Good News From The Doc!

Rather than re-writing an email I sent earlier today...here's what was sent to the SSD and some friends on the patrol.

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First, I’d like to thank all of you for writing and calling and thinking of me, I sincerely appreciate your kind thoughts and words.

OK, I’ve got some very good news to report. According to the doctor, my knee is in a lot better shape than he originally thought it might be.

According to the MRI that I got yesterday, there is no ligament damage, or meniscus damage, the X-rays show no structural problems and the doc says that my knee is “tight”…which he said is good. There is some slight cartilage damage but not a tear and there are some “loose materials” in there but nothing that will prevent me from resuming a normal level of activity. He said it was difficult to tell because there’s a good bit of swelling and there is some point tenderness so he couldn’t totally palpate as much as he would like to but all-in-all, he indicated that I dodged a pretty big bullet given the description of the mechanism of injury and the swelling and pain on Sunday night.

So, next steps are to continue to ice, slowly increase activity, work on my range of motion and to stop wearing the compression brace; which is extremely good news! I’ve got an appointment on Friday, March 2 to visit with Dr. xxxx one more time. Based on how things are going, he’ll hopefully fully release me, with the appropriate paperwork. As for now, there’s no skiing but my plan is to get back on the slopes Saturday, March 3 for instructing and patrolling; unless anyone objects, please anticipate that my regular schedule will resume at that time.

As for what really happened, now that I’ve had a chance to think about it, the boarder that hit me was young…10 or 12, maybe 14 at the most. I’m not really sure if he was a student, newbie or someone just out of control. About 30 seconds before I got hit, I was talking with my class about clearing the path up-hill when you are entering a trail; always look for traffic. In doing that, I looked up trail and didn’t see anyone. That’s when I returned my attention to the students and then, I got hit. Rob, the patroller, was almost immediately on the scene and he instructed the boarder not to move. He might have had a better sense of who he was and gotten a better look at him than I did. To be honest, my attention wasn’t on that young man, instead, I was trying to figure out how badly I was hurt DCAP/BTLS/SAMPLE…good training never goes away. Even though Rob told him not to move, once the other patrollers and instructors started to come around, I think the boarder saw it as an opportunity to leave, and did. Since I got hit from behind and from my right, and I was looking to the left to make sure all of the students were acknowledging what I had just told them, it is literally like I got blindsided…I truly never saw him coming. In any case, I don’t think we can really blame the boarder; experienced or not, this was hopefully just an accident.

So, I’ll take the next 10 days to stretch, ice, work on my range of motion, get with whatever doc’s need to see me and get ready to get back on hill for the remainder of this season.

Thanks again to you all . . . your support is truly appreciated.

What A GREAT Weekend...Until...OUCH!

So, Saturday ends with a few runs with Beale and Curtie and a quick conversation with Emilio (Patroller extraordinaire) and a cigar on the way home.

Man, that was some really good skiing and the whole city, it seemed, wanted some of it.

Inside of the lodge, there was hardly an untracked spot and of course, some of the best food in town was being served. It's always cool when you see a client doing well, especially at a place that you patron. So, I'm skiing, patrolling, instructing, hanging out with some really great people and eating some of our client's best stuff.

Is it much better than that?

So, on Sunday, I decided it would be a good idea to do some extra patrolling since it was so darned busy and because of the improving weather, it looked to be even more so.

Met up with one of the newbie's, Randy and we ski'd a bunch of runs together - helping out along the way and checking out his new Nordica Speedmachine 8's. Those things are so sweet and he ski's them particularly well. He's a great guy and I'm going to enjoy patrolling with him for many years to come.

After a few hours of patrolling, a guest came up to us wondering if he had the wrong ski's on. He said that he'd been skiing a few times before and wanted to know if the ski's he had on were somehow different from the one's he had previously rented because the others were "so much easier to turn". We talked about ski length, edge cut and all that but he really wasn't getting it. I told him that there were other ski's to try and that if he wanted to, to just go back to the ski rental shop and ask for a new pair. I recommended a shorter mid-fat and off he went.

