tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55911904484864294242011-11-27T17:01:36.506-08:00My students and guests at Monarch and my life as a snow sports professional.Ricky Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224746537626419700noreply@blogger.comBlogger861100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591190448486429424.post-48382092191077310962010-09-29T08:28:00.001-07:002010-09-29T08:28:09.997-07:00

via wired.com Here's an article about a topic I mentioned on my Wordpress site. Posting it here so I can come back and read it better. Posted via email from RickyB's Posterous Site

Ricky Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224746537626419700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591190448486429424.post-44097059907039148882009-12-16T14:03:00.001-08:002009-12-16T14:03:47.492-08:00

I saw our Guest Services Manager's (Miller's) car in the Monarch parking lot in a blog posted by Arron Dodds' Life on the Road. The article's not bad either: http://bit.ly/5JmmFw. Posted via email from RickyB's Posterous Site

Ricky Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224746537626419700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591190448486429424.post-72181874902634766372009-11-30T10:53:00.001-08:002009-11-30T10:53:58.671-08:00

See and download the full gallery on posterousRick Posted via email from RickyB's Posterous Site

Ricky Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224746537626419700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591190448486429424.post-11299317261955144472009-11-30T10:32:00.001-08:002009-11-30T10:32:26.835-08:00

Rick Posted via email from RickyB's Posterous Site

Ricky Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224746537626419700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591190448486429424.post-51332069566199280642009-11-30T10:31:00.001-08:002009-11-30T10:31:36.699-08:00

Left ski is in the eastern slope right is on the western slope. Beautiful day at Monarch. Not many people but lots of great snow n open runs! What a great office space for work. Rick Posted via email from RickyB's Posterous Site

Ricky Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224746537626419700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591190448486429424.post-87581864482890515392009-11-27T10:45:00.001-08:002009-11-27T10:45:46.932-08:00

Gunnar and I are focusing on leg rotation today. He's got roller blading background too Awesome! I'm the lucky one. Rick Posted via email from RickyB's Posterous Site

Ricky Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224746537626419700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591190448486429424.post-62728448268641280022009-11-27T09:53:00.001-08:002009-11-27T09:53:14.403-08:00

McKenna has lots of roller blade experience that translated very well to skiing. Awesome! Rick Posted via email from RickyB's Posterous Site

Ricky Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224746537626419700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591190448486429424.post-10735744627403942772009-11-26T08:18:00.001-08:002009-11-26T08:18:21.246-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving! Second day teaching at Monarch Mountain. Looking forward to another great day. Rick Posted via email from RickyB's Posterous Site

Ricky Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224746537626419700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591190448486429424.post-58721611784036954272009-11-25T09:37:00.001-08:002009-11-25T09:37:17.779-08:00

Who who! Here we go!! Rick Posted via email from RickyB's Posterous Site

Ricky Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224746537626419700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591190448486429424.post-30368455750030651572009-11-25T08:36:00.001-08:002009-11-25T08:36:01.705-08:00

Rick Posted via email from RickyB's Posterous Site

Ricky Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224746537626419700noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591190448486429424.post-49658364959824313892009-11-22T07:44:00.001-08:002009-11-22T07:44:04.122-08:00

Good times !!! Rick Posted via email from RickyB's Posterous Site

Ricky Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224746537626419700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591190448486429424.post-17181775965566399762009-11-21T15:15:00.001-08:002009-11-21T15:15:15.718-08:00

I think this is so cool! I can post to most of my blogs and social media just by sending an email to my Posterous account. It seems really quite simple, but it's taken me a while to set up some of the places I want to post to. Some were simpler than others to set up.Here's a list of places I'm sending this particular post to:www.rickboucher.com www.twitter.com/ricky__b my Facebook profilehtttp:/

Ricky Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224746537626419700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591190448486429424.post-27776882624981007862009-11-13T12:17:00.001-08:002009-11-13T12:58:37.177-08:00

With the growth of social networking and the many new blogs/networks one can join to talk about skiing and snowsports instructing, I've been trying to find a way to simply enter blog and social network once and have the entry posted to all the different locations. Here's a list of all the places I'd like a single post to show up:Self-Hosted Wordpress blog (www.rickboucher.com)Wordpress blog (

Ricky Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224746537626419700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591190448486429424.post-52857843411803044712009-11-13T12:14:00.001-08:002009-11-13T12:14:20.594-08:00

Test post from my mobile device. Send away!

