Hey everyone. Welcome to the 3rd edition of Pig Tech via email.

Level I Standards
This last Sunday Annelise and I attended the Level I Accreditation clinic at Summit West. Among other things, we took the Level I written test and then I went out to practice all the Level I skiing tasks. Yes, it rained more than it did during Saturday lessons... But I learned a lot! Here it is.

- I'm a pretty athletic skier but I have a hell of a time making nice, round turns. You know, all that carving crap. It seems that I'm continually in the back seat and one cause of this is that my hands tend to lag behind my body. Go figure. It's ironic really because long ago, people like Kelly and I were the kings of forward lean. We skied with shims in the cuffs of our boots (pushing them forward) and our tails hardly ever touched the snow. Then I got shaped skis and learned that you can stand in the middle of your ski and almost always get away with it. Except when an examiner is watching you! Yeah, that's it, my equipment is to blame... [grin] But enough about me.

Some key points were
- 'Proper ski lead'. This came back again and again in the hockey stop, wedge turn, just about everything.
- Hands. Keep them where you can see them. But be careful you don't 'hug a tree' when you are doing a braking wedge.

The exam figures are:
- Hockey stop: the key points here are to start TALL and SINK to pivot your skis. No little pre-turn or stem or step is allowed. And you need to come to a complete stop with a nice firm pole plant.
- Open parallel turns: your skis should remain the same distance apart THROUGHOUT the turn. And no lifting or stemming or stepping at all. Some people went too fast as well, this is a steered turn, not necessarily a caved turn. Round and rhythmic is key.
- Side slip: the key here is to be able to control your direction of travel. Practice going forward and backward and then try doing neither. The upper body should be fairly open to the hill.
- Skating on flat terrain: push off of an edged ski and be able to glide at least one ski length on the ski you step onto. Hand movement was not critical, whatever feels good is okay.
- Straight run, paddle turn to a stop: take small step and keep your upper body open to the direction of travel. DON'T let your shoulders wind all the way up in the direction of the turn.
- Traverse: the only key here is that you need to be able to adjust your edge angle to control your direction of travel. It's NOT just a pure carve; you want to go ACROSS the hill, not turn UP the hill. Do this without slipping and you pass.
- Wedge change-ups: keep it slow! If you go too fast, your skis will stutter and you will tend to get in the back seat as you brace yourself against your edges. Ski tips should remain the same distance apart all the time.
- Wedge Christie turns: okay, this was the hardest for all the attendees present that day. You can easily over-think this one if you're not careful. The key is just to keep a narrow wedge, close at the fall-line and maintain proper ski lead and forward pressure against your boot cuff. You wedge by guiding your new outside ski more aggressively in the direction of your new turn, you don't SLIDE or STEM or STEP it out into a wedge. This might be hard to understand but we'll do it on snow.
- Wedge turns: watch your ski lead! It changes almost as soon as you initiate your turn. Hint - this is just like a parallel turn. Again, keep them nice and slow. All these maneuvers are supposed to be appropriate to the level you would teach them to.

Key Terms
-Teaching Model
- Skiing Model
- Class organization and handling
- ATS (and it's principles and philosophy)
   o Student centered
   o Outcome based
   o Experiential
   o Learning partnership
   o Guest driven
   o Teach from the heart

Recommended reading material
- The NEW Alpine Technical Manual
- The NEW Core Concepts book
- The Powderpigs progression

There may not be any level-specific study guides this year for any level, so it's up to you to assimilate the info for the written test.

Powderpigs Clinics
Annelise and I will try to coordinate about four (4) on-snow clinics starting this coming weekend. They will run about one hour or a tad more each and will most likely start at 5 PM. That way we can all be back for dinner at 7.

Thanks for reading,

Martin

PS. The NW division of PSIA is unique in that they let the Technical Directors of ski schools administer the Level I exam. No where else in the country does this happen. The idea is that we know you the best and so theoretically we will only let you take the exam if you have a good chance of passing. This is good and bad. It's good in that this is mostly true but it's bad in that when it comes time to take the Level II exam, if we didn't do our job the first time round it can be quite a shock! Of course no one wants to make the Level I exam a stressful situation so will try our best to prepare you as best we can so that you have a good foundation if you decide to go on down the certification path. Blah, blah, blah.

