in France and everybody’s days have been jam-packed with early mornings and all day has been spent out on the hill with their new BASI examiners.

Since last week we've had a veritable powder-fest up at Sunshine Village! The snow keeps coming and, with any luck, will continue to fall for the last three weeks of the course! The Level 2s are approaching quickly but the instructors are more confident than ever in our SnowSkool guys and gals.

Yikes! Last week of training before the L2 exams brought us a mixed bag of weather – we’ll be ready for anything come exam time next week! Two of our lads fought back from injury to pass their Level 1, which sort of (well ... not really) made up for the smashing England received at the hand of Wales in the Six Nations Rugby final. Sigh.

After a week of “rest”, all SnowSkoolers were incredibly excited to get back to training and work towards the rapidly approaching Level 2 exams! With the big storm last weekend, the snow was still impeccably soft and forgiving, enabling people really pushing themselves in lessons and in the park. The rate of progression with this group of SnowSkoolers is absolutely astounding: Pat Moore has gone from linking his turns to stomping massive 360s off the kickers; Christian has progressed from beginner to incredibly advanced in the space of a couple of weeks; and Ben Kaye has stepped up from 180s to 720s in the space of just over a month. Imagine what they’ll be like by the end of the Banff 2013 course...