Well, as soon as he started to ski away, it became pretty obvious what the problem was. His turning came from the shoulders and it was almost as if he was trying to steer a truck or roll a barrel of beer from side to side. I looked at Randy, he looked at me and then I decided that it would be better to catch up to the guest and ask if I could make a few suggestions on his skiing technique. Which I did and ski'd with him for a bit and gave him some pointers about the "ready" position, balance, quieting his shoulders and turning from the hips, knees and ankles in an effort to make him more comfortable.

Seemed to do the immediate trick and he was thankful for the input. A little later I saw him ski by and he was doing much better. Then, somehow we got in line together and I offered to ski a run with him to give him a more extended "lesson" on some more appropriate technique. It was fun to ski with him, he was a very willing student and it made me feel good to help out someone that wanted to enjoy skiing but was struggling with his technique. Later in the day, he ski'd by again...yelled out my name and said "I GET IT!". Made me feel good.

OK, so, after finishing up patrolling, at about 330p, I took a bit of a break to have lunch out on the veranda (fancy name for cement deck). Absolutely perfect day...sunny, but with enough chill in the air to make the hot sandwich and cool soda go down so well. Met up with Paul (OEC bud) and his very attractive girlfriend and chatted a bit. Paul's a first class guy...I hope we get to ski together more in the future. About 3 weeks ago, he and I handled one of my first actual "backboarding" incidents together. Anyway, after chatting with Paul, I changed coats and became an instructor and headed out for my first class of the day. All adults, 11 in total and it was going to be a blast!

On the way out the door, Tigger and Pooh were hanging out...had to get a shot of them. One really cool thing about HV is the way people really get into having fun. It's not all serious and 'life and death'...it's really enjoyable to be around and the atmosphere is typically pretty light hearted. If you remember from an original post, my entire goal and motivation this year was to really enjoy a season of skiing. So far, that's been happening, even with the patroller struggles earlier it's been well worth the commitment and time and effort.

So, up the hill we go to the Learner's Area and we get organized and we begin the lesson. As we start, things are going great. Everyone's getting the "arc the turn" concept...they're feeling the balance, they can all walk and slide and stop on one ski and then two and now it's time for the star-turn, which everyone gets pretty well. And, that's when it happened.

Every time I teach a class, one of the biggest things I discuss first is traffic awareness, safety when entering an active trail, making sure the path is clear, etc... And, my last word to them, on that subject is, "And, eventhough it's the up-hill skier's responsibilty to avoid you, if they run into you, you're still the one that gets hurt". And DAMN, if that's not exactly what happened. Literally, as I complete that sentence I start looking up the hill and pointing for any traffic and making sure that the area is clear because the class is about to ski onto the open trail behind me. As I do that, I stop about 25 feet from the edge of the Magic Carpet, look uphill one more time, don't see anybody and then turn my attention back to the class. I guess I must have been looking slightly downhill and talking with one of the students because as soon as I said "ok, ski back to the carpet now"...a snowboarder hit me from behind, on my right, and took both of my legs out from underneath me.

I was planted, just standing there with my poles up and I could feel him rolling into my right knee and then my weight folding over the top of the boarder to the right. I immediately felt my left ski release but for some reason, the right ski hung on to my boot and the boarder rolled over my knee and that's when I felt the burning sensation. I didn't feel or hear a pop, but it sure as heck started to hurt and hurt bad.

Likely, I slid about 10 feet or so from the point of impact and when I tried to put some weight on my right foot to leverage myself up, my knee wasn't going to have any of that. I won't tell you the words I started saying to myself . . . but most of them started with FUCK.

Within seconds, one of my patroller buds Rob was there and he could tell I was in pain. Not recognizing him at first, when he said "can I help you, can I take off your ski's?" I very rudely said, "stay away and get the patrol". To which he responded, "Brian, it's me...I am with the patrol". I was so pissed at being hurt that I didn't even look to see who it was. He asked me what happened and I looked over at the boarder and said "that little shithead just rolled me over". Now, in retrospect, I can't really blame the boarder because he was a student, learning how to board and no doubt being out of control is just part of the deal. I do wish he would have at least said "LOOOOOOK OUT!" before he plowed into me, but that didn't happen and I found myself laying on the snow wondering what the hell just happened to my knee.

Within about 2 minutes, there were many voices around me, instructors, other patrollers, people I didn't recognize. It wasn't fun.