Ricky Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224746537626419700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591190448486429424.post-84204585104113786012009-02-14T18:31:00.000-08:002009-02-14T18:56:34.275-08:00

Cool picture of me appeared in The Mountain Mail yesterday. The powder has been awesome at Monarch. Eric Ramsey has been taking pictures and I'm very happy to go along. This one ended up on 9 News and in the local paper. I think he likes how I can ski right at him without hitting him and the plastic things on my fingers that define my gloves. Actually this wasn't better powder than yesterday.

Ricky Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224746537626419700noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591190448486429424.post-82160554021435962102009-02-08T11:58:00.000-08:002009-02-08T12:06:47.771-08:00

Last week I was asked to teach a lesson for marketing purposes. Our marketing director had arranged the lesson for a writer that writes for the Rocky Mountain News. Here is a link to the article as it appeard in an online journal called Real Vail. Click here. I really enjoyed meeting Luis and Patrina. I know I had fun.

Ricky Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224746537626419700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591190448486429424.post-26230721169964998032009-02-03T17:47:00.000-08:002009-02-03T18:07:28.612-08:00

I had a returning student (Steven Owen) a few days ago that asked me to help him find an "imperceptible trigger." I thought that was so cool. I hope to use these words in future lessons. I think what he was seeing was the smoothness of good skiers and wants to emulate how good they look going from one turn to the next, the "imperceptible trigger." When he told me that he was looking for the

Ricky Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224746537626419700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591190448486429424.post-26144481569518212142009-01-18T18:15:00.000-08:002009-01-18T18:42:07.981-08:00

I led a clinic today with about a dozen other instructors. The focus was on the PSIA milestone called basic parallel turn. Just in case you don't know the milestones, they are wedge, wedge cristi, basic parallel turn, and dynamic paralell turn. It was very obvious to me that we can focus on a specific manuver and do movement analysis for that particular manuver to determine specific needs of

Ricky Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224746537626419700noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591190448486429424.post-75975704120150643232009-01-18T18:05:00.000-08:002009-01-18T18:15:07.791-08:00

Mostly I've been getting private lessons this year. I'm almost up to 25 hours worth of request privates. After 25 hours I'll get a significant pay increase. Most of my request privates are coming from relationships that I've developed in past years. People from Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma, and lots of locals are requesting me. They're actually remembering me and asking for me. I'm like the second

Ricky Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224746537626419700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591190448486429424.post-51035380804919096282009-01-18T17:41:00.000-08:002009-01-18T18:03:38.902-08:00

Sorry I've been so busy teaching and skiing that it is hard to find time to sit and blog. Monarch has been great this year. The snow is awesome, from powder to beautiful packed powder bumps. It's all good. I got some new skis that I really couldn't afford. But hey, the ski shop, Mountain Sports Haus, let me have a payment plan. At first I didn't like these Volkl Tiger Shark Power Swtich skis. But

Ricky Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224746537626419700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591190448486429424.post-21785964216379912032008-12-23T15:58:00.000-08:002008-12-24T03:46:20.595-08:00

Ran across this article about PSIA today. It describes PSIA really well. Here is just one of the questions from the interview:"Do instructors have to spend a certain amount of time in each classification level before advancing?""Yes, there are certain requirements involving time between levels and number of hours taught, although very few move through the ranks as quickly as they theoretically

Ricky Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224746537626419700noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591190448486429424.post-21018011817587939112008-12-23T14:49:00.000-08:002008-12-23T15:51:33.425-08:00

Matt and his family took a Family Private from me last year. They're from Texas and the elevation really took its toll on Matt and he had to bow out of the lesson early. Matt's wife Jennifer, two sons, Parker and Madison, and daughter Abby all went on to become pretty good skiers able to navigate all the green runs at Monarch. This year I saw the boys going up a chair lift that doesn't service

Ricky Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224746537626419700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591190448486429424.post-27057550295951098702008-12-21T18:12:00.000-08:002008-12-21T18:19:32.742-08:00