Powderpigs Resource page
http://powderpigs.criminale.com/

Pig Tech Archive
http://powderpigs.criminale.com/pig_tech.asp

Links
http://powderpigs.criminale.com/links.asp

Hey everyone. Welcome to the second edition of Pig Tech via email.

Per the note I received from PSIA:

I'd suggest that anyone thinking about taking any exam spend some time to give these two a quick read through.

To order your books, browse here:

http://www.psia-nw.org/BookStore.htm

Exam-Prep Clinics
I have already been asked by a couple of people when exam-prep clinics will start. Knowing how many people are thinking of going for what exam will help me figure this out. Can I please get a reply from anyone that is considering taking any portion of any Alpine exam this ski season? I'll then figure out a recommended study/clinic schedule for you to adhere to. If you reply, please let me know what exam you are considering and if you have ever done or participated in any exam-prep classes or clinics before.

The above two books, plus the appropriate study guide for your level, plus the Powderpigs progression (make sure you have a copy in good condition) will be required reading so that's a good place to get started.

Remember – anyone thinking about taking the Level II Alpine exam should contact PSIA-NW and try to enroll in the PDS series.

Thanks for reading,

Martin

Links
http://powderpigs.criminale.com/links.asp

Greetings everyone! And welcome to the first edition of Pig Tech via email.

Let me start by saying that I'd like this to be as interactive as possible so if you want anything special addressed, please speak up! Odds are, if you have a question, someone else has had it too. So, ask anything you want to and I'll solicit the help of our fellow instructors/PSIA/any resources I have to try to find the answer and send it out to the recipients of this list.

First - a quick reminder that the Powderpigs Resource Page is starting to get populated with exercises. Please send this email along to any instructor that may not yet know about it. You can link there directly or from Powderpigs.com, password = "oinque". The reason for password protecting this link from the Powderpigs site is simply that this page MAY, at some point, contain information that is not appropriate for parents to read. Sometimes, instructional tips or language used to describe certain students or behaviors can be perceived as less than complimentary...

PDS Series Postponed
The PDS (Personal Development Series) has been postponed one week (see attached email). This is a series of educational clinics aimed at the Level II candidate. I HIGHLY recommend that anyone thinking about taking their Level II exam take this series. Heck, the worst that can happen is you decide to bag the exam and still acquire some super knowledge and insight into your level of preparedness.

Why Join PSIA/AASI?
So, has everyone joined PSIA/AASI? It don't cost much and you get a LOT in return. In addition to all the written material available through the organization and the clinics, you get three great publications:

The Professional Skier
The Pro Rider
Snowsport Instructor

In the latest issue of the Professional Skier, there are some good articles like the one by Deb Armstrong about the benefits of practicing your rotary skills as opposed to trying to carve all the time. There's also one about conquering your inner demons like the fear of steeps.

In the latest issue of Pro Rider there is a great article about how to handle moguls.

Oh yeah, you also get pro forms for tons of stuff.

Rookie of the Year Award
PSIA-NW has approved a Rookie of the Year Award for all disciplines (alpine/snowboard/nordic/adaptive). Wouldn't it be cool if a Powderpigs instructor won that award?

The requirements are:
- The candidate must be an active member of PSIA-NW.
- They must be in their first year of teaching.
- They need to demonstrate a caring attitude towards their students, enthusiasm for snowsports, technical knowledge and teaching ability.

So, how about it? You can browse to the form here:

http://powderpigs.criminale.com/images/psianw_award_nomination_form.jpg

and see what other categories there are.

Lesson Plan
One of the most important things to do before this weekend is to go over what you will be (hopefully) be teaching your class on the first day.

You've all read your class cards and you know what the snow conditions will most likely be like, so plan accordingly. Try to come up with a few items in the progression to teach and have a list of related exercises ready to go. Also, given the reduced amount of hill we will have to work with, thinking about appropriate terrain selection will be extra critical.

And don't forget to make friends with your students and parents!

Thanks for reading,

Martin

Links:

Powderpigs Resource Page
http://powderpigs.criminale.com/

Pig Tech archives
http://powderpigs.criminale.com/pig_tech.asp

PSIA-NW
http://www.psia-nw.org/

How to join PSIA
http://www.psia.org/psia_2002/who_we_are_t.asp?mode=bec_a_mem

Unofficial Alpental web site
http://www.alpental.com
(this site has ALL the back country try trails on a really cool map)

eurosport.com - winter sports
http://eurosport.com/home/pages/V3/L0/F13/sport_Lng0_Fml13.shtml