Can a resurrection fern help us get through this pandemic?

We all have moments that define us, change us, and reroute our course. Some of the most
impactful moments are traumatic ones and often something that you suffer through alone, like
a breakup or being bullied. After one of these moments in my life, I was driving around, and I
heard a song by Iron and Wine called Resurrection Fern. The lyrics were left up to my
interpretation and made me curious about the title, so I looked up what a resurrection fern
was. Turns out it’s a real thing, a fern. After reading the definition, something resonated with
me. “A resurrection fern is this remarkable plant that can lose up to 97% of its water during
extreme drought. It shrivels up into a graying brown clump of leaves appearing to be dead but
when given water again it comes back to life and looks green, healthy, alive. While it never
actually dies, it gets its name from this apparent “resurrection”. In contrast, many plants can
lose as little as 10% of their water and no amount of water will bring them back.” Wildlife
Guide. (n.d.)

Right now, you are probably thinking, “why is she telling us about plants?” In my opinion,
people are similar. Our response to the events in our lives can impact us more so then the
event itself. The word response comes from the word responsibility. Taking responsibility for
how we react to certain things in life is why some of us give up easily, while others persevere.
Another interesting tidbit about the resurrection fern is that it needs a host plant or other
substrate on which to anchor. “This fern is a type of epiphytic fern, meaning that it grows on
top of other plants or structures and that it reproduces by spores, not seeds. And while the
resurrection fern grows on top of other plants, they do not steal nutrients or water from this
host plant.” Wildlife Guide. (n.d.)

Wow, now you’re probably worried this is a botany lesson, however, if you think about those
people who can get through some of the most challenging things and quickly bounce back, like
the fern, are the same people who have strong support systems within their communities.
What is occurring in the world right now could possibly be one of the most traumatic things you
will experience in your lifetime. One of us may lose someone close to you as a result of being
sick, many of us will suffer grave financial distress, and all of us will suffer psychological and
emotional hardship. As a country (world), we are all going through this together. Now narrow
that down further to our sliding community and we are REALLY going through it together. While
we may all have different fears regarding- perhaps getting sick, losing a job, dreading the long
term impact on the economy, or not being able to be with loved ones when they need us most;
fear is fear, trauma is trauma, sadness is sadness, and we are ALL familiar with those things
right now.

I consider myself so lucky in my life- as your CEO, mother of two amazing kids (well 1.5), Gym
owner, Steamboat Springs resident with my not so svelte dog. When I reflect on the parts of my
life that have felt most successful to me, I often come to realize that had I not had my son when
I was just 17, I doubt I would be where I am today. I believe my work ethic originated at a young
age when I had no choice but to provide for someone other than myself. In my quest as a
leader, I often find myself trying to inspire motivation in others, and truthfully, I have never
really felt successful in that. Turns out you cannot teach or tell someone to be motivated.
Motivation comes as a result of an event in your life, usually one that is traumatic, unexpected,
and extremely uncomfortable.

I am not going to lie, I am pretty tired of people talking about the “good” that will come from
COVID-19, because from my seat, I struggle to agree. But what I do know from experience is
about what it takes to survive in this industry at the age of 18, teaching skiing full-time with a
one year old to feed. I know the trauma of having a child so young motivated me to stay with it
through many mud seasons, several bad snow years, and highs and lows in the economy. Not
only was I forced to be motivated, but I tried my best to embody GRIT as well. Grit is not just a
simple elbow-grease term for rugged persistence. It is an invisible display of endurance that lets
you stay in an uncomfortable place, work hard to improve upon a given interest and then do it
again and again. My hope is that when this community comes back together next fall, we are
more motivated than ever to do what we need to so this industry can survive. I hope each and
every one of you is there because you had this community to support you and vice versa
through these challenging times. I have always wanted a tattoo of a resurrection fern, but they
are kind of ugly, therefore I opted for a single tattoo on my spine, just one word in all
caps…UNBROKEN. I was not built to break, and neither were you.

Dana Forbes
CEO PSIA/AASI Rocky Mountain

References:
1. Wildlife Guide. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.nwf.org/educationalresources/
wildlife-guide/

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This is the 19/20 events line up in catalogue form.  If you want to sign up for an event click HERE

PSIA_CurriculumGuideBook

Area Influencer Description

Job Summary

To help PSIA-Rocky Mountain-AASI market to both members and non-members at their home ski areas. To provide support to the ski areas by knowing and understanding PSIA-AASI policies and helping to spread the word on events happening at their resort, as well as nearby resorts. Engage the membership through fun, creative, and informative social media posts.

Major Responsibilities 

• Review basic PSIA-AASI Rocky Mountain FAQ’s to provide information at your home ski area
• Know when and what events are happening at your ski area, as well as nearby areas, and communicate these events to potential candidates
• Post on social media about PSIA-AASI Rocky Mountain. Make sure to tag @psiarmaasi in all posts and include #rmsnowpros and #snowpros in your posts
• Opportunity to participate in Instagram takeovers of the official PSIA-RM-AASI instagram page
• Notify ski school managers of events and deadlines at your ski area
• Help influence and recruit potential new members at your home ski area

Influencer Contest

• We will be having a contest between all influencers, in February we will pick the top 3 influencers based on reach within the organization and social media posts. 1st Place will receive free membership dues for the 2019-20 season as well as a free two-day clinic voucher for the 2019-20 season; 2nd place will receive free membership dues for the 2019-20 season; 3rd place will receive free swag from the division.

 

Once an Influencer is approved, they will receive a packet of information in the mail with PSIA-AASI Rocky Mountain FAQ’s, stickers, 2018-19 curriculum guide, and the instagram takeover policy.

 

 

As many of you know, PSIA-AASI is a non-profit. Nonprofits often make money, but what they do with the money they make separates them from for-profit businesses. In other words, any profit a nonprofit generates, can’t be returned to investors in the form of profits or dividends. Instead, the money is used to grow the organization and further support its mission.

For over a decade, Rocky Mountain has done just this. If we made money, we used it to grow the organization and to support our mission which in part is “To provide excellence in education and membership services.” If we did not make money, we were ok with that and moved on, which is very different from what most “for profit” companies would do. We have, however, done this with the utmost thought and plan. We knowingly, with minimal price increases, reduced ratios for exam and prep groups, increased scholarship funds, created the total training package (discounted training at your home resorts), incorporated and emphasized education into all of our products and added paired examining for consistency. This was all done to better support you, the member in accomplishing your credentialing goals in a consistent and supportive nature.