Man, for about the past week I've been fighting a wicked cold and fevor. I think I just wore myself out during the first week or so of skiing and lowered my resistance. Today I'm feeling much better. It's really hard to teach skiing when your head is all clogged up and your nose is running. The snow has been so great at Monarch that I just couldn't stop. If I wasn't teaching I was out skiing. I

Ricky Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224746537626419700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591190448486429424.post-42450176161625890332008-12-21T17:36:00.000-08:002008-12-21T18:12:23.678-08:00

I've had Laura for a student for years. She's been in the Mountaineers program and I've had private lessons with her a number of times. One of the things that I was always trying to do was get her to flex her ankles. When I first met her a few years ago she had rear entry boots that were way too stiff for a person her size. She was probably like eleven years old. This is a typical problem I have

Ricky Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224746537626419700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591190448486429424.post-9360464446208328382008-12-13T05:26:00.000-08:002008-12-13T05:48:21.689-08:00

I intend to write more about these two lessons, but for now I'm just posting a couple of pictures and first names. I'll add more to this entry later. Right now I've got to get ready for work.These guys are from Salida Middle School: Evan, Garret, Cody, Christian, Luke, Issac. They are 7th and 8th graders. The totally rip. I had to work to keep up with 'em. Thing they liked doing most was 360's,

Ricky Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224746537626419700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591190448486429424.post-83287486561794029882008-12-13T05:10:00.000-08:002008-12-13T05:25:35.458-08:00

This is going to be tough. Blogging during the ski season is going to require discipline. I've been having a great time at Monarch, skiing and teaching. My body is starting to get used to the routine of getting up early each day to catch the employee bus up to the mountain, getting ready for the day, meeting new people and skiing as much as possible. I actually had to not go skiing yesterday

Ricky Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224746537626419700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591190448486429424.post-84510941761888420702008-12-09T16:12:00.000-08:002008-12-09T18:05:08.389-08:00

I just finished scanning in this old Monarch map. There's no date on it, but my research suggests that it is probably from around 1963. The map mentions W.R. Berry as the ski area manager. From obituary information, I found, "BERRY, William Ray 1900 - 9 Jun 1964 (Marker; Cem. Rec: 13 Jun 1964, Sec. D, Blk 3, Lot 2, G4) (Salida Mail 9 Jun 1964) In 1951 he was an electric serviceman living at 223 E

Ricky Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224746537626419700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591190448486429424.post-83045833887906132252008-12-09T12:44:00.000-08:002008-12-09T14:26:11.532-08:00

Mark Waird has started a new site called Monarch Ski Guide: The Unofficial Guide to Monarch Ski and Snowboard Area.  He has some very interesting information, much of which is already found on the official Monarch website, but there is sort of an informal feel and other information such as a link to old area maps and a link to history. The site's organization seems to be geared toward beginners

Ricky Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224746537626419700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591190448486429424.post-44733528982963890112008-12-09T04:58:00.000-08:002008-12-09T05:09:21.601-08:00

An article appeared in the December 5th issue of the New York Times about our town of Salida. Here's a link to it www.nytimes.com/2008/12/05/greathomesanddestinations/05havens.html. The title of the article is The Outdoors Life, With No Attitude. It mentions Monarch Mountain Ski Resort as one of the great things to do near Salida. People who come to Salida get infected with the friendliness here.

Ricky Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224746537626419700noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591190448486429424.post-52375412774216162942008-12-08T17:57:00.000-08:002008-12-08T17:59:42.067-08:00

Requests are hugh for us as instructors. After a certain number of request private lesson hours we get a significant raise in pay. So when you come to Monarch and want to ski with me, no matter what your age,  please, please use the words "I request Rick please!" Or click Rick's Contact Form in the Links in the side bar! I'll help you any way I can to have a good trip at Monarch.

Ricky Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224746537626419700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591190448486429424.post-23824430825045826242008-12-08T17:24:00.000-08:002008-12-24T03:47:21.012-08:00

This is Lilly! This photo was taken by Image Makers. I pulled it offline from their website here. Lilly is becoming an awesome skier. Last year she was in the Mountaineers program. She thinks her instructor was either Brad or Susan. It was a pleasure skiing with her yesterday (Sunday). She said her goal was to get warmed up for the season since it was her first day. I thought it was a great goal.

