Where has the season gone? We’re going into mid March now and the snow is starting to disappear. It’s sad. It was a fun season. February seemed to fly by.
Here’s a picture of Jamie, Pete and I taken last Saturday:
This might have been my last time skiing at Cascade. I may have other plans this weekend… I’m not sure.
I’m working on one more trip up to the U.P., maybe one to Lutsen, another out to Colorado and then maybe the Slush Cup at Tyrol Basin. Skiing is probably not over for me but we’re nearing the end over at Cascade Mountain. Temps this week seem high and it keeps raining.
What I Learned This Season
I think I learned a lot… sort of.
This was more of a processing year for me. I worked my butt off last year and didn’t pass the Level 2 exam, which was disappointing. This year, I attended fewer clinics but what I studied a lot last year started making more sense this year.
I was sitting with Steve Loehner a month or so back and we all were, of course, talking shop (all ski instructors seem to talk about skiing way too much but we love it) and I’d chime in once in a while with some comments. Finally, at the end, Steve looked and me and made a comment to the effect that he saw that I understood things a lot better now than a year ago because everything I was saying was right on. That was encouraging to me.
I think my skiing has a little way to go but I’m under the impression that I need alignment help. I plan to stop in at Harald Harb’s place and get aligned when I go out West. That might entail just some shims or else maybe new boots, too – we’ll see. Myself and other have noticed some things and getting better aligned might really help my skiing… I feel like I’m trying my best to make the right movements but they’re just not completely happening, so alignment could very well be the issue.
Future Plans
Well, my first goal is to get my Level 2 certification (PSIA). I’ll get that next year. We’re all going to work a bit this summer and then into the fall as well.
From there, I’m weighing either going for my Level 1 snowboard certification, dipping into USSA or else working on my Level 3 skiing. With USSA, I’d get to learn skiing from the racing angle, which could really be fun to get a different perspective on it. If I’d do that, I might also sign up to be a race coach or help with the team.
I guess we’ll see what happens… either way, it’s going to be fun!
-Tony