In order to continue to provide this support and increase our value for you, we want you to know that we are not only 100% committed to the above initiatives for the long term, we are additionally committed to taking a deep look into our values and virtues to assure that we, as an organization, examine every opportunity to improve and not only remain relevant but more so necessary to you, our members. A large part of this is looking at how we hire and train our educators to assure that not only are they great at delivering educational materials, but are equally as skilled at demonstrating incredible people skills, sincere humility with a growth mindset and a hunger to be excellent in order to positively impact the industry. I want them to “be the example” to you and to demonstrate the qualities of a great educator. I encourage you to read our philosophy that was recently shared with you in the June newsletter since you were likely rafting or biking and may have missed it; you can find it HERE

Our event calendar is up on our website and events through the end of December are set up for registration. Something that is worth noting are changes in our event pricing. In a huge effort to support your journey in the exam process, we are sensitive about these price changes, therefore kept all prerequisites at the same rate as they have been for several years.  This will allow you access to as much support prior to the assessment as necessary. We have moved to a 3-tiered pricing for Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3 products. These will increase as the certification levels increase. These prices will also be consistent across L1, CS1 and FS1 etc. Due to these changes, we have changed our scholarship program to support more applicants to help absorb any increases you were not expecting and to award them throughout the season. The two main deadlines for scholarships are now December 15th and February 15th. You can find our list of scholarships HERE.

We understand pricing is sensitive and have remained cognizant of this for many years. Even as we have expanded our educational services and improved our product, event pricing has remained level. With a goal of continued improvement in our dedication to supporting you- our members- in developing future leaders, it is inevitable that pricing changes need to occur.

Lastly, we are 100% aware that value is not determined by those who set the price. Value is determined by those who choose to pay it. I sincerely hope as you reflect on your experiences on the hill and in the classroom with us that you see the value in being a part of this amazing community of educators.

As always, I am just a phone call or email away so please reach out if you would like to discuss anything regarding the upcoming season or to offer valuable input into the organization.

I can’t wait to see you all in 6 weeks on the slopes!

Always humble, hungry and happy,

Dana Forbes, dana@psia-rm.org

I was in a meeting last week and we were discussing the recent survey results of the Nation’s membership and someone asked why Rocky Mountain ranked so well with their members in regards to their education and admin staff (by the way – thank you to all who completed the survey). My response was simply that our number one priority is our staff. Several leaders in the room looked at me surprised since, after all, shouldn’t the membership be our top priority, to which I replied, they are. By supporting the staff in their development as humans, we have the ability to have the largest impact on the member’s education and success in their teaching discipline.

Over the last several years, Rocky Mountain Division has focused on developing current and future leaders in education with an emphasis on people skills. We have adopted hiring procedures to assure that we hire not only the most skilled educators, but also the most humble, hungry and people smart staff. If you are reading this, reflect on a recent clinic or exam you attended and, while I am sure you can remember some of what you worked on, you can more so remember HOW the examiner made you feel. If you have a story to share along these lines please email me at dana@psia-rm,org, I would love to hear it. In the meantime, in full transparency, below I  shared  Rocky Mountain’s philosophy behind our virtues that our staff and volunteers embrace. This is our commitment to them and to you.

OUR PHILOSOPHY

As team members of PSIA-RM-AASI we have the amazing opportunity to coach, train and spend most of our day with people we love, doing what we enjoy most in life.

We are only as good as the staff we have and do everything in our power to ensure their effectiveness as leaders and their happiness as employees and people. We do our best to educate, provide constructive feedback, encourage further education and personal development, and ensure they are living the lives that our members strive for. Our staff consists of the most Humble, Hungry and Happy (people smart) people in our industry.

Our staff has an unyielding commitment to our members’ results, feelings, and safety, and to creating an environment that is professional, fun, caring, and inspiring.

We (the education staff, administration and volunteers) lead by example. We are the standard that our members strive to become. We are superheroes, role models, leaders, and friends. While we are dedicated, committed, passionate, giving, knowledgeable, approachable, and friendly we are 1st and foremost Humble, Hungry and People Smart.

We believe that we can improve every member’s life as snowsports instructors. We embrace this belief and accept it is our responsibility. We set it as a measure of our accountability.

Our primary focus is on the education, development, happiness and sense of belonging to our current members. While attracting new members is not our priority, we are committed to supporting our member schools in explaining the benefits of membership to those new to the industry. Although not marketing to new members may seem like a departure from the traditional business model of putting the majority of effort and energy in expenditure into creating increasing membership, we choose to first support the quality of a members life cycle with us verses seeking quantity in numbers. This is the essence of saying we are “unhappy with what we have; we want more or someone else”. Therefore we won’t offer discounts on membership or pressure anyone into joining who does not see the value in what we offer as an organization. We are first and foremost committed to do everything we can to make our members feel like they are part of our Rocky Mountain family and this family is based on a trusting, supportive  and caring community.

Our members are the most important people that we will interact with. They are not dependent on us; we are dependent on them. Our members never interrupt our work; they are the purpose of our work. We are not doing our members a favor by coaching them. They are doing us a favor by allowing us to coach them. Our attitude and service to our members is what separates us from everyone else. Our members are as much a part of our business as any staff member. Our members are our friends and family. Respect each one like they are your mother or father and treat them like they’re your best friends.

We are an open source community from management to staff members. We communicate clearly, directly, and professionally with members, directors, and staff. We are a family which is built upon trust.

-Dana Forbes, Rocky Mountain Division CEO

Joel Munn recently finished a thirteen-year stint as a member of the PSIA-AASI Board of Directors and nine years as President and Chairman of the Board as well as Representing RM on the PSIA-AASI National Board of Directors.  We have done a number of interviews with Joel over that time.  He has always given us clarity as to the direction of the organization as well as why and how decisions are made by the Board of Directors and our leadership in general.   With his retirement, The Scoop thought it would be appropriate to take advantage of Joel’s institutional knowledge by doing one more interview…and to thank him for his long and dedicated service to all of us.

Scoop:  First Joel, we want to say thank you for your leadership and service to RM.