Ricky Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224746537626419700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591190448486429424.post-64796893914822051872008-12-08T16:45:00.000-08:002008-12-08T17:09:16.653-08:00

Monarch opened on Friday with an 18 inch base. I know that doesn't sound like much, but the coverage was pretty good. All the green runs were open and two blue runs.  The were no crowds to speak of, mostly locals enjoying opening day.I had my first lesson of the year. I was proud to have it, the first lesson, on the first day. My guests were a young couple from Arkansas, Grady and Tiffany, that

Ricky Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224746537626419700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591190448486429424.post-25074452807164097532008-12-03T12:17:00.000-08:002008-12-03T12:33:28.685-08:00

Joined yet another ski website. This is called SkiSensei. See it here. I'll add it to my list of ski blog/websites. It's a social networking site specifically for ski instructors. I'm hoping to maybe make some friends there. Perhaps they can come ski at Monarch and maybe I could get to ski in some other cool places like Utah and Canada.  The purpose of the site as stated is "Join skisensei and

Ricky Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224746537626419700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591190448486429424.post-91376792310544403472008-12-03T09:46:00.000-08:002008-12-03T10:06:01.470-08:00

Here's an intersting concept. You send a YouTube link to a ski instructor via his or her blog and they post it with analysis and tips for improvement. I found this idea in practice on a blog called Free Ski 'YouTube' Video Analysis. The blog is by an Austrian ski instuctor named Carl Owen.PSIA uses videos in their exams. Doing movement analysis while watching videos is one way to practice MA

Ricky Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224746537626419700noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591190448486429424.post-23752773422779172012008-12-03T09:22:00.000-08:002008-12-03T10:06:47.561-08:00

I'm starting to run across more ski instructor blogs. I added a new one today in my sidebar called Canadian Ski Quest. The blogger's name is Mark Impey. It looks like he is certified with CSIA (Canadian Ski Instructor's Association). What is interesting to me is reading the perspective of a Canadian snowsports instructor. I think I'll have to read carefully between the lines but I think he is

Ricky Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224746537626419700noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591190448486429424.post-74960713555275212622008-11-29T07:48:00.000-08:002008-12-03T09:21:33.405-08:00

Earlier I mentioned that I volunteered to be the PSIA-AASI Area Rep. Well I've been asked to be the Rocky Mountain Division PSIA-AASI Area Representative at Monarch. My job is to aid our snowsports school in growing its membership in PSIA-AASI.In exchange they will waive the Rocky Mountain portion of my PSIA dues. The monetary value is not very much, but I think the opportunities of being

Ricky Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224746537626419700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591190448486429424.post-37434925639676125062008-11-29T07:34:00.000-08:002008-11-29T07:48:06.941-08:00

There's a new site that I was invited to participate in called Ski Pro Connect. The purpose of the site is to help people find snowsports instructors. It's just getting started so there's not very many instructors participating right now. They're currently running an incentive program to encourage new instructors to sign-up on their site. The first instructor to sign-up from a ski area that is

Ricky Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224746537626419700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591190448486429424.post-21456844836800982052008-11-24T11:07:00.000-08:002008-11-25T10:33:28.082-08:00

With economy the way it is, there was some discussion about the impact to Monarch. Will guests not be able to afford visiting our mountain? Well here's an article that says that drive-to areas may actually benefit from more visitors that cannot afford trips to destination resorts. People will still want to ski and snowboard even if they cannot plan long trips to expensive areas.Here's another

Ricky Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224746537626419700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591190448486429424.post-4212911914830290792008-11-22T16:42:00.000-08:002008-11-22T16:55:45.688-08:00

Since we only have natural snow at Monarch and there isn't quite enough of it yet, opening day has been postponed until December 5th. It's kinda what happened last year. Hopefully the jet stream starts dipping further south.I read in the news that Vail and Beaver Creek opened yesterday. Curious I looked for their snow report. Guess what, they are not on the lists fed by Colorado Ski County USA. I

Ricky Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224746537626419700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591190448486429424.post-14548507224936369172008-11-20T11:00:00.000-08:002008-11-20T11:06:22.732-08:00

One of the best reasons I've heard for teaching the wedge is that it is a blended maneuver, one that incorporates all the skills needed for skiing well. If a student learns direct to parallel, even if they are athletically gifted, they may not adequately develop rotary skills (for one) and thus actually hinder their progress to advanced skiing in the long run.

