Al Neubert: Consider becoming a ski instructor
As happens so often when the ski and snowboard season gets off to a fast start, Mother Nature reminds us that it’s still autumn and winter is several weeks away. Skiing and riding in the Northeast is in a holding pattern for now as snowmaking windows remain mostly at night and are used to recover existing open terrain because of the warm rains we seem to be experiencing every few days. Expect highly variable conditions as long as this pattern persists.
The big three Catskill resorts of Hunter, Windham and Belleayre are all open and have a fair amount of terrain available. Mohawk, in northwestern Connecticut, is open with a couple of slopes and lifts. Shawnee, Blue Mountain and Jack Frost/Big Boulder are open in Pennsylvania and each with a decent amount of slopes and trails. Further north, Gore and Whiteface, in the Adirondack Mountains, are open with top-to-bottom coverage. There’s plenty to choose from in Vermont and with a lot of coverage, including Killington, Jay Peak, Sugarbush, Stratton, Mount Snow, Bromley and Okemo.
I skied at Hunter on Sunday, following a warm and wet Saturday. Temperatures dropped enough over Saturday night to allow snowmaking operations to start up at the Catskill resorts. Hunter’s management must have had well over 100 snow guns going, including powerful fan guns. The workers were making snow on a number of trails for the first time this season, including Eisenhower, White Cloud, East Side Drive and Madison Avenue.
I took 10 consecutive runs off the B quad chair which has about a 500-foot vertical drop. Two trails were accessible, including intermediate Kennedy Drive and novice Mossy Brook. You had to run a gauntlet of four snow guns at the start of Mossy Brook – the manmade snow was wet and sticky but once past that it was loose granular and hard pack. For these conditions I prefer to use my slalom skis for maximum edge grip and control.
How to apply
Early in the season you will find ads for ski instructors at almost all resorts. Wondering what it takes to become an instructor I went to my “go-to-pro” Nick Pera, a Level III PSIA instructor at Windham. Pera says you have to be passionate about skiing or snowboarding, meeting new people and especially about helping others improve. Pera, who’s been teaching for decades, says you will meet people as passionate as you are and you will make friends that will last a lifetime.
An obvious issue is you may only be available part-time. Pera says the majority of instructors are just that and since larger ski schools have many staff professionals in other fields they are mostly available on a more limited basis. Pera says that becoming an instructor hones your skills in group and time management, public speaking, coaching and interpersonal relations, all of which benefit you in your full-time profession. It’s also a great way to get more time on the slopes, improve your skiing or riding skills and being paid while at it.
Getting started is pretty straightforward: Contact the resort where you feel would be most convenient for you to devote the time and effort. Also be sure that the ski area is an accredited member school of the Professional Ski Instructors of America (PSIA) and the American Association of Snowboard Instructors (AASI) – this is important because these groups are recognized nationally and internationally and set uniform standards of skill development and achievement that are tested at different levels of proficiency culminating in the Level III, the highest pro level.
Your selected school staff will provide you with their requirements and most do not require any sort of certification to start. For example, at Windham (where Pera teaches) you simply complete an online application. If the school director feels you qualify, you will be contacted and an interview will be set up. If you pass the interview, you’ll be invited to attend an Instructor Training Course (ITC). You are required to attend two of the four weekends of the ITC program. They are held from the end of November through the middle of December.
Windham’s ITC will provide you with tips on improving your skiing or snowboarding skills and training on the basics of teaching/coaching techniques and how to progress a student from raw beginner to more advanced terrain. There is no fee for the program and you get your lift tickets included for the training and evaluation program.
If you’re interested in Windham’s ITC you can apply online at www.windhammountain.com/learn/careers/. From there, check the “job openings and apply online.” The list of options includes uncertified snow sports instructor or certified instructor, and you can be as young as 14 to apply. If you have a racing background, you could consider applying for a race coach position.
Think becoming an instructor and happy skiing and riding!
You can contact me at asneubert@aol.com or you can visit my Instagram page at asneubert
This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: Al Neubert ski column instruction Windham resort