Joel:   I can assure you it has been a pleasure and a labor of love.  Since my first lesson in 1966 at Whiteface Mt. in Lake Placid N.Y., being a ski instructor has been the primary motivation in my life…I will never regret it.  The life I’ve lived, the people I’ve met along the way, and the joy and fulfillment I have reaped from our vocation have helped me become the person I wanted to be.  What more could a person ask from their professional life?

I’ve been lucky enough to have lived my career in three countries and four divisions within the United States.  My involvement with PSIA-AASI, especially within Rocky Mountain, has been one of many high points.  It has not always been easy, and we have been presented with many  challenges along the way.  At the same time, it has always been rewarding and educational on many levels.  I owe a lot to my involvement with PSIA-AASI and will always be grateful to the organization, and to the many people who have made it what it is and continues to be.

Scoop:   Now that you have stepped down from leadership within PSIA-AASI, how would you describe the state of our organization at present?

Joel:   That is a more complex question than you may think.  From a membership perspective, I can only respond from an RM viewpoint.  And from there, I would say there has never been a better time to reap the educational benefits our organization has to offer.  That said, we always need to look at the health of the organization as a whole, as well as the stability and well-being of the individual divisions that contribute to making us an overall national entity.  While it is sometimes a sensitive subject, we all need to realize that PSIA-AASI, is actually a group of nine separate and independent companies.  Each of the eight divisions has an agreement of affiliation with PSIA-AASI or “National.”  The agreement addresses use of the Logos and Marks and spells out the responsibilities and limitations between the parties.

Contrary to common belief, there are no formal agreements between the divisions themselves. Therefore, communication, cooperation, and collaboration between all parties is essential to our overall success.   Whether this is the ideal structure for an overall national entity is certainly a subject for healthy debate.  Yet after many years of discussion and query, this structure seems to be what we will be using for the foreseeable future.  We have to work collectively for success nation-wide.  I see a steady move towards better inter-divisional relationships.  With this mentality of teamwork, in conjunction with a welcome openness from the National organization, our overall organization is moving forward and gaining positive momentum.

In the end, it is really up to our leaders as to how our organization evolves and how successful we will be as the industry changes.  I can only say that as we continue to find common purposes, consistent mission statements and goals, and subsequently work together, the entire entity nationwide becomes more stable and respected.  As this happens, our common membership across the country benefits from higher quality services, and our stakeholders within the industry view us as relevant and useful.

Scoop:   And from a divisional perspective, how do you see things?

Joel:  From a divisional perspective, I think most people know that Rocky Mountain has a long history of pride in the educational and certification services we offer to our members and member schools.  This has been an ongoing effort over six decades.  Over this past decade, we have worked diligently to create financial stability, build our asset base, focus on our administrative infrastructure, and invest in our human resources.  We have done so in order to continually improve; to be the best we can be.

From a personal perspective, I have been fortunate to have known, and been involved with, seven generations of leadership within RM; the people started our division, the people who moved it forward, and our present leaders who, in my opinion are unmatched across the industry.  From experience, I can clearly see an awareness within each generation of responsibility to their predecessors.   A long history of talented, caring, and introspective leaders within RM have created a time tested, and incredibly strong culture; a culture of continually striving for excellence on every level.

That said, we need to realize we are blessed by an influx of talent that migrates to RM from every division within our organization.  We are also very fortunate to have the financial means, capital resources, and alpine environment that allow us to improve at the pace, and to the extent we are willing to commit to.

Our challenge within RM has long been, and most likely will continue to be, finding a balance between evolving at the pace we aspire to, and working collaboratively with our partners so that everyone across the nation, members, schools, and our guests get the best possible education and experiences on their mountains as possible.  In the end, we have a responsibility as individual divisions, and as an organization collectively, to continually pursue this goal.  All we can reasonably ask is that everyone give it their best.

Scoop:  That’s a pretty big statement.  Would you care to elaborate in any way?

Joel:  It is a big statement.  One of the benefits of each division being a more or less independent entity is that it allows for agility and diversity in how they choose to, and quite often, must operate in order to best serve their members.   Geographic differences, client demographics, resort size, alpine variations, and many other things require our divisional organizations to be flexible in their educational programs and business models.

Believe me, RM leadership has a ton of respect for this reality.  As I see it, our educators and our administrators are doing everything possible to share with other divisions if and when they want our help.  We also borrow best practices and process from each other and seek improvement through teamwork.  I firmly believe this is done with respect and thus we are moving to an area where this sharing is non-threatening and beneficial to everyone.  You can be assured that RM leadership is committed to contributing to a healthy and respected holistic organization.

Scoop:  Is it fair then to say you are optimistic about the “state of the union” going forward?

Joel:  Certainly.  We are in a great place right now.  We have a great leader nationally in Nick Herrin.  He has incredible energy and dedication. He is a man with vision and patience, and he exhibits all the leadership skills necessary to bring us even closer nationally.  Dana Forbes, our CEO, is recognized and trusted by the entire group of Administrative Leaders across the country.  RM’s Educational Leaders carry a strong and respected voice at the highest level among the Educational Leadership across the country.  This group has come together in a way I’ve ever seen in a nationwide effort and are making progress we should all be proud of.  They are working from a big picture perspective and then taking it to the grass roots so a majority of members can benefit.  I could not have more respect and admiration for not only our present educators, but also our up and coming educators nationally and divisionally.  We have a wide range of talent willing and able to grab the torch and move us into the future.

In the volunteer leadership realm, I see the Board of PSIA-AASI moving towards a more consolidated relationship with Presidents across the country; even to the extent of considering different business models.  Divisional Boards are seeking consistency in their governmental practices, both internally and inter-divisionally.  I continue to feel optimistic that national and divisional leaders are understanding the value of closer relationships with our member schools, their resorts, the NSAA, and the many other stakeholders that directly and indirectly affect, and are affected by our pros.

Things are pretty darn good right now.  Yet I would add a word of caution.  The industry we all rely on is changing rapidly.  We need to constantly be introspective, and open to change.  We cannot be dogmatic and we must be open and flexible in our processes, practices, and procedures going forward.  I have my concerns about how the present industry movement towards large conglomerates is going to impact our pros as individuals, PSIA-AASI as an organization, and RM as a business entity.  In my opinion, its all up in the air right now.