The long and short of it is that one of the other instructors picked up for my class and I got to experience the best care that HV's Patrol can provide. I never thought I'd get to experience that but after having done so, it's likely the best possible scenario for any patroller in training; to have the experience of being 'taken care of' with an injury. In my case, a real one, but for training, it could be 'faked' to experience everything from on-scene arrival through loading into the ambulance to get the full scope of the experience.

So, I get sledded to the Patrol Room and who is there to meet me but Dick, the OEC instructor and all around good dude...really good dude! As he always does, he's kind and careful and examined me and took the notes and did all the things you're supposed to do. Eventually, he along with several others, got my leg splinted and had me ready to be shipped off for the exam at the hospital.

Probably the dummest thing I did was insist that my wife drive me to the ER, rather than take the ambulance ride. I won't repeat that mistake. She was all worked up anyway, after hearing that I was hurt; to make her come out to the hill and get me into the car and then drive me to the ER was not smart, on my part. It added to her fear and anger and just got me all riled up because she wouldn't calm down. Next time, I'll take the bus...or, as one of my clients calls it, the Whaaaaambulance.

The ER wasn't particularly eventful . . . standard exam and Xray stuff, wrist tag, crutches and then meds to reduce the pain.

Here's what I wrote to the ski school director, when I got home:
I’ve been to the ER this evening and have some good news and some unknown news to report:

• Good News: There’s nothing broken. I went to the ER at Barnes West and had a series of X-Ray’s taken and I’m told that they show no bone breaks or anything significant in the ‘structural’ arena. Additionally, the orthopedic (Dr. Bassman) indicated that there’s no significant instability and upon palpation he didn’t feel anything ‘detached’.
  
  
• Unknown News: Due to the swelling and pain, he wanted to make sure that we get an accurate picture of what’s occurring so I’m currently on pain medication, leg elevated and wrapped in a compression splint. Oh, I’m the dork on crutches! On Monday morning, I’ll be calling to make an MRI appointment and seeing him on Wednesday for a full analysis and next steps. Based on what he finds on Monday/Wednesday, we’ll figure out what to do.

UPDATE: I went to the MRI yesterday afternoon and have an appointment setup for this afternoon with the orthopedic to see what’s going on. The knee is still very stiff, still swollen and painful when I either rotate or angulate but I can put weight on it as long as I’m in the splint and on crutches.

What this means for skiing and instructing is:

1. I’m out of business until at least Wednesday (no instructing Monday or clinic on Tuesday), and likely after that until the pain subsides and I successfully complete some level of rehab, even if there’s no surgery.
2. If there is surgery, I’m done for the season and rehab will begin immediately after eithercartilage debreeding (scope) or ligament repair. I’m crossing my fingers for none ofthat.

I've got an appointment with the Doc in a couple of hours...let's hope the MRI shows nothing and I'm back on ski's before this season ends.

More news...later!

What A GREAT Weekend...Until.

This weekend, President's Weekend, was one of those fabulous weekend's that are just so cool to be part of...Until.

It started Saturday morning, arriving at the hill early, I got to be part of the early morning crew, setting up fences, moving poles and "ski school signs", greeting the early-riser guests, it was just fun. There's something really enjoyable about being there "backstage" when the crew is getting the show ready. From all of my days as an airshow guy, there was just something about being there with the planes ready to fly, the pilots getting briefed, vendors rolling out their goods; that bug is still with me.

So, as Saturday dawned, I was ready to go and since there were no students early, I got to run first-tracks with Beale, a heckuva a skier and awesome woman to boot and Scott (yellow vest, on the right), a student at Mizzou and a superb guy. Scott, earlier in the day, rescued me from the edge of the access road heading to the hill. Friday night, St. Louis got 1/2 inch of snow and unfortunately, by the time Saturday morning rolled around, the access road hadn't been plowed or salted. Dumb me decided it was a perfect day to try to get to the hill in my convertible (rather than taking the SUV which was just sitting there begging to be driven). So, as I'm going up and down the access road, climbing to the entry, I get stuck on a just too steep to climb section of the road. Once my forward momentum had stopped, I tried to slowly accelerate in the lowest gear I could get to and the wheels kept spinning . . . and then, I started to slide towards the edge of the road and a big ole tree-filled cliff. Freaked out??? You betcha. So, rather than accept that as my fate, I stopped with the gas and started in with the brake...not so fast dumbass. Now, I start to slide backwards down the hill...still veering towards the edge of the road. As a last ditch, I decide the only thing I can really do is put the car in reverse and drive-backwards, down the hill and try to positively control my direction. Still, no such luck but at least things weren't getting worse. As I started to slow down, my right rear tire fell off the side of the road and I stopped, dead in my tracks.