Ricky Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224746537626419700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591190448486429424.post-19059576886469105642008-11-20T10:42:00.000-08:002008-11-20T10:59:37.000-08:00

Ha! I just saw a Wiki page on how to ski. Yesterday I mentioned that the European website I added to my list of links here called the wedge a "snowplow." I'd forgotten that it is also sometimes known as the "pizza" like it is described in the Wiki article. Of course it all depends on who you're talking to. Any of the terms is fine in the appropriate context. I generally like to use the term wedge

Ricky Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224746537626419700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591190448486429424.post-82531775891970653582008-11-19T11:48:00.000-08:002008-11-19T11:55:47.058-08:00

The other day at the re-hire clinic the supervisors passed around a sheet asking those of us who would consider being Monarch's PSIA representative to sign -up. Before I could even think about it, I raised my hand to volunteer. They still have not made a decision as far as I know. I see it as an opportunity to learn even more about PSIA and to be perceived as a professional. Every once in a while

Ricky Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224746537626419700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591190448486429424.post-64023388824220623422008-11-19T10:58:00.000-08:002008-11-19T11:12:03.759-08:00

I was asked to place a link to a site here. The site is called TalkSkiing and can be found at http://www.talkskiing.co.uk/. The site's focus: "The site is mostly aimed at helping the beginners and those who aren't sure which skiing resort is for them. We are in the process of reviewing every major skiing resort in Europe so readers can decide on the best place for them to go skiing." I think it's

Ricky Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224746537626419700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591190448486429424.post-86217323066396138972008-11-11T11:00:00.000-08:002008-11-11T11:18:06.822-08:00

Looks like I'm going to be working more than 90 days at Monarch again this year. We had to fill in our schedule at our recent employee re-hire meeting on Saturday. I basically tried to give myself two days off a week. During the middle of the season I switch to Thursdays and Fridays off so that I can participate in the weekly Town Challenge race. Otherwise my normal days off are going to be

Ricky Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224746537626419700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591190448486429424.post-39815480976508395352008-11-08T05:33:00.000-08:002008-11-08T05:57:20.664-08:00

Monarch Ski and Ride School is holding it's employee re-hire orientation today. It will be held up on the mountain in the "bubble." It should be interesting to see who all shows up again this year. It should also be interesting to see new faces, or perhaps people that took a few years off and are coming back. It's very much like a social event. There are those however that do not attend but still

Ricky Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224746537626419700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591190448486429424.post-53606999535965065302008-10-27T16:42:00.000-07:002008-10-27T17:03:12.140-07:00

Turned in my paperwork for Monarch Mountain employment for the '08-'09 season the other day. The deadline was something like November 1st. I applied for full-time, 90-days (probably means actually working more than 100 days). Monarch Ski and Ride School has 90, 70, 50, 30, 18, and 10 day commitments. The more committed you are the higher on the lesson rotation you are, among other things like

Ricky Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224746537626419700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591190448486429424.post-2865520074838611952008-10-22T13:25:00.000-07:002008-10-22T14:35:30.921-07:00

Wondering how other instructors in the snowsports industry get ready for the next season. Do they look over all the materials they've gathered over the years? Review online materials from their respective associations (PSIA, AASI, etc.)? How many keep notes from the previous season? I once heard an  instructor say in a clinic that she leaves notes in her ski boots for next season, so she can

Ricky Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224746537626419700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591190448486429424.post-89281395909994498922008-10-17T08:54:00.001-07:002008-10-17T09:07:44.933-07:00

I received a comment on my last post about being sorry for not keeping up with this blog from Off-Piste. He tells me to keep trying and says it is good to hear what other instructors are doing. His words are encouraging to me. It's nice to know you're not alone. Actually one of the main reasons I'm an instructor at Monarch is because of the friends I have developed there over the years. They are

Ricky Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224746537626419700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591190448486429424.post-90257535919422983792008-10-13T02:28:00.000-07:002008-10-13T02:32:30.823-07:00

I'm very much looking forward to the coming season. Many reasons. Perhaps I should post 'em here. Last year I got so busy that I didn't post anything during the actual season. Very sorry. Should I try again?