Within RM, we are well beyond striving to be “relevant” to the industry.  We are now making significant progress towards becoming “necessary.”   From our perspective, if we are not necessary to the resorts, they may seek other ways to educate and credential their employees.  If we are not necessary, we could very soon become redundant; or perhaps, which I find dangerous, need to find a different purpose.   My senses tell me change is on the horizon.  As I step away, I challenge our leaders to be sure our education is at the highest level, that it is consistent with what will bring success to resort guests, and thus the resorts.   And always please be sure that we educate and verify our education by modeling the behavior we expect our pros to show their guests.

Scoop:  As always Joel, you give us things to think about.  One more question if you don’t mind.  Now that you are, as you often say, “riding into the sunset,” what is next for you personally?

Joel:  Thanks, and I appreciate you asking.   Of course, I will continue to ski.  But I have found another passion as well.  I started spending more and more time in Ecuador the past few years.  It is a beautiful country with people who are even more beautiful.  I am struck by the poverty that surrounds me and simultaneously awed by the gentleness and visual goodness of the people.  Like most Central and South American countries, there is no “safety net” where the less fortunate can find assistance.  The number of disabled people, children and adults, who I see in the streets, and the number of very old people seeking a hand out simply for survival overcomes me emotionally.

When I decided to spend more time in their country, I knew I had to do something to help some of these people if I could.  I have been developing a project that has found a place in my heart working with the few charitable organizations that do exist in Cuenca, Ecuador.  Without government assistance, charitable organizations find it very difficult.  They need a lot of help, but in reality, what they need most is money.

I have established a 501 c-3 called Snow Angels in Ecuador.  We are a non-profit organization based here in the United States.  We hope to provide and manage and administer funds directly to a central hub and subsequently to the charitable organizations within Ecuador.  With revenue that is more available here in the U.S., we are working in conjunction with Global Giving and directly with the Hearts of Gold Foundation.  They are the most established, yet within our standards, still a very small charitable foundation in Cuenca.

Our plan is to establish an administrative and educational infrastructure, similar in some ways to RM, that will take advantage of economies of scale, and thus service and bring sustainability to the small and struggling charitable organizations in the region.  These organizations include a school for impoverished indigenous children, an orphanage for severely disabled and impoverished children, a “soup kitchen” that provides meals to poor street people and Venezuelan refugee families, and a project for women and children who are victims of violence.  More will come under our wing as things progress.

I will be working this winter to raise funds.   Any help we can get from interested pros and/or their guest who may find this a worthwhile effort will be greatly appreciated.  We will invest our donations wisely with the development and future independence of the organizations we are working with as a primary concern.  I’ll leave it at that for now, with the hope that I have some curiosity within our pros.  Perhaps they will create awareness of the project with their guests as well.  If so, find us at snowangelsinecuador.org.

With that said, please know I will always be a ski instructor at heart and as always, I encourage every snowsports pro to live their professional lives from their hearts…from there you cannot go wrong.  My best to everyone!

Scoop:  Our thanks to you as well Joel…and God Speed!

Over the years I have found one of the most confusing techniques for Cross Country skiers to learn (and for Cross Country Instructors to teach!) is the wedge turn.  Here are some tricks to make the wedge easier, more efficient, and less mysterious on XC gear.

To establish an effective wedge:

• Center your body over the middle of your feet (front to back) by flexing your ankles—a lot!   You will know you are in a good place when you feel as much pressure on the ball of your foot as on your heel.
• Keep your skis slightly edged using your feet, with your knees aligned side to side over them (as if you were riding a horse). Do not allow your knees to collapse to the inside creating too much edge!
• Keep both feet equally weighted. Make the wedge shape with your skis by simultaneously sliding your feet apart and turning your legs in.  This makes your skis look like the head of an arrow.

To turn in your wedge:

• Progressively point BOTH sides of the arrow in the direction you want to go by turning your legs and feet
• As you turn, let the pressure build on the outside leg while the inside leg actively determines the shape of the turn.  Think of your outside leg as the “Brawn” (it gets heavy and strong) and your inside leg as the “Brain” (it shows the “brawn” where to go)
• Keep your skis as flat as possible, though still edged
• To turn in the opposite direction, switch the roles of the legs and repeat.

Staying centered, keeping your skis flatter, turning with both legs, and letting the outside leg become the supporting foot after the turn’s start should make your wedge turns smooth and efficient.  By the way, these tricks will make your wedge turns easier on Alpine and Telemark gear as well!

In PSIA-AASI’s new multi-discipline teaching manual, Teaching Snowsports, a framework called the Learning Connection organizes information into 3 domains: people skills, teaching skills, and technical skills. The extensive material found in the teaching skills section is divided into 2 chapters: Learning (theory and concepts) and Teaching (process and application). Within the Teaching chapter lies the Teaching/Learning Cycle, which is the topic of this article.

Over the years, the Teaching Cycle has been revised many times to accentuate evolving beliefs about teaching snowsports. The current title change to Teaching/Learning Cycle reflects the philosophy of the Learning Partnership, which is characterized by the shared responsibility and combined effort of the instructor and student. It is a collaborative relationship, filled with active participation by the student toward achieving outcomes that are agreed upon for the lesson. Contemporary learning theory provides the basis for the Teaching/Learning Cycle, and supports characteristics of effective learning: collaboration, linking new learning to known experiences, connecting understanding to feelings and sensations, and structured reflection. These characteristics are woven into the phases of the Teaching/Learning Cycle.

The Teaching/Learning Cycle has also changed to provide a simpler representation of the essential interactions between instructors and students. It is a structured yet adaptable process to manage the snowsports learning experience. With this methodology, instructors constantly assess personal and performance needs, adjust plans and goals, create purposeful experiences, and guide practice. They check for understanding every step of the way.

To take a closer look at the content and depth of the Teaching/Learning Cycle, let’s examine the phase, Create Experiences for Learning. Like all the phases, it has a list of objectives. The nature of the objectives reflects a departure from the message of the past heading: Present and Share Information. It contains more elements of experience- and collaborative-based learning.

Create Experiences for Learning

• Organize students and the lesson environment.
• Choose appropriate terrain and snow conditions.
• Use experiences to target change in performance and understanding.
• Engage students in a process of reflection.
• Introduce new experiences and information based on student readiness.
• Provide descriptive instruction that’s easy to understand.
• Promote group engagement, interaction, and support.

In Teaching Snowsports, each phase is color-coded and has pages of support material that provide direction on how to achieve the objectives. For example, under the objective, Use Experiences to Target Change in Performance and Understanding, there are the following subheadings. Each subheading has further information about best practices that bring to life essential interactions between teachers and students.

