After much contemplation over the past two weeks (and a lot of work by some of the people at the CSIA office) I have decided to register and take the level 4 exams which comprise of 9 ski and 2 teaching exams.

I flew out of Toronto early this morning to arrive in Quebec City - unfortunately my skis did not.  I was relieved to find them on the next flight, along with a friend who was also taking the exams. Ben & I hoped into a taxi and $115 later and we were on the hill with sunshine.

After meeting up with friends from Alpine (Anik and Phil McAllen), I skied for a couple of hours.  I free skied and made myself comfortable and at home on the hill.

Tomorrow exams start at 8:30am and continue for the next four days.  I’m going in with an open mind with little expectations while looking to have fun and learn something from the experience.

I’ll keep you updated over the next four days….

After another 30-50cm of fresh snow pummeled southern Ontario this past weekend, we are now up to a remarkable average base of 150cm! This is actually more than double what Tremblant is reporting in Quebec!

Over the last two weekends I’ve been teaching & course conducting a Level 1 CSIA Ski instructor course at Mount St. Louis Moonstone.  This past Sunday was exam day where students were assessed one last time on both their teaching and skiing abilities to see if they had achieved the Level 1 standard.  After a few warm up runs I decided to take the class over to the Moonstone side where we found untracked runs all around us.

Needless to say we extended our warm up a few more runs.

Feeling the tug of responsibility and being mindful of how much time we had to cover off the lessons, I brought the group over to the top of another run where I was planning to introduce an exercise to promote good fore / aft balance before heading to the beginner area to start the lessons.

What we found instead was a mogul run completely buried in snow.

Since the groomers left the moguls runs alone, we found ourselves in powder that was waist deep in some spots and at least knee deep all the way down!

We took three more runs. 

Having this much snow is mostly unheard of in Southern Ontario. I was nearly overwhelmed with flashbacks of Chile, Whistler, and Kicking Horse. It was not just a great start to our day, but an epic one that none of us will soon forget.

The excitement of the morning spilled into the group lessons where all candidates in my cell successfully passed the teaching component of their Level 1 with enthusiastic and skill based lessons… although nobody was brave enough to bring their lesson back into the powder bumps

We were lucky to have not only a fun group, but a talented one too.

For the first time I really understand our new learning methodology (AICRCv) and how it applies to different skiers who are at different stages of incorporating changes into their own skiing. I’m looking forward to applying what I’ve learned to our sessions at Alpine for the balance of this season and going forward.

I also felt that my own skiing improved this week and that I now have a clear view and path towards what I need to do to be successful on my level 4 exams.

In order to pass your level 4 skiing, you must pass 7 of 9 ski-off maneuvers. We have seen about one person a year in Ontario complete their level 4.

Before this week I couldn’t and didn’t know how to ski high speed GS turns in the moguls. Now I can do it with confidence.

Before this week I thought I was a great mogul skier – only to learn that the way I skied bumps required refinement. It’s one thing to absorb & react as you go down the moguls, it’s something else completely to get the sensation and freedom of carving or edging in them. My path down the mogul alley is no longer dictated solely by the zipper line.

My mother used to say that dogs have masters while cats have servants. I was a dog in the moguls, but after this week I am now a cat.

Before this week I hadn’t crashed & burned with any significance in years. On Thursday I loaded my skis up while doing dynamic turns and double ejected after making a sudden inside move in phase three in order to turn well above the group below. As Mark P said, it looked like I had bent my ski in half. The “rebound” of the un-bent ski resulted in a double ejection and  flight path of a good 30 feet down the hill on my chest.  I have the neck and should pain two days later to prove it.

Before this week week I thought my short radius turns on the steeps were my the weakest part of my skiing.  I’ve validated this point of view but have made a breakthrough in my stance and approach that will lead me to consistent and high performance short radius turns on the steepest terrain that any mountain has to offer.

Before this week I wasn’t sure if I had what it takes to pass my level 4. Now I know it’s within reach and will dedicate the balance of this season and all of next in order to get prepared to take the exams.

Again today we were guided by Emerson Brooks.  His relaxed, efficient style was even more evident today.  He kicked off our day with a top to bottom cruiser; today there was no messing around!  It was going to be a maximum vertical day.

Known as the rogue group, I think we were the only ones who had yet to reach the ultimate point of fatigue.  We managed to get through all 9 ski-off runs of the exams quite quickly.  But again the theme of progression was threaded through the day.  Start with short radius turns and then next run, head to the bumps, and then follow that up with some mixed radius turns.  And then take a step back, go from snow plow turns, to basic/intermediate parallel turns and then into a dynamic/advanced parallel turns. 

Overall the experience this week was excellent.  I think everyone in our group improved their skiing and teaching techniques.  What I think stands out the most for me, and what I will use soon when coaching, is having a gradual progression to my lessons.  Not only does it minimize fatigue, but it also helps keep a group focused (which isn’t always easy with a group of 13 year olds).  I cannot wait to try out some of the new drills I learned with my group.

I also personally think my skiing improved.  Growing up as a racer in southern Ontario, slalom race training was much of my focus.  Typically I ski with a short radius turn that sometimes feels impulsive and rushed.  If patience is a skill while skiing, than I think that is what I most identify with.  When I think about being patient while pressuring the ski to increase edge angle, not only do I get more ski performance, but it is also far more efficient.

I cannot wait to go on a course like this again.  Over the next week I’m going to synthesize all the information and tactics I gained and make a decision as to whether to go on exams in March.  No matter what my decision, I will continue to train, by working both on my skiing and my instructing style.

Today was a typical Quebec ski day; -20C, a haze of clouds, and a thick frost on your windshield.