Now, to say I'm hyperventilating would be an understatement...but, here's where the star-alignment part comes in. Who should be directly behind me but Craig (L2 about to be L3 ski instructor and an amazingly great guy) and Scott (Mizzou student, from above). They were watching the whole thing and as I came to a stop at the side of the road, they met me at my car as I was getting out. To say that I was relieved to see that it was them would be an understatement. After about 30 seconds of discussing it, Scott and Craig decide it's going to be best if they push me back on the road and I drive all the way back down the hill to the church parking lot. And so that's what happened. A little gas, a whole lot of their muscle and voila...safely on the road and backing down I go. I said it to both of them before but once again, THANKS GUYS FOR RESCUING MY BACON!

OK, so, I finally get warmed up, after skiing with Scott and Beale and it's time for the first of the 6 classes I tought on Saturday. One after the other it was just fun, fun, fun! My first class was "shadowed" by one of the senior instructors, Hawkie. Superbly amazingly great guy and as good as an instructor as there is. Well, I was a little bit nervous, kind of like in flight school when the senior instructor watches you conduct a lesson, but I figured I would just do what I'd been doing and get the feedback for improving once all was said and done. Luckily for me, my first class was filled with athletic studs and everything I asked them to do was easily done by them. By the end, 9 of the 10 were sliding, wedging, turning, stopping...it was cool. One thing I've gotten into a pattern of is at the top of the learner's hill, as we're getting ready for our last run as a class, I stop everyone and give them a recap of what they've learned and ask them "OK, an hour ago when we started the class...I asked each of you if you're a skier. So, an hour ago, how many of you were skier's?" To which none of them raise their hand and I then ask, "OK, it's an hour later, how many of you are skier's now?" To which ALL of them raise their hands. It's a great thing to see them realize how far they've come and for me, it's a thrill to see that in their faces.

So, once that first lesson is done, I ski back to the "Ski School Meeting Area" and wait for Hawkie to join up. He skied up and said, "best primary lesson I've seen a junior instructor deliver in a long time...way to go". Uhhhhh, me? You're talking to me? It was so cool to hear him say that. From where I'd come as an instructor 3 months earlier to Saturday was well, quite a journey and it was cool, cool, cool to have him tell me that I was decent enough to keep instructing. He did say I was a little "verbose" in the beginning...yeah, well, ask anyone who knows me and they'll tell you I love the sounds of my voice. But that's something I've been working on and am well aware of. So, in all, the feedback was super positive and I spent the rest of Saturday enjoying being a ski instructor.

More about the weekend will be written...likely, it's above this post...in just a bit.

Thanks for reading!

A View From My Office

I'm one of those lucky few that get to work from home...and really enjoy it!

My business partner and I founded a communications technology company last year (Click The Link) and to date, we're doing quite well. One of the best parts though, I do have to admit, is being able to work from home whenever I want to.

So, yesterday, I decided "I want to" and took some time to enjoy home while it was snowing 6 inches in my yard.

First, I decided I wanted to do a hot tub, but then, I got a look at it and decided, that's probably not such a good idea. The stairs at the top of the picture go up to the deck...the small stairs go into what is likely 100 degree bubbly water. But, that's not going to happen any time soon...dab nab it.

So, after not being able to coax myself into the tub, I decided it was likely just better to get to work. Nose to the grindstone and all that for a few hours until I finally rolled back the blinds and took a look outside.

So, as we're buried deep in the woods, it was pretty cool to see the trees dusted with snow, the deck railings piled up and the backyard a total snowdesert.

Best part of all was that the girls schools were cancelled for the day so they got to hang out with me at home. Sheri too...it was quite a party.

Unfortunately, my attention was continuously called away to a software project that was being rolled out so with a tweak here and a nudge there, our developers and project management team were able to get things rolled out successfully.