• Use different strategies to introduce new experiences
• Highlight what before how
• Target feelings and sensations
• Confirm students’ understanding of feelings and sensations
• Always return the focus to the desired outcomes
• Provide outcome-based feedback

Think of the phases as being made up of different tiers of information into which instructors can delve as deeply as they choose. For new instructors, the phases provide guiding steps and promote an orderly flow to the lesson. Experienced instructors can read their students and identify when and how to adjust a lesson. The process still flows, but the instructor determines if and when phases need to be revisited as they continually check for understanding and work towards the mutual goals of the lesson.

The Teaching/Learning Cycle provides an in-depth resource for teaching snowsports, but it is only part of the wealth of information contained between the covers of this book-sized manual. Other chapters besides those related to the Learning Connection are:

• Creative Learning Environments
• Managing Risk in the Mountain Environment
• Sports Psychology – Mental Skills for Performance
• Physical Fitness and Conditioning
• Service Relationships
• Professional Development

Teaching Snowsports is designed to be a resource you can reference throughout your career. Turning the pages, you’ll find tactics for creating open and collaborative relationships with your students, strategies for teaching, and ways to address technique through a lesson filled with purposeful experiences.

On September 20th, the PSIA-Rocky Mountain-AASI Board of Directors approved changes to the organization’s bylaws. Please click the link below to view the tracked bylaw changes. Should any member have questions or concerns regarding the changes, please contact Dana Forbes at dana@psia-rm.org or 970-879-8335. Should any member have interest in protesting these amended bylaws, please reference page 18 of the bylaws. Deadline for comments, concerns, or protests is October 31^st, 2018 at 5:00 p.m.

Click here to view the tracked bylaw changes >

New Freestyle Experience Log – Tony Macri 

I hope this article finds everyone enjoying their autumn and getting excited for another great season, which is just around the corner. The off-season is always a great time for reflection on the past season and an opportunity to evolve our resources and products for the RM membership. Well, your Freestyle Committee has been busy doing just that. There are multiple projects currently in development right now. However, the one I’d like to share with all of you is the creation of the new Freestyle Experience Log.

In the past few years, we have observed participants who come to the Freestyle Specialist Prep and Exam with limited experience. This lack of experience can create a dangerous environment at the prep clinic and even at the exam. We all know that when there is lack of experience performing a task, there could be fear that builds inside you as one prepares to perform it. This fear can increase when you are at a new resort with features that you may not be comfortable with. In addition, the amount of fear multiplies when you are asked to perform in an assessment environment crated by an exam. With fear building, the ability to commit to a movement that allows you to stay safe is more difficult, and as a result, injury can occur. 

To proactively address this, the RM Freestyle Committee has developed a Freestyle Experience Log. This new log is designed to create basic awareness and added mileage with safe, simple movement patterns that will proactively manage fear to produce a more comfortable environment for our participants when they are coached through the exam. In the log, there will be a few sections that will cover a variety of different experiences. They are Terrain Park Experience, Culture questions, and even a section called “Have you ever,” where it’s a simple yes or no answer to each question.

We feel that this simple tool will help get everyone on the same page from a participant’s perspective, as well as the examiner’s perspective. Stay tuned for the official release of this log for more details.

RM-Freestyle Experience Log 2018-2019

Skiing from the Snow Up: Technique, Tactics and Biomechanics

The better you understand the why and how of skiing, the better a skier and ski educator you can be. The purpose of this pair of courses is to help deepen that understanding. Some of the topics that will be covered are:

Ski performance:
The mechanics of holding, slipping, self-steering, carving and oversteering

PSIA’s Five Fundamentals:
Their associated techniques
The biomechanics of the techniques
Matching techniques to tactics

Boot Biomechanics:
Their effect on technique
How canting and other setup factors work
The mechanics of canting, and how to do it

 

Registration CLICK HERE

Parts I & II
Part I is not a prerequisite for Part II. However, the material in each session builds on the previous sessions, and the
material in the first session is referenced in all the others. An understanding of the material in Part I of Ultimate Skiing,
by Ron LeMaster, will be helpful for those who can’t attend the first session.

PSIA-RM Credit
Up to 12 hours of PSIA-RM education credit is available. PSIA-RM grants 2 hours of PSIA-RM education credit for
each class session, subject to a PSIA-RM administrative fee. For information on how to apply for credit and the
administrative fee, see here and here.

Class Size Class size will be limited to 25

Cancellation Policy
A full refund will be made for cancellations received at least one week prior to the start of class (Sept. 25 for Part I,
and Oct. 16 for Part II).

Questions? Please send a note to info@ronlemaster.com

There is reason to be stoked for the 18/19 season:

 

Performance Based Tuning & Waxing with HWK in Breckenridge (Indoor) – 10/27

• The focus of this clinic will give the basics of waxing and tuning to prepare and maintain alpine, snowboard and Nordic skis.  We will go over initial ski preparation, side wall cutting, side wall maintenance and waxing.   We will discuss and demonstrate setting side-edge angle, base-angle and how to maintain it.  We will also demonstrate how to hand sharpen and demonstrate sharpening with the new sidewall machines.  Waxing your skis will be demonstrated so that you can wax efficiently and have the best outcome.  We will also demonstrate World Cup techniques and waxes for the interested racer.  You will come away from this clinic with the ability to maintain your own skis, so you have fast and sharp skis all season.

Instructor Teaching Workshop with Horst Abraham (Indoor) – 12/8 – 12/9    Location is TBD. Keep an eye on our website for updated location info.

• This course is a 2-day workshop design that aims to help instructors and trainers move their working understanding of EE to the next level. The program methodology will be a robust combination of thought exchange, experimentation, examining new and old concepts and practices, and collaborative idea generation aiming to tune up our instructional practices to optimal levels of impact and effectiveness. The desired workshop outcome is to ‘refresh’ what we think we know and believe about our profession, unafraid to change and innovate in the process to serve the workshop mantra of: Simplify, Amplify, Gamify!  

Women’s Ski Summit in Steamboat Springs – 1/15 – 1/17

• The Summit provides opportunities for industry professionals to train with elite coaches, share ideas, influence the future, and network with women colleagues in cross-industry fields from across the globe. New this season is the exciting location change to Steamboat Springs. Take advantage of having this important event in your ‘back yard’.

