Spring Skiing

While Europe is winding down their season with muddy slopes ad big piles of slush, Colorado is ending its season in style. Most Colorado ski areas shut their doors on April 24th, with a base of 2.8m, 20cm of fresh snow overnight and and a total of 10m+ snow throughout the season.

The video below is of my father and my friends skiing at Aspen Highlands three days before their season ended. We were greeted with no lift lines, first tracks and 7 inches of powder.

Examiner

In mid February, I went to Aspen for a few days to attend the Rocky Mountain Examiner Selection.

A little background history: Ski instructors in the US are certified by the Professional Ski Instructors of America(PSIA). You start as a Level1 instructor and can eventually become a Level 3 (fully certified instructor). Beyond that you can become a trainer of instructors to help them pass their exams.

Examiners are trainers, hired by PSIA, to administer exams and provide educational clinics to instructors. I was delighted to be one of two people hired by PSIA this year to join their education staff.

Val & Andy studying on the chair

The selection was over two days and broken down into four sections:
1. Skiing - Two runs, 9 tasks and many eyes on you as you perform
2. Presenting - Two outdoor presentations watched by five examiners, and one indoor presentation watched by three examiners
3. Movement Analysis - Two sessions, you watch a video of a skier and describe everything you see happening, why is it happening and what you would change to make it better.
4. Interview - Five minutes in a room with four interviewers

There were 17 candidates this year and they were all excellent skiers, teachers and people. I met some great people and am really excited to see some of them become examiners in the future.

I still have some steps before I become a fully fledged examiner. I have to shadow two more level one exams and attend a clinic next fall. I'm guessing by next January they will put me out to work.