Instructors on the Snow this Weekend
Dec 21-22
We have snow to train on. Gear Rentals open Friday-Sunday. 10-2.
Time for instructors to learn to instruct.
Getting closer to opening so more reading required. Sorry.
All Jr Instructors, all level of instructors, all Certified Instructors come on up Saturday, Sunday or both. 9am start time. This is your time to learn to teach. It will be repeated the first week of January after the kids that have never been on snow learn some basics. See below.
SkyKids Parents please come up Saturday if possible. The Bumble that runs SkyKids has to go put the star on a tree or something like that Sunday. We will lash him to the lodge for the season, no worries. If you come up Sunday you can join a regular class which would be great too.
Instructing is the cornerstone of what we do, so please give it a try even if you didn't sign up as an instructor. Come on up and give yourself and the kids a chance. You might love it.
PSIA/AASI ( Professional Ski Instructors of America/ American Association of Snowboard Instructors) are the governing bodies of ski and snowboard instructing. We have lots of members certified through both. There is also a lot of information put out by both bodies about instructing. It is aimed at someone that is working at a resort, so please take some of it with that grain of salt. Just create an account and log in to watch videos and more. It is all free. Click and explore.
The PLAN as of right now.
The support member email will go out ASAP after all the department heads finalize their needs for people in positions. It will have descriptions of the positions, times, duties and an online sign-up tool. Jobs are not carved in granite.Sign up and we can move you later if you really hate telling jokes in the lift line or whatever.
The bus parent email is coming. If you are bus parent please read it all the way through. It looks like bus tickets will be at the same price as last year or cheaper thanks to some $$ help.
After this weekend we are stopping until January 4th with anything on the hill except rentals. Call during Winter Break for times. I want to get all this gear in your garage. Come up and help me control sledders from California.
January 4th-5th.
We called it Dryland in past years but not this season. Saturday morning starting at 9am is a one time class for kids that have never been on snow. It is Level 0. How to put on and off gear, walk, climb, glide. All the very basics. It is not a requirement and we do not run buses. If you can make it do so. It goes for a couple of hours. SkyKids do the same thing over in the aspens. This is more of a dry run for them.
While the kids are stomping in the snow at the direction of instructors, support members can learn a bit about what they will be doing. The kitchen people get together, same with lift folks and other positions. You know run a ski area which does take some know-how. We repeat this for support members on Sunday at 9 again.
After kids are done Saturday morning with dryland and on Sunday starting earlier, instructors are back out on the hill working on instructing. Support members and even a few returning kids have been known to take a run or two in the afternoons these days.
January 6th
Rental gear gets put back in the containers so that the lunch room can become a lunch room. Getting a kid outfitted becomes 3Xs harder so please get set up before then.
Christmas gifts. Everyone needs ski socks and helmets. Bus kids need bags for the buses.
Happy Holidays,
Bill
