CAMPER LETTERS:

Letter from camper which appeared in on the Freeskier Magazine website, 2003
- Nadia Kaliszewski

I’m a 22-year-old girl who just graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder. I was an intern at Freeskier Magazine this past spring when I began competing in slopestyle, big air, and half pipe competitions. My affiliation with Freeskier coupled with my aspiration to go pro have given me the chance to experience the ski world like many do not. The most recent of my adventures led me to check out Dave Murray’s Summer Ski and Snowboard Camp in Whistler, British Columbia.

When I arrived in B.C. I hopped a shuttle from the Vancouver airport to the town of Whistler in a little over two hours. Last March I spent a week in Whistler, so this time I eagerly anticipated the beautiful 100-foot pines covered in moss that pepper British Columbia. The flowers, which I didn’t expect, were a new twist and quite a sight.

After a couple of hours, we checked into our lodge, which was fully loaded with tennis courts, swimming pool, hot tub, and sauna. Having unpacked, I joined the rest of my fellow campers at the “welcoming party”. I was fascinated to see all the different bodies that filled the room. There were kids as young as seven and adults into their forties. People of all ages were here to have fun!

The next morning, bright and early, we all met to have breakfast at a small restaurant at the base of Whistler-Blackcomb Mountain. Eggs, bacon, hash browns, and OJ were the perfect combo that morning. After breakfast, we loaded the first of three chairlifts to get to the top of Blackcomb Mountain. On our way up we caught a glimpse of the black bears everyone had been telling us about. Whistler has a big problem with black bears in the summertime. You can tell by trying to open any of the town’s trashcans, which are specifically designed to keep the bears out.

As a native of Colorado and having only skied the crud at Arapahoe Basin and Saint Mary’s Glacier into July, I truly didn’t know what to expect of the snow on Blackcomb’s Horstman Glacier. I was pleasantly surprised, to say the least, when I unloaded from the last chairlift to see the pure, white coverage of the expanse of glacier. The glacier comfortably held some eight to ten different ski and snowboard camps at one time, including two full runs. Dave Murray’s Camp was stationed near the center of the glacier; set up with a 15-foot halfpipe, five table-top jumps, one spine jump, and six rails.

Everyone in the camp was divided into small groups of about six to eight people based on ability level. My group consisted of a few ripping 12-year olds, a couple 16 and 17-year- olds, and an ex-racer female of my age. Together, we were led by the coaching of professional skier Mauro Nuñez. I had met Mauro while competing at the 2002 U.S. Freeskiing Open, and I specifically remembered him. He was one of the few male competitors who lacked the “I’m too cool for you” attitude and gave me a few pointers. The first day of camp Mauro had us concentrate on getting the basics down of hitting a tabletop. Initially, I was afraid the camp was going to be too elementary for me, but you’d be surprised how important it is to begin with the basics. I learned in the first two days of camp that it was the basics of popping, general air sense, and speed that made the biggest difference in your overall jump. It was also not a bad idea for me to start off slow because it had been three months since I last stepped foot on snow.

As the week progressed we worked on sliding rails and various tricks like spinning, flips, and grabs. Mauro taught me how to stay on axis when spinning, which I have always struggled with. The 12-year-olds were learning 360s and sliding rails and the 16-17-year olds were going off jumps switch by the fourth and fifth days. On the final day of camp, we threw down our new and polished tricks in a camp slopestyle competition. First place went to Jake, who at the beginning of camp had never slid a rail, but by the end of the week had learned how to go on a rail switch. Our days lasted from about 9:00am to 2:30pm and the snow was buttery soft every day. We juggled with weather, about half the days were sunny and the other half overcast. Nevertheless, there was a common excitement and exhilaration among everyone on the glacier each day. An atmosphere only a week of skiing in July could give you.

The camp didn’t end there though. Off the mountain, Dave Murray’s Camp offered different afternoon activities each day, such as wakeboarding, downhill mountain biking, and swimming. I would usually get back to my condo at around 4:30pm, after some nachos at one of Whistler’s European-like restaurant verandas and then jump into the hot tub. Other days I would walk around the village shopping or people watching (Whistler’s village is the best place to people watch). Each night around 10:00pm, about 12 of the adult campers, including myself, would meet up with Dave Murray’s “social” hosts for the night. Whistler has great nightlife and our social hosts showed us a great time at different bars and clubs each night.

Dave Murray’s Summer Ski Camp offered a welcoming atmosphere. There was no intimidation or pressure to be the best, but, rather, the coaches were there to give you just the right amount of individual attention to help you reach that next level in your skiing. I found Dave Murray’s Summer Ski and Snowboard Camp to be a perfect place for the skier who may not be seriously interested in competing, but rather as a camp to sharpen your freeskiing skills and see what this glacier in Whistler, B.C., is all about.
I would like to thank Greg Daniells, Christian Saxvik, and Richard Potter for having kept Dave Murray’s legacy alive. I also want to thank Sarah and Kathy for their hard work, Leah and Miles for the fun, and especially Willy, for the inspiration.

Nadia Kaliszewski