Mini-Academy

This was my first event as a Team Member outside of PSIA-Rocky Mountain. First off, I have to tell you about my travel. On Thursday, Dec. 9th, my flight out of Aspen for the following day was cancelled. So I called up the organizers and came up with a plan B. I rented a car from the Aspen airport and drove to Denver. I left Snowmass Village late because I had to pack. I made it to Denver at 4 am. Stayed in a hotel for a 3 hour nap. Woke up and made it to the airport where I met up with Dusty Dyar. It was worth it and there were moments during the blizzard of a drive where I thought, “Did I make a smart decision here?”

Once we landed in Boston, it was a race to a roast beef place that I grew up going to. Harrison’s Roast Beef closed at 7 pm and we had about 1 hour to get there. We got there at 6:45 pm and it was heaven!

Now let’s get to the skiing part. The first day of the Mini-Academy it rained. I don’t mind skiing in the rain because the snow is always good. The snow is soft and manageable. I had a rain poncho that I brought with me. However, in the panic of trying to figure out an alternative to my cancelled flight, I couldn’t find my orange, fisherman gloves. So I got my gloves wet. Remember the snow was good.

On Day 2, the temperature dropped and the soft snow became ice. I don’t like to use the “ice” word too often. We don’t get a ton of it in Colorado because our snow is so dry. However, it was “good for your skiing” type conditions. I was glad I brought sharp skis. But those edges didn’t remain sharp.

I had a great group and enjoyed skiing with them. What I set up with them on Day 2 was a “gym-like” training. We were all on the same trail, but different people were doing different exercises, lifting different amounts of “weight.” What I had my group do was share with other group members what they were working on. This did a couple things for me and the group. For me, I could check to see if they understood what I was having them focus on. For them, they could share their ownership of what they were working on with others. It was a win-win. I made a note to myself. Do more things like this in the future.

The Mini-Academy was a great event to work. It was great to be back at Killington. I grew up on the east coast and it was great to see so many examiners and clinicians that I had the privilege of knowing.

I ran into Pam Green who was my Level 3 examiner for teaching. She remembered me and it was a good 19 years ago. She was also appreciative of me saying hi to her. There were many magical moments like that.