Getting Ready for New Season(s)

We have our re-hire employee orientation coming this Saturday. It's where we are officially re-hired for the new season, we go over all the policies and procedures important to us in ski/snowboard school, and get our uniforms and lockers. Most of us leave our boots and equipment at the area then as well. It's also a cool time to get reacquainted and say hi.

Later on we have required reorientation clinics on and off snow. These help to refresh our memories. I find that when we all get together and start talking and sharing, it all comes back pretty fast. You hear statements like, "Oh yeah, I remember that!" It seems like a lot of the younger or not as experienced instructors hesitate to speak up if they have questions or don't know the answers. Then on the other hand it seems like some instructors will continue to add and add more and more until we're beating a dead horse. Not that that's a bad thing, it's just an observation.

Off-piste over on Alpenglugen got me started on this blog entry. I thanked him for the quick quiz he has over there. I too forget the PSIA terms but remember the ideals. I think blogging is helping me a lot to get back into it. I'm feeling much more prepared this year than in years past. On the physical side though, I remember in years past feeling that first slide of the season on skis and thinking, "this feels just like yesterday!" For me, it shows the power of muscle memory.

There were some comments in off-piste's entry about skiing all year, switching from the Northern and Southern hemispheres. I'm one that would love to do the back-to-back seasons in the Northern and Southern hemispheres. I'm sure that the experience raises you up to a much higher level of professionalism, that is, as commenter sharpm said, if your knees can handle it.

Last year about this time I was seriously contemplating going to New Zealand for their winter after our winter to teach. I found the whole passport-work-permit-visa-having-enough-money thing too difficult for me at the time. Now that I know more about it, I'm hoping to take the right steps to make it happen for after this season. That is if I can also get past the am-I-going-to-miss-summer thing.