Putting It All On the Line

It’s coming. It’s in the smells in the air, the nervous energy in town and the thick frosts and occasional flurries whitening the mountaintops here in New England. Another winter and another ski season are nearly upon us. I’m excited. Each time I’ve spent the “summer” working in a Southern Hemisphere winter, I’ve had a little anxiety about whether I’d be able to share in the excitement that comes to skiers and riders after the leaves have fallen and before the cold really hits. Each time, as I’ve dealt with the inevitable logistics and pre-season planning, I’ve been gratified to find that I am genuinely ready for another winter, I am genuinely psyched. This year is no exception.

At Okemo this coming winter I’ll be back to my normal role on the line as a ski instructor and I couldn’t be happier. Yes, I still will have a lot of responsibilities off the hill. Yes, I still will be supervising a couple of days each week. Yes, I’ll be conducting a lot of staff training. But, at the end of the day, I’m a ski instructor. I love it. Skiing, as an Italian colleague of mine once said, is not rocket surgery. Even at its most technical level of analysis, the movements are simple (though not necessarily easy) and the nature of the job also is simple. What makes it a challenge is working to understand each person we teach and articulating to them (verbally and otherwise) the technical aspects of skiing in a way that they understand and can replicate. Sometimes this means being direct and technical and at other times it means using a little guile and creativity to reach the desired result. Make all of this fun and keep the guests safe, and the challenges multiply. It’s immensely gratifying and a lot of fun.

My role at Treble Cone coordinating programs for the guests and running the training for the staff is a great gig. Our operation in Wanaka, New Zealand is small enough that I do get to teach a fair bit, and the whole experience is a wonderful counterpoint to Okemo – the two places are different and complementary in many, many ways. Notably, each of the three of us who run the TC Snow Sports School - me, my counterpart Nick who runs the children’s programs, and our director Tim – think of ourselves as instructors first and last, and we view it as an important facet of our jobs that the staff knows it.

Now that I’ll be back in my spot at Okemo, sitting on the bench in the Wernick House locker room, booting up next to Joe, Courtney, Fred, John and the rest, comparing notes on the weather, judging how to dress by how many layers Fred is wearing that day and dividing it by five, laughing constantly and grumbling occasionally, and heading out on the hill to teach everyone and anyone who comes our way, it’ll be a wonderful way to spend my time. We have an exceptional collection of instructors, exceptional teachers and exceptional people, and I’m glad to be home and to be back amongst them.