Making the Most of the Top of the Turn with Ron LeMaster in Breckenridge – 1/23 – 1/24

• From arcing carved turns to slithering through moguls to navigating steep chutes and walls, an array of tactics and techniques can be used between the edge change and the fall line that can broaden the range of terrain, snow conditions, and lines that a skier can handles well and enjoy. This clinic will explore some of those tactics and techniques, including early carving, smearing, feathering, stivots, and inriggers. We’ll not only talk about advanced skiing, we’ll investigate how some of these skills can be taught at lower levels to improve any skier’s versatility and overall skiing ability. Approximately a third of this clinic will consist of indoor presentations and discussion.

Interdivisional Spring Symposium at Sun Valley, ID – 4/12 – 4/14

• We’re ready to put the icing on the cake with this end of the season bash that has been a Northwest tradition for almost 50 years! This two-day educational extravaganza showcases Northwest, Northern Intermountain, Intermountain and Rocky Mountain clinicians in a myriad of topic choices, ranging from everything under the sun, pun intended.

Posterior Kinetic Chain by Lynn_Hasday

Ed Fund Donations 16-17 Quark File

PSIA – Rocky Mountain – AASI

Board Briefs

Salida, CO – September 14, 2017

 

President Joel Munn called the regular meeting to order with the following Board members present: Rick Hinckley, Robin May, Jane Tarlow, Andy Docken, Donnie, Mechalke, Jacob Levy, Andy Docken, Dan Huston, Jenny Cooper, Tom Burch, Ted Champion.  Also in attendance was Executive Director Dana Forbes, Director of Education Dave Gregory, Director of Operations Carissa Eggers, Events & Education Manager Tim Kenney, committee chairs David Oliver, Tony Macri, Chris Rogers, Patti Banks, Stacey Gerrish. Tanya Milelli is absent from the meeting. Carissa Eggers recorded the meeting and prepared the minutes. 

 

EDUCATION REPORT

• New Freestyle committee co-chairs David Oliver and Tony Macri.
• New Alpine e-learning module will be in place by November 1st.
• New Snowboard e-learning module coming as well.
• National has a new LMS site to host the e-learning, quizzes, workbook, standards, etc.
• The International Education Taskforce (IET) has been working on relations. AADIDES is the PSIA of Argentina, we are there now holding Telemark exams.
• Education Leadership Council (ELC) has been active in planning Fall Conference 

 

Alpine Chair Report – Jonathan Ballou: Jenn Metz and Gates Lloyd will be attending Fall Conference on behalf of Rocky Mountain Alpine, Jonathan will be facilitating a group. This year it will be broken down into two groups: one group focusing on creating learning outcomes and the other group focusing on developing teaching fundamentals and identifying key sets for examiners and best practices to train them. PSIA National is currently working with Penn State University to potentially award a degree for PSIA certification. The National team reshot all of the tasks for each discipline that will be housed on the Movement Matrix. Best thing about this is it is no longer on RM’s plate to maintain these videos.

The Alpine RMT process is going through an overhaul. It will be based on a two year process, can complete faster but must be complete in two years. There will be an entrance skiing exam to determine the participants. Non linear pathway with a mentorship program.

New this year for the Alpine Level 1 process if a member is not affiliated with a ski school they must attend a Level 1 exam prep first. It will be $100 for the two day prep and will help out the Level 1 exam.

Snowboard Chair Report – Chris Rogers: RM hired 7 new examiners which is going to help our staffing this season.Last year RM rolled out paired examining at Level 2 and it was very positive feedback from both the candidates and examiners. Hoping to roll out for Level 3, but not sure if RM has the staff to do that yet.

Children’s Chair Report – Stacey Gerrish: Stacey will be attending Fall Conference and Dusty Dyar will be facilitating. Stacey and Dusty have also been tasked with leading the next Children’s Technical Manual. Children’s committee is looking at the National LMS and how that plays into the Children’s workbooks and exams.

Cross Country Chair Report – Patti Banks: Hoping two days of clinics being offered at CCSAA at the National Conference in Colorado will help bring more people and interest in joining. National is taking a more active role in marketing the National Cross Country academies.

No questions on the Telemark and Adaptive reports

Freestyle Chair Report – David Oliver & Tony Macri: FS1 process used to be a 2-day clinic and a 1-day exam but the exam day was very cramped so it will now be a 1-day clinic and a 2-day exam and it will allow participants to come back and re-sit a module piece they failed. Snowboard is looking at coming up with a similar hiring process for Snowboard Freestyle examiners as Alpine currently does. Possibly creating a new online quiz for freestyle.

 

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR UPDATE

• National is looking at a new database in the next few years.
• Carolyn Krueger retired at the end of June, Carissa Eggers has moved into the Director of Operations position. Tim has moved to the Education and Events Manager. Rachel Crispino has just been hired as Membership & Events Logistics Coordinator.
• New products coming out this year are Training Academy 10 day event. Alpine only in November and then Alpine and Snowboard in April.
• Management Training course during MSM Fall Training
• Two new telemark clinics this year.
• Scholarships will continue around the same as last year, deadline September 30th for most of the annual scholarships with some scholarship deadlines later. The membership scholarship was completely underutilized so we changed the deadline to mid-January. Only about 8 schools participated.
• Alaska division has now dissolved and Northwest has absorbed them.
• This year’s biggest budget change is going towards supporting the education staff and increasing pay for CS1, Level 1 and FS1, increasing per diem for lunch, changing travel pay for those travelling more than 180 miles, increasing training pay for ed staff to 12 hours instead of 10
• The discount for members who joined after Feb. 15th is no longer.

 

MOTION

Donnie Mechalke moved to accept the minutes from the previous meeting. Rick Hinckley seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously.

There is an application from Peter Donahue for NSCD Taos Winter Sports Team S.O. Ski Camp.

MOTION

Donnie moved to donate the total $2,500 scholarship to the NSCD program. Tom seconded. The motion carried unanimously.

MOTION

Joel makes a motion to accept the change in title from Executive Director to Chief Executive Officer.  Rick seconded. Discussion. Motion was denied.

MOTION

Donnie moved to adjourn the regular meeting of the RM at 4:59 p.m.  Jacob seconded. The motion carried unanimously.

 

Congratulations to those who received a certification or specialist during the 2016-17 season!