Ricky Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224746537626419700noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591190448486429424.post-40653742029957085072007-12-09T18:09:00.000-08:002007-12-09T18:31:38.086-08:00

There were not very many lessons today, so there was plenty of time to ski and work on our own technique. Early in the day we worked on fore and aft balance, the need to adjust your balance from the front to the back in order to stay "on top" of your skis. In the deep powder we currently have, being able to make this adjustment is vital. Too much forward and your skis dive in and make you stop,

Ricky Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224746537626419700noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591190448486429424.post-48913024866299130502007-12-09T05:22:00.000-08:002007-12-09T05:47:52.007-08:00

The Mountaineers Program started yesterday. I've been assigned the advanced students. So far there are four youngsters in my class. All of them are back from last year. Two of them were with me before and the other two were with Brad. Parker, 13, and Jake, 12, were with me last year and Jack, 9, and Jessica, 10, were with Brad. It's a cohesive group with the two older boys and the two younger

Ricky Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224746537626419700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591190448486429424.post-49178564925909228382007-12-09T04:41:00.000-08:002007-12-09T05:22:06.316-08:00

After 17 days of waiting past the scheduled opening date, Monarch opened yesterday. We went from zero percent open trails to enough snow for 100 percent open trails all at once. We got so much snow it was ridicules. I believe yesterday we were reporting over 60 inches at mid-mountain. That's five feet! The level of excitement was pretty high. Everyone was hootin' and holerin'. I was one of the

Ricky Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224746537626419700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591190448486429424.post-58877698225043076352007-11-25T15:46:00.001-08:002007-11-28T18:16:42.895-08:00

Well we still do not have enough snow to open. I'm kinda bumming. I should have been working since the day before Thanksgiving. Our ski school wants us to reschedule our days to add days later in the season, of course during busy times, to make up for the days we're missing now. If we don't open pretty soon, I'm not sure I can fit in 90 plus days into the season. I'm going to have to ask about

Ricky Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224746537626419700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591190448486429424.post-88160011669810647812007-11-15T11:49:00.000-08:002007-11-21T09:11:34.737-08:00

A heckler called out "Have you seen Epci Ski? They got Bob Barnes over there." This was during my talk in front of about 100 Monarch instructors about the MyMonarchSpace (here I go mentioning MMS again). Needless to say that I had to check it out for myself.She was right, over at http://www.epicski.com/ there truly is a wealth of information about skiing, great links to other ski related sites,

Ricky Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224746537626419700noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591190448486429424.post-39514715717385681062007-11-15T11:17:00.000-08:002007-11-15T11:32:59.113-08:00

At this moment there are over 170 people that have joined MMS. Personally I find it a little adicting. It may wear off, but right now I keep going back to check out how many new friends I have, looking at new postings in the discussion/forum areas, and looking at the new uploads that members are posting.I created a private group in MMS that I think our ski/ride school might use to help get

Ricky Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224746537626419700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591190448486429424.post-69994612140707647412007-11-14T13:43:00.000-08:002007-11-15T11:16:35.395-08:00

The MyMonarchSpace seemed to be well received at the instructor re-hire orientation last Saturday. It looked like there were easily over a hundred instructors there. We sat through a bunch of policy and proceedure topics before it was my turn to talk about MMS.I started by asking how many people knew what an online social network was. I'm not sure how many hands actually went up, but my

Ricky Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224746537626419700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591190448486429424.post-76072870516981564792007-11-13T16:59:00.000-08:002007-11-13T17:31:14.317-08:00

Some things I’ve been thinking about posting.1. How the MyMonarchSpace presentation went on Saturday.2. All the activity going on over at MyMonarchSpace.3. Other blogs/ski forums I’ve been learning about (EpicSki.com).4. Weems Westfault’s The Sports Diamond. (http://www.edgechange.com/)5. Two new websites I have been asked to work on: SnowMonsters and NextSnow. http://www.snowmonsters.com/ and

Ricky Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224746537626419700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591190448486429424.post-16150915659614552832007-11-09T15:33:00.000-08:002007-11-09T15:57:20.962-08:00