Felt good to complete a 2 month project on time and within budget. Made for a great day at home.

One last view from my office window!

Ski Patrolling...er, Ski Instructing

Interesting how different these two worlds are.

I've been ski instructing as well as ski patrolling these past few months and I've come to notice a significant difference between the two groups that make up these two entities of a ski area's operation.

1. Ski Instructors get that they are part of the revenue equation of the business. Ski Patrollers generally have no clue that they are part of the expense side.
   
   
2. Ski Instructors, generally, are much better skiers than Ski Patrollers. Patrollers can ski well and can handle equipment and situations very well...but I find that Patrollers have a very narrow ski window...a Level 2 or 3 Instructor is a stronger and more capable overall skier.
   
   
3. Ski Patrollers are typically a much tighter group and have a significant amount of comraderie that I don't see in the instructor group. Now, there are many very good friendships amongst instructors, but in general all the Patrollers are 'buds' at some level.
   
   
4. The general public doesn't differentiate between Patrollers...anyone wearing the jacket is one. On the other hand, Instructors are better known by the public because you spend an hour, or more, with them and they remember you when they come back to ski on their own or take another lesson. The relationship between "student" and "patient" is much different.
   
   
5. Instructor's have better accomodations than do Patrollers...at least where I ski. The ski school has a little 'locker room' for instructors where we can hang out, hang our gear, talk, commisserate, etc...Patrollers have this little room that's really a place for patients more than anything else and another PQ at the top of the hill...spartan, to say the least.
   
   
6. Instructors talk about instructing. Patrollers talk about skiing.
   
   
7. In general, Patrollers talk about the people they've helped and the situations they've been in with patients. Instructors, on the other hand, typically talk about problems or students that "don't get it".
   
   
8. Patrollers gear is in better shape than an Instructor's...mostly because an Instructor spends most of the day getting ski'd over by students still learning...our boots, ski's and bindings are hacked up pretty badly. Patrollers, on the other hand, ski to a scene, kick out of their bindings and then cross them in the snow. Not much abuse going on there.
   
   
9. I've been called a "traitor" by Patrollers and a "cross dresser" by instructors...when I'm wearing the other groups gear. Funny, it sounds like Patrollers are more upset by me instructing than instructors are upset by me Patrolling.
   
   
10. The one thing that both groups have in common is an unending desire to share their passion for safe skiing with those around them. At least at my hill, money isn't a motivator for either group...neither are the "free ski passes". It's a chance to contribute, share and be with a group that shares your passion. I, for one, am darned glad I'm doing both this winter.
    

CONGRATS...to those with the guts to stick it out!

Today was the on-hill for all my OEC buds and I'm so excited that so many of them passed!

Randy...a 17 year old with one of the greatest dads; Dick, one of our OEC teachers. Randy's so absolutely cool and so mature and just a really talented and super nice guy. He's fully certified as a Basic and was already patrolling today during the "Big Air" competition. This is one awesome guy.

Julie...if you read my first post again, you'll see a picture of Julie from way back in early December. She's a fully certified Patroller...way to go Jules!

Plus a bunch of others made it past the gauntelet today...CONGRATS, it's an honor to be in your hands!

More Fun...More Skiing...Less Weight

In a variety of private messages, there have been some comments (some rather nasty, I might add) about my weight. Well, tada....I'm down 10 pounds since Jan. 1 and continue on a losing path! There is no secret, it's pretty simple; eat less, exercise more. Duuuh.

The good news is that as I lose more weight, I feel more confident as a skier and that certainly showed yesterday.

Assisted on 3 scenes and in every case, was able to fully and physically assist the lead patroller without feeling confined or bunched up. Now, that's a good feeling that's going to start getting better. I've even been able to enjoy instructing much more because of my ability to move around more easily.

I've been here before, I'm commited to continuing on this path until I reach my goals (sub-200) and we'll see where we go from there.

On the very cool side of things, am being asked to assist other instructors and patrol with other patrollers which is lots of fun. The best part if being of value. My goal is to share my passion for safe skiing and assist people get to a level of confidence that allows them to overcome their fears of either never having ski'd, or being instructed poorly at the start.

