Christmas has come and gone. On Christmas the africans and I all had to work. The mountain was not to busy, but there was a steady flow of people most of the day getting on the lift. There were some santa's on the mountain along with a lot of people in santa hats. A few of the guest gave us candy canes and chocolates which was nice. Even though it was nice to say merry christmas to more people than i have ever said merry christmas to it did not feel like christmas day at all. Although we did get a nice new pair of gloves from work and a nice hot lunch which consisted of a nice piece of pot roast, some mashed potatoes and gravy and some nice warm veggies, along with a nice piece of pecan pie for dessert as well. The supervisor was nice to the people at our lift and we ended up skiing more of the day rather than working it. we would switch off in groups of two going from working to skiing. So that was good to have. Can not complain when you get paid to ski!

After work we all went back to our place and started to prepare a nice meal for ourselves. We had a big ham along with potatoes lots of veggies. For starters we had some nice cheese and crackers and fresh fruit and for dessert we had ice cream and pie. While the meal was cooking we all handed out our $15 secret santa gifts. It was nice because everyone got to open a little something. around 8 we all headed over to gram and sargs' (our landlords) for a christmas drink and some stories of their lives. They have been all over the world and they speak 8 languages fluently.

we were all pretty tried from the day so we all watched a movie and crashed and just like that christmas came and went. Most people up here around our age do not think much of christmas because most work and they are away from family so it really is nothing special.

As far as work goes I am getting promoted! Started training to become an operator of the lift, which basically has to know how to start up the lift and what to do in case of emergencies. Pretty cool but nothing to exciting, do get a 75 cent raise though! yesah up to 9.60 an hour.

A couple days ago I was working one of the older lifts that does not slow down when you get on it. A lot of the kids have a lot of trouble getting on it because it is higher than most lifts and it is quicker. A little girl and her mother were getting on the lift as the little girl got on she started to slide off and we knew she was not going to get on the chair so we hit a stop. The chair takes about 10-15ft to stop and by that time the girl was out in the infield of the lift hanging on for dear life with her mother trying to hold her on as well. During training we have to practice a ladder evac in case something like this happens, they said it happens maybe once a year so we probably wont have to do it. But as soon as we hit the stop we ran out to grab the ladder to help get the girl down. The snow was deep, almost up to my waste so it was hard to run out there with the ladder. Me and Blake(the other liftie) were not phased though because our adrenaline was pumping fast! When we got the ladder up we realized it was too short and would not reach, the little girl was slipping and it was apparent that she would not be able to hold on much longer. I quickly ran under her and was able to barely touch her skis, seconds latter she slipped and fell into my arms. I caught her and we both went down into the snow. I quickly popped her skis off and began to try to calm her down for she was not hurt but obviously shaken up. After we sat in the snow together for a bit she settled down and started to get up, but the snow being almost up to her chest she could not move. I then gave her a piggy back ride out of the snow and brought her to the load ramp praising her for being such a tough girl. We gave each other a couple high fives and she got on the next chair with another lady who was very nice. Off they went. About 20 minutes later the lady that loaded the chair with the young girl who fell off said she talked the whole way up and was absolutely fine. So that was good to hear. Just another day in the office!

Yesterday I brought Tom, the kid from england, to the airport he did not have a work visa so he needed to go home to start working again. So we lost a man for our house. He was a good kid, great snowboarder and we got along great, but things happen and people come and people go.

Going to The Snake tonight, a local bar. Suppose to be a good live band there!

Cheers and Merry Christmas,

Nate