I'll be talking tomorrow for 10-15 minutes about the MyMonarchSpace. I created a handout to use at the meeting today.It's my feeling that the MMS can be used by instructors to help promote themselves and improve by participating in online discussions and forums. As I said in earlier posts the MMS is wide open and will evolve by user contributions. I'm still looking for tricks and tips to help

Ricky Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224746537626419700noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591190448486429424.post-71334442234170900192007-11-08T11:43:00.000-08:002007-11-08T12:48:19.811-08:00

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

Ricky Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224746537626419700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591190448486429424.post-40628776172367533852007-11-08T00:05:00.000-08:002008-10-27T17:05:49.407-07:00

Want to get a hold of me. Fill out this form. I answer emails.

Ricky Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224746537626419700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591190448486429424.post-50127305942525232992007-11-05T12:23:00.000-08:002007-11-05T12:43:30.487-08:00

Greg Ralph, director of Marketing at Monarch Mountain, was interviewed by the Denver Post in an article about back country skiing in Colorado. Monarch actually has numbers on how many people have been taking advantage of skiing the back country at Monarch. We really do have some exciting back country here. Let me know if you need someone to help guide you to the hike-to terrain. If you want to

Ricky Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224746537626419700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591190448486429424.post-52352664367454075732007-11-05T10:05:00.000-08:002007-11-08T12:38:20.667-08:00

I'm very excited to see MyMonarchSpace (Monarch Mountain's social networking site) growing as fast as it is. That's a screen shot of the home page of it on the left. I understand we are the only ski area in Colorado to implement such a site.When you're not signed in you see lists for New Members, Videos, Games, Music, Blogs of the Day, Most Popular Members, Groups, Events, and a Photo Gallery.

Ricky Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224746537626419700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591190448486429424.post-49906634883493741032007-11-02T12:38:00.000-07:002007-11-05T10:52:44.069-08:00

Here's my schedule using Google Calendar. I'll be able to make updates to it from my cell phone! I think I'll place a permalink to it in the sidebar so people can find it easily. I'll try to keep it updated. Right now you can only see entries in the Month view. I guess I need to go back and fill in the Week view for more details.Thanks to Off-Piste over at Alpenglühen for suggesting Google

Ricky Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224746537626419700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591190448486429424.post-63306530948527538322007-11-01T16:21:00.000-07:002007-11-01T17:30:36.409-07:00

Today was the deadline for filling in our 07-08 work schedule for ski/snowboard school. I've signed up for 90 days which is the highest level for full-time instructors at Monarch. I'm pretty sure I'll be working more days than that. They don't necessarily have to hire me again, but I'm counting that they will. After 17 years I'm getting to know the place a little.Just in case you'd like to see

Ricky Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224746537626419700noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591190448486429424.post-78147957723950394912007-10-29T08:47:00.000-07:002007-10-29T10:01:33.220-07:00

I mentioned earlier that I was in the process of updating my business card to include more personal information. The reason being I would like to be more involved with setting up bookings with students and guests. I've included my personal phone number and email address. Here's what it looks like now. I was going for a feeling of sunshine and blue sky.I got it done online at VistaPrint. They make

Ricky Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224746537626419700noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591190448486429424.post-60040911740849191292007-10-21T13:42:00.000-07:002007-10-29T10:07:41.741-07:00

Horst Abraham, one of the pioneers of teaching method in PSIA, method once known as the American Teaching System, published an ariticle in the latest PSIA Rocky Mountain Newsletter, Instructor to Instuctor (p. 12). (go here for a pdf of the newsletter). He says the purpose of the article is to "review teaching systems from the beginning of snow-play to today, then add thoughts with which [he

Ricky Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224746537626419700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591190448486429424.post-77563382385796839882007-10-21T13:37:00.000-07:002007-10-21T13:42:53.447-07:00

So we were asking about getting Monarch email addresses for instructors to help them develop longer term relationships with guests. Well it seems that some department at Monarch has been working on a social network for a little while. I was very excited to hear that Monarch has officially launched its own social network called MyMonarchSpace! It’s very easy to find by going to the Ski Monarch

Ricky Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224746537626419700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591190448486429424.post-28359208687684477582007-10-17T03:40:00.001-07:002007-10-17T03:55:33.471-07:00