We were on snow at Le Massif by 9:00am with our new course conductor, Emerson Brooks.  Originally from Montreal, Emerson moved to Lake Louise 18 years ago.  He is your typical west coast skier, extremely relaxed and fluid, but his performance in this relaxed mode is matched by few. 

For the past four days he has been skiing in short bursts, usually about 100ft of vertical at a time.  What he didn’t realize was how energized our group was.

Today’s focus was on edging.  Our morning progressed from short bursts of skiing to long cruisers this afternoon.  We started by focusing on only one part of the turn and only doing one turn at a time.  Slowly we moved up to link these turns, but by lunch time we were all a little bored of this routine; we wanted to ski.

We convinced Emerson that we were not tired and ready to ski.  We headed up to ‘La 42,’ one of the steeper runs here at Le Massif (the 42 is actually the degree of pitch of the hill!!)  It was one of those epic moments, sunshine, fluffy bumps, and a view of the St. Lawrence River.  From there it was lots of vertical, combining both bumps and cruisers.

At the end of the day we all took away the importance of setting an early edge.  Again under the theme of the last few days, the key was to increase edge progressively through the turn.  This not only allows you to carve more of the turn but also makes skiing more efficient.

Tomorrow we head back to Ste Anne for our final day.  The ski focus will be a progression of pressure control through the turn.

We will also be reviewing ski-off maneuvers for the level 4 exam and finishing a bit early so that everybody can have time to meet with the course conductors and review their progress throughout the week.

We woke up this morning to a couple of light flurries and grey skies.  With the unfortunate injury of course conductor, Donald LaCasse, we wondered who would fill his boots.  Our whole group secretly wished that it would be J.F. Beaulieu and our wish came true. 

Today was one of the best instructional days we’ve ever had.  Not only was it great individual ski improvement, but his instruction was also about how to teach a great lesson.

We spent our morning in the bumps.  One recipe for success, 15cm of fresh snow on top and a progression to improve your skiing.  We started by thinking about turn shape, ski round to control speed.  Next we progressed and thought about what our ankles were doing.  Are you pulling your feet back as you approach the bump and then pushing your toes down as you crest over the back side?  Followed by your knees; make sure they help absorb the pressure as you increase speed.  We all had great improvements this morning and came out with a renewed confidence in the bumps.

Our afternoon was a much slower pace.  After pushing us to the limits this morning J.F knew it was important to minimize the fatigue level.  Our afternoon was focused on teaching.  The theme again was much the same, a progression to reach an attainable goal.  If at the end of the lesson you have made a small step in someone’s skiing, and they can take that away with them, than you have been successful.

Tomorrow we are off to Le Massif; the mountain with the longest vertical drop east of the rockies. The theme of tomorrow is edging…so lots of carving or “expert” parallel is on the menu.

It wasn’t the fact that we were going to spend the majority of our day skiing moguls (we liked that part), it was the fact the forecast was calling for pouring rain and 8 degrees.

The temperature did get a bit warmer – but it stayed below zero which resulted in 15 lovely cm of snow instead of 15 cm of pouring rain. What was looking like a miserable day turned out to be another epic day on snow.

We had Donald LaCasse as our level 4 course conductor who brought with him a slight different approach than the previous two days.  One of his analogies was to think of each turn as a deflection off a wall – so where you turn in the arc of the turn affects the rebound in the other direction – or turn shape. It was a neat approach and one we played with for a while until Donald had an unfortunate accident in the bumps which resulted in a pulled hamstring.

We switched gears to pedagogy (or teaching the teachers) while Donald skied on one leg for a few more hours before Steve Young (of Pontiac World of Skiing) took over for the last hour of the day. Steve took us back into the bumps and into the trees.

Overall it was another great day on snow. We’ll be back in the bumps for day four and secrety hope that JF Boulieu will join our group. JF is on the national demo team and would be a great substitute for Donald. No matter who we get on day four, we are looking forward to it.

 Day two at Mont Sainte Anne was much like the first – sunny with fantastic snow.

The focus of our day was short radius on the steeps while working on our own teaching methods. Looking to incorporate the new IACRCv development model which is very student / athlete focused, we worked on refining each other’s techniques through tactics and two-way feedback.

One of the themes of the day was keeping things simple. As Instructors we have a lot of technical knowledge and often talk too much and keep things too complex. It’s like telling somebody with the sniffles that that have an upper respiratory infection instead of just saying they have a cold.  Next time you are going up the chairlift, make note of who are the slowest skiers on the hill… it’s usually the instructors.

By keeping the feedback simple and specific you’ll spend more time skiing and less time talking. The last time I checked, you get better at skiing by skiing

We spent the last few runs in the moguls again today as a warm-up to day three where we’ll be spending our entire day in them.

We can hardly wait!

We spent our first day working on ski improvement and skiing mostly on the front side (or the steep side) of the mountain. With over 2 feet of fresh snow on the ground from the last 24hrs, the conditions were fantastic.

The focus of day one was ski improvement and focusing on being effecient while skiing at high speeds through the bumps. The highlight of the day was being video tapped skiing 4 metre turns (which is a bit longer than short radius) through a corridor of moguls as defined by brushes that were drilled into the snow down one of the hill faces.

It was a great first day and a great start to what looks like a fantastic week on snow. We’ve both received some positive and constructive feedback on our skiing and feel confident that we can both make other positive improvements over the week.

We’re also grateful to have a fun and talented group of skiers to ski with and a course conductor who is among the best in Canada – Sandy Gardner. He commented during the day that everybody in our group was capable of passing their level 4.

Sasha & I are excited & focused to take this journey!