Yesterday, that happened with a family of 3; Mom, Dad and 9 year old daughter. Very cool group, you could tell they were really chomping at the bit, but had a very poor experience 4 years ago in Colorado. Yesterday, after an hour they could all safely wedge, safely turn and safely ride up the lift. When I cut them loose, the dad asked me about season passes...VICTORY!

The Doctor Rules!

Got a total signoff from Dr. Jennifer today.

Swelling is all but gone, I have no idea what the deal was but whatever it was, it was temporary...yeehaw!

Saturday, back at it!

Saturday was a completely enjoyable day on the slopes...almost.

Got to the hill early and practiced side slipping, wedging, transitions and generally got a better feel for the control of my ski's. It was very enjoyable to practice without the pressure I've been putting on myself to be perfect.

Then, I met up with CraigL, a fellow instructor, and we skied a few runs together which was a blast. Craig's working towards his L3, actually he's ready to take the test, and he encouraged me to follow him on a few runs and just 'track his tracks'. Seeing as he's an amazing skier I was concerned that he's leave me in the dust but it turns out that while concentrating on staying in synch with him, my fears of where my ski's are, where my body was positioned, what the terain was doing and all of that was just not there . . . at all.

I was impressed with my ability to stay on his tails and even more so, was impressed that I was just skiing, without doing any thinking. It was a bunch of fun!!!

Then, I engaged my first few lessons and really enjoyed one particular student; Samantha. What a cool young woman she was. At first, she was horrendously fearful of the slopes, of the speed, of the hill, the entire process. But, after a few successful wedge-runs and the feeling of control that she mastered in our hour together, I got to see her actually wedge-turning all by herself a few hours later. The coolest thing about that was as I was taking the 'magic carpet' up with another group of students, she slid by me down the learner's hill and yelled out "hey, Brian, I'm skiing!". Now THAT was cool.

Then, as my final "act" of the day, I took a 6 year old girl up for her first lesson. She was a really neat little lady and was all gung-ho for her experience. The first half of the lesson was just getting her comfortable with the motions on the snow, me skiing backwards and her practicing "sticks and A" (her version of parallelling and wedging). Then, I made the mistake of skiing next to her with my poles on my knees and her just hanging onto them. That, she LOVED, and it was super tough on my legs as we wedged down the learner's hill. But, I could see her progressing and she would occassionally get into a wedge and control our combined speeeds so I was feeling pretty good.

Then, as we were riding up the magic carpet, she suddently forgot how to walk and started to back peddle. I eventually caught up with her and tried to grab her and lift her off her ski's and ski with her off the carpet but somehow, her ski got caught under mine, she was kicking with her left ski, tripped me up and we both went for a slip down the slope off the side of the carpet. The thing that totally sucked is that while she was ok, (I kind of set her on the ground as we were falling), I got in this totally awkward position and ended up having both my ski's release. I immediately felt a jolt of pain in my right knee and thought I heard a snap. Luckily, that wasn't the case because within about 5 minutes, I felt ok enough to continue the lesson and eventually did some free skiing before heading home. My knee was tender, but no more so than any other time I've managed to do something dumb.

Well, overnight, you can guess what happened...my knee ballooned up and now I can really feel the pain. Ugggggh, I hope I haven't done anything permanently funky. Throughout today I've elevated and iced and the swelling and pain have diminished significantly such that both knees look almost identical to each other. I have no idea what's going on so I'm headed to Zamir in the morning to have a look-see.

So, while in all it was a rewarding day (assisted on 2 calls and actually helped backboard and collar a patient), I'm sure hopeful that I haven't done anyting permanent.

I'll let you know.

A Balanced Post . . . amongst the hatred

From someone on Epicski.com.

It's a learning experience all the time.

The other night I screwed up. I've been patrolling 4 years now and things can still go wrong. Luckily it wasn't a patient or injury or something like that. Just a bad call by me. But it goes to show you that there's always more to learn.

If someone wants to show you how to do something. Don't hold back. Don't look at it as "I'll show him cause he screwed up". They're watching you to show you how to guide what you're doing in the right direction... How to better what you already have. Become interested in learning.

The first year isn't to ween the weaker people out, but rather to make you realize you are more capable of doing what you thought you couldn't. Light the fire inside and make it a passion to learn.