Click here to view the list of members who were certified

Click HERE to VIEW the 17-18Events Calendar

Registration for events will open in SEPTEMBER 2017.

Click here to view the article and pictures: coleman-article

As snowboard instructors and trainers, we often find ourselves talking and talking and talking and talking—you get the gist. However, I think if you can force yourself to be conscious of the way you and others communicate nonverbally, you will find that you are able to not only communicate better with students and trainees, but also you will be able to pick up on how your students are truly feeling and understand them.

 

First, let’s look at some different types of nonverbal communication:

 

FACIAL EXPRESSIONS – We as humans are constantly making facial expressions whether we want to or not. We can communicate many emotions through this form of nonverbal communication without saying a word. Unlike other forms of nonverbal communication, facial expressions are universal—no matter what the culture, the facial expressions for fear, anger, happiness, surprise, sadness, and disgust are all the same.

 

BODY MOVEMENTS AND POSTURE – Think about what your first impression is of someone by how they hold their head, the way they walk, sit, or stand up. The way people move and carry themselves holds a wealth of information. This includes posture, stance, and other subtle movements.

 

EYE CONTACT – Eye contact is an especially important form of nonverbal communication. The way someone looks at you or you look at them can communicate many things—from anger or interest to attraction. Eye contact is very useful in keeping a steady flow in conversation and gauging the person’s response to what we are saying. This is very useful for us as instructors and trainers when we are communicating an important topic or skill.

 

TOUCH – Try to imagine someone giving you a weak handshake versus a strong one and how you interpret that. Many things can be communicated through this type of nonverbal communication—such as assurance and comfort level. Think about a big bear hug or a controlling grip on your arm and what you interpret that to mean.

 

SPACE – We all have had moments where we felt like our personal space was being invaded by someone in a conversation. We all need a certain degree of personal space, which varies depending on the situation and who we are around. You can communicate things like intimacy, affection, aggression, or dominance by how much personal space you keep.

 

GESTURES – We all wave, point, or use our hands to communicate something more effectively. This type of nonverbal communication is different from culture to culture, so it is important to be aware of the gestures you are making and not offend anyone.

 

VOICE – We say much more than just our words—it’s how we say our words that is important. When we put inflection on our words, we are trying to communicate a specific emotion or attitude toward what we are speaking about. Therefore, we can read people’s voices to better understand them. This includes the pace, timing, and volume at which they speak. You can convey interest, disinterest, happiness, anger, and many more things with your voice.

 

We all communicate nonverbally whether we want to or not. These things affect our interactions with every person we meet. If we can learn to use this type of interaction in a positive way in snowsport instruction, it will greatly improve the quality of our lessons and clinics. But how can we put this knowledge of the various types of nonverbal communication into use in our lessons and clinics?

 

READ YOUR STUDENTS

 

We can read nonverbal communication before we even meet our students. It is possible to learn a lot about a person as they are walking up to you. Try to look at how the student is walking. Do they appear tired? Maybe their shoulders are slouched and they are taking very small steps—this could be a sign that they did not sleep well or are very tired from traveling. From this you can tell that the pace of your lesson may need to be slower to accommodate the energy level of your student.

 

What is the facial expression of the person as they approach you? Are they smiling? Maybe they are excited to be there. Now you know that it won’t be too hard to sell them on the idea of snowboarding, because it is clear they want to be there. What if they are frowning or have a scowl on their face? Maybe someone has put them in a lesson that they really don’t want to be in. You might have to get them in a positive state of mind about snowboarding for them to really give it their best shot.

 

Just from watching this person walk up to the lesson, you have already begun planning a successful day.

 

When we introduce ourselves to our students, we continue to make more observations about how and what they are communicating nonverbally. This is the first time that we are interacting with them, so it is very important that we are aware of our own nonverbal communication. Try to observe things like eye contact, physical touch, and closeness of personal space. If someone doesn’t look you in the eye, keeps their distance from you, and doesn’t offer a handshake or some sort of acknowledgment, it is very possible they are nervous about the lesson. In which case, it will be important for you to address their concerns and make them feel comfortable.

 

If they approach you with a hearty handshake, look into your eyes, and introduce themselves, on the other hand, you can tell that they have confidence and are comfortable in the group setting. You can use this person to your advantage in the group, maybe by asking them questions first to help set the vibe of the group for the day.

 

STUDENTS READ YOU

 

When we introduce ourselves to our students, they will also begin to make judgments about us and how the day is going to go. Typically, nonverbal communication is what is read first by most people, so the better we can present ourselves nonverbally, the better our words will be received.

 

First, think about the way you would like to be perceived by your students. Do you want them to read confidence, leadership, friendship, or dominance? How you choose to present yourself nonverbally will be a large part of how people will interpret you. Then, when you read someone else’s nonverbal communication, you will be able to adjust yours to fit the needs of the student.

 

As human beings, when there is a disconnect between what words and nonverbal communication say, research shows that we naturally choose the nonverbal. When we pick up on a disconnect, it makes us mistrust the person. As snowboard instructors and trainers, it is very important that our students and trainees trust us and what we are saying—so we need to make sure that our words match up with our nonverbal communication.

 

Now, sometimes we misread nonverbal communication, so it is also very important that we use reading it as a tool but not make too many assumptions. Sometimes a student will have had the day of their lives but may not be jumping up and down about it. If we interpret this as them being unhappy with the lesson, we might be wrong, so it is very important that we tune into people on an individual basis the more we get to know them, and not lump everyone into the same category. We all have friends or loved ones who we can read better than most other people, so we know when they are being deceitful, happy, or grumpy—all by the way they are nonverbally communicating. The better we know someone, the more we will be able to accurately read them. This is why the more time we put in getting to know our students, the more accurate our reading of their nonverbal communication will be.

 

TUNE IN TO NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION

 

As we go through our lessons, we can use our ability to read nonverbal communication to help us know if what we are saying and teaching is being received well. For example, someone will probably show signs of fear nonverbally before they ever speak up about it. If we can tune into this we could pick up on it and address it before it ever becomes an issue.

 

The more we are in tune with our own nonverbal communication, and the more we are aware of others’ nonverbal communication, the more efficient we will be at communicating our points and understanding others. This is a skill that we can work on and get better at as time goes by. So why not try to become aware of how you are communicating and how you read others in your next lesson? The better we become at this, the better communicators we will be—and that’s good for every instructor and trainer.

