2013-2014 Ski Season Wrap Up

Well, it was a great season… as always.

It was DARN cold but I got in a record amount of lessons… 81! Last year, I think was struggling to get past 40, so I taught twice as many ski lessons this year.

Teaching Skiing

The snow at Cascade was amazing this year. Seriously, I don’t know that grooming team did differently this year but whatever it was, it worked! We had really great snow. Maybe the temps staying below freezing (and below zero) for a long time helped. It wasn’t icy (except for maybe one day) and it was just great to ski on.

Ski Trips

To end my season, I did two ski trips. One was up to the Upper Peninsula where I skied at Indianhead and Blackjack. We also hit Granite Peak on the way home. The best skiing was probably at Blackjack. I’m not such a huge fan of Granite Peak as I once was and Blackjack is growing on me. What we noticed at Blackjack was that everyone skiing there were good skiers. That was probably because of their lack of good, beginner terrain. They have a LOT of blue runs there as well as some good, black runs.

The second trip was to Colorado for a week. We skied at Vail and Breckenridge. I skied 6 days, which is a lot – well 2 of them were like half days. I took one day off. The snow was great and it was hard not to ski. I mean, you’re out there, there’s snow – why not ski? You recharge at night with a few beers and the hot tub and you’re ready for the next day… what a life!

Training

I got 2-3 days of instruction in Colorado as we did the PSIA-C (go Central!) Spring Rally and then we had a day where Arnie and Erika taught us more about bump skiing. The Rally was fun. We had powder the first day and groomed the second. I think that was the best I skied all year – if not the best I’ve skied ever. That’s what I needed.

The plan this season was to get my PSIA Level 2 Certification but we didn’t have enough people at the event to conduct an exam. I really think I would have passed. I was close the first time (2 years ago) and my skiing has really improved. There’s a way to take it this summer in New Zealand but it costs like $10k, so that’s not in the cards, unfortunately. That would be SO awesome to do that 5 week camp and ski in New Zealand. Oh well. I’ll study again this summer and take it next season (2014-15). I look forward to it.

Conclusion

This was my 8th year teaching. What I found just flat out amazing at the end of this season was all the great people I now know. I took a step – a leap of faith going head first into this whole “ski instructing thing” and it has paid off huge! The people you meet and get to hang around with are just amazing. There’s a bond between skiers and you simply don’t know what that’s like until you’re there – not that it takes 8 years… not at all. I’ve realized this before but it just hit me harder this year… I’m with a really great group of people that I wouldn’t want to give up for anything. I simply would not have been able to experience this if I hadn’t taken the step to be a ski instructor.

If you want to experience that as well, then contact me about becoming a ski instructor. We need more of them!

It’s really not that difficult. When I started, I said that I wasn’t really that good and my friend, Doug, said not to worry about it – they show you what to teach… and that’s true. You do the training (yes, it’s some work but anything worth doing takes some work) and pretty soon, you’re out there teaching lessons on your own. There’s a progression you learn and it makes sense and is easy to follow. When you get in front of people, they’re basically looking at you as “skiing god” and they’re paying for the lesson, so they basically follow what you tell them to do (no, I don’t have a god complex… not at all). My point is that it’s easier than you may think.

You also get free training and free lessons/clinics. These clinics help you with your skiing and they help you know what to do to help others get better. There’s a great satisfaction you get with teaching someone a lifetime sport. When you see someone “get it,” it’s really rewarding. You’ll make friends for life and it’ll be something you’ll never want to trade for anything.

Anyway, again… contact me if you’re interested and I can point you in the right direction.

Everyone have a great summer! See you in December for some great skiing!

Ski ya!
-Tony