Push yourself. If you don't feel comfortable doing something, talk to the PD and tell him. He might set you up with someone to go practice with. It might be a patroller or a PSIA instructor.

Some people are harder to learn from than others. I've had my share of people I can go out and listen to and better myself by one little thing they tell me to do. Other instructors had completly dismantled my bump skiing so bad that I went from skiing them without thinking and doing great (not bragging) to the point of where I completley lost my capability to ski them. This was a level 3 Instructor!

My point is, go LEARN this year. Don't worry about "did I pass or fail", because I guarantee you by the end of this year you'll be a better patroller and a better skier than you were in the past.

Keep up the hard work.

Anonymous...!

Thanks for all the kind words, your thoughtfulness is appreciated.

When you get a chance, please be sure to come out and visit. I'm sure we'll enjoy skiing together.

WTF . . . This, I don't get - Part 2

Well, I may not get it, but a bunch of other people do...read on:

http://forums.epicski.com/showthread.php?t=51026

WTF . . . This, I don't get.

Some of you may know that my background is as a college professor and flight instructor. As such, one of the first things you learn is how to not only teach your speciality but at least as importantly, how to do things that help build your student's confidence.

So, I've got to wonder WTF was going on last night during our on-hill training.

First, some background:

1. Through the process of on-hill training, I've discovered that I'm a pretty decent every-day skier, but a marginal ski-patroller skier. Some of the skills that patrollers use on an every day basis are things I haven't done in years, if ever.
2. My level of fitness is suspect, at best. My legs are in a continuous state of 'burn', my feet are aching (even with the really cushy superfeet) shoulders, butt, abs, the whole package.
   
3. Our on-hill training season has been cut short by almost 4 weeks because of the lack of snow.

So, I've got to wonder why, after almost 3 hours of tugging, wedging, skiing, lifting, slogging, last night, it was only then that we were instructed to take on the most challenging, ice-filled run on the entire hill. WTF...tire us out and then put us in a dangerous position on the hardest/most challenging run we have?

That, I do not get.

If the job of the instructors is to instill confidence in the students, if the job of the instructors is to teach and make sure the situation doesn't overwhelm the student's ability to learn, if the job of the instructors is to "do no harm", then WTF were they thinking last night?

Yeah, I know,when I'm a fully-minted Basic I'll be required to be tired and still safely get a patient down the hardest run, got it. So, here's an idea, help me build my confidence in doing that when my body is fresh and my legs aren't screaming (like maybe the first run of the training session) instead of the 5th. Then, you can help me build my confidence while I'm physically fresh and less likely to be injured.

Last night was an open invitation to injury and no matter how important Ski Patrolling is to me, it's definitely NOT worth getting hurt over.

These "trainers" might be really good skier's and patrollers and I know that they are totally committed to the Patrol, but as people concerned for the well-being of their future staff, I've got to wonder WTF they were thinking was the good that would have come from last night.

It's Been 3 Weeks...

since I was last on the hill.

Due to the crummy warm, rainy and non-snowy (or snow-blowy) weather in St. Louis, our local hill has been closed.

But, this past Wednesday it was "Katie bar the door". Everyone came out to ski and I was one of them.

Thursday night was more on-hill ski patroller training, Saturday was ski patrol and ski instructing and Sunday was 6 hours of ski instructing. Yeah, I had a darned big time blast!!!

Saturday afternoon both Katie and Kimmy were out boarding. It's so darned cool to see both of your daughter's having so much fun with an activity that I love so much. Kimmy even started "double-planking" with a friend of hers. Of course, she couldn't stay out of the park (glad she used rental ski's). Katie was rocking toe-side on Saturday. I've so impressed with how proficient and good she's gotten on the board. She's a little freaked out by the steep/ice, but being the trooper she is, she's taking step-by-step and getting more proficient and comfortable.

Sunday, Kimmy and I drove together to the hill while she was working in the rental shop and I was instructing. Missed having dinner with her (I was instructing when she called for her break)...but did get a chance to meet up with her later before I left and she went out to dinner with friends.

Saturday night, took a hot tub and had a big ole robusto cigar while I was cleaning the muscles. Calves and thighs are totally barking today, but it's that really good kind of bark!

More posts and pics to follow!