PSIA – Rocky Mountain – AASI

Board of Directors Meeting

Frisco, CO – January 9, 2017

 

Board Briefs

President Joel Munn called the regular meeting to order with the following Board members present: Rick Rodd, Rick Hinckley, Robin May, Jane Tarlow, Andy Docken, John Kirchner, Donnie Melchalke and Jacob Levy.  Also in attendance was Executive Director Dana Forbes. Dave Gregory joined the meeting in progress. Sarah Katherman recorded the meeting and prepared the minutes. 

 

Board Membership

With a few board members recently leaving, the board addressed whether to fill the vacant spots or wait until the election next Fall to do so. Nothing was decided however the board will look outwards to the membership to see if there is any interest within the regions we have vacancies. 

 

Leadership Summit

Joel, Rick H. and Dana had attended the Summit and made commitments to the rest of the country on behalf of RM. There were three main goals shared by divisions and national as a result of the process. Joel stated that Goal 1 would involve the creation of a Member School Management National Task Force. Dana discussed Goal 2, regarding improving consistency of administration and communication, in detail. Dana also discussed Goal 3, regarding consistency across the country in the products offered as well as the member experience of those products. Dana said that the examiner exchange program, which had been driven by the educators, is a big part of attaining this goal. Joel stated that establishing consistency in the standards would be the most difficult, citing in particular the differences in exam pass rates across the country.

Dana reviewed the meeting of the executive directors. She said that they had set up a monthly call and will start by working on a few smaller projects, citing the examples of standardizing the reactivation process and the policies regarding transfers.

Joel reported that he had proposed that the PSIA-AASI Board be made up of the presidents of each division in order to facilitate the creation of a truly national organization.

 

Education Director Update

Dave reported on the International Education Taskforce (IET) as detailed in his report. He noted that all international events will be processed through the IET to ensure that PSIA-AASI is protected, that its brand is properly represented around the world, and that the processes employed internationally are consistent.  Dave noted that one of the goals of establishing a consistent process internationally is to bring it back to the U.S. so that the domestic processes will be consistent across divisions. Dana reported that a new Member School application process had been developed for the international market to ensure consistency across divisions. This will offer added protection, as well as transparency.

Dave reported on the examiner exchanges that had occurred so far this year and those that are being planned.

Dave reported that he feels very supported in moving forward with finding ways to offer reasonable accommodation for certifications in order to comply with ADA. Dave cited the Adaptive Alpine Standards Exam Supplement that describes alternate tasks.

Dave reviewed that Chris Packert would be assisting with the development of a new Level 1 e-learning program and a plan to develop future curriculum. He said that the e-learning would wait for the LMS being developed by PSIA-AASI.

Dave reported on the First Chair with PSIA-AASI podcast channel, noting that the individual podcasts offered on the channel would be specific to each division.

Dave said that RM would be hiring this year in Children’s, Alpine and Snowboard.

Dave reported that the Education Directors (or their equivalents) from all divisions will try to get together twice per year.

 

Ed Staff position on Board of Directors

Joel introduced the topic of whether a seat on the Board should be designated for a member of the Ed Staff. There was general consensus to further investigate the possibility of allowing an Ed Staff member to sit on the Board in an ex officio capacity. It was decided that next steps would be to consult attorneys as to whether this would pose a conflict of interest.

 

Candidates for the Board Election

Rick H. reported that the rules and processes for background checks vary significantly from state to state, but that RM has now been authorized and trained to use a service which will make the process quite simple moving forward.

 

Award and Recognition nominations

Dana reviewed the national Lifetime Achievement, Distinguished Service and Educational Excellence awards. Nominations are due by the end of February. Joel Munn, Linda Guerrette, Clark Rothey and Brian Dunfey were approved for lifetime RM membership.

 

Scholarship

Dana reported that the individual scholarship funds had been awarded. The deadline for Member School scholarships has been extended.

Regarding the TTP program, Dana stated that impediment to expansion is staffing, particularly in Snowboard. She said that they are tracking who is attending the clinics to ensure that the TTP serves as effective marketing, and as a driver of growth. She noted that membership is up, as are event sales despite a slow start due to cancellations.

 

Executive Director Update

Dana reported that the office staff and seasonal employees are currently very strong and doing a fantastic job.

Dana said that moving forward all expense reports will be done online.

She said that at the Summit meeting of Executive Directors there was a discussion of looking at different database systems.

Dana reviewed the RM budget and highlighted some minor adjustments, as outlined in her report. She mentioned an increase in health insurance costs and legal fees had a larger impact than expected.

Dana reviewed the EF budget, which is projected to end the year in the black. The budget includes the increases in Ed Staff salaries.

Dana reported that Volkswagen would be providing RM with two cars under the new 3-year deal.

Dana reviewed the spreadsheets showing the 8-year revenue projections for different levels of annual or biennial dues increases. Following a discussion of the projections, the Board agreed that establishing a long-range plan was advisable.

 

MOTION

Bob moved to approve the $1.00 increase in RM dues for the 2017-18 season. Donnie seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously.

MOTION

Bob moved to approve the eight candidates for the ballot, as recommended by the nomination committee. Rick H. seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously.

Rick H. read the names of the candidates. Dana said the election should be completed within 2 – 3 weeks. Rick stated that the at-large position goes to the 2nd place finisher with the most total votes.

Joel, national board member reported on nationals finances. He noted the high cost of sending the Team to Interski. He said that PSIA-AASI is setting aside money towards this, but not enough to cover the cost. He suggested that the return on investment of Interski is open for discussion.

 

Board Elections

MOTION

Bob nominated Joel to serve as President for a 2-year term. Jane seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously.

Joel stated that this would be his last term as President. Really.

MOTION

Joel nominated Rick H. to serve as Vice-president for a 2-year term. John seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously.

Joel stated that Rick R. would be stepping down from the Board, and commended his service as Secretary/Treasurer. He reviewed the duties of the position, noting that the Executive Committee is very involved in the ongoing business of the Board and provides necessary support for Dana.

MOTION

Joel moved to nominate Jacob to serve as Secretary/Treasurer for a 2-year term. Andy seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously.

MOTION

Donnie moved to adjourn the regular meeting of the RM at 3:30 p.m.  John seconded. The motion carried unanimously.