This article talks about how we can visualize ourselves to better, or worse, performances in sports, skiing in particular.read more digg storyI ran across it when I Googled Horst Abraham. I was going to comment on his article in the recent Fall edition of PSIA-RM Instructor to Instructor entitled Experience Centered Teaching. Oh how easily I get side tracked. Anyway, he is quoted in the

Ricky Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224746537626419700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591190448486429424.post-20400493122069720842007-10-11T12:01:00.000-07:002007-10-11T12:11:18.818-07:00

Wow I ran across this story in the Macon County, Georgia Telegraph newspaper that talks about how many of Colorado's ski resorts are spending lots of money to improve their areas. (http://www.macon.com/262/story/155557.html) And guess what, they mention Monarch as an area that has opened up lots of new terrain!I'm looking forward to meeting all kinds of people from all over the country this

Ricky Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224746537626419700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591190448486429424.post-45459503954239068352007-10-10T11:04:00.000-07:002007-10-10T12:13:55.479-07:00

Jack Sciacca, Monarch Mountain's Ski School Director, invited me to climb Gun Barrel with him as soon as there is enough snow at the area. Way cool! I'm definitely going to take him up on this. I might have to dig up a pair of rock skis somewhere though. He says he's going to climb Gun Barrel every morning at 7 a.m. as soon as there is enough snow. Doing that ought to help get ya in shape for the

Ricky Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224746537626419700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591190448486429424.post-56304363646640770212007-10-10T10:52:00.001-07:002007-10-10T11:04:10.535-07:00

Well A-Basin got to be the first ski area in the nation to officially open today. They said this is the earliest it has ever opened. We're going to Boulder this weekend for the annual Spyder sale. Maybe we'll stop by the Basin and take a few runs on their man made snow. Skiing most of my time at Monarch really spoils me though. Since Monarch only has natural snow I don't get to ski that hard icy

Ricky Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224746537626419700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591190448486429424.post-88432646206606302302007-09-25T16:31:00.000-07:002007-09-25T16:46:36.529-07:00

I started skiing in the Army in 1977. Even before I was released from active duty I was working part-time as a ski instructor at Monarch in '78. I had never skied before in my life having grown up in Connecticut where the snow is icy and, in my opinion back then, dangerous. Soon after I entered the service and transfered to Fort Carson, Colorado, I volunteered for special duty to be a member of

Ricky Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224746537626419700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591190448486429424.post-44914229589575876812007-09-25T16:08:00.000-07:002007-10-10T10:51:28.281-07:00

Opening day at Monarch is the day before Thanksgiving, the 21 of November. I think that's 56 days from today. It's been so windy here in Salida lately that I haven't been riding my bicycle for a few days. I'm gonna have to get my butt out there regardless of the wind and chilly temperatures. I'm not about to start loosing all the fitness that I've gained over the summer just before the season

Ricky Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224746537626419700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591190448486429424.post-80762140312494928812007-09-22T10:58:00.000-07:002007-09-22T11:03:54.183-07:00

Crested Butte is giving out free lift tickets between Nov. 25 through Dec. 15. It's also a four hour drive from Denver. Why not just stop at Monarch instead? Early season passes are only $27.00. And we always have better snow and no crowds.

Ricky Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224746537626419700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591190448486429424.post-38164455332639346482007-09-22T10:26:00.001-07:002007-09-22T10:49:37.214-07:00

Here is an image of business cards that I used most of last winter. The phone numbers are the ski school sales office. I'm thinking of adding my own mobile number, email address, and this blog URL to the card.Normally I have not involved myself in booking lessons for guests. I leave that all up to the sales staff. I'm wondering if I can offer better service by becoming very involved with helping

Ricky Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224746537626419700noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591190448486429424.post-50055216901926112122007-09-22T10:11:00.000-07:002007-09-22T10:50:07.261-07:00

We were out in town last night enjoying the many friends we have here in Salida at our favorite watering hole, Benson's Tavern. I got into a discussion with Boyd about pressure control. He and I go back and forth on this every once in a while. I mentioned that I believed ski racers actually loose time when they become airborn. It was kind of funny because he said yeah, but that's because they are

Ricky Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224746537626419700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591190448486429424.post-40492948150844309452007-09-10T15:39:00.000-07:002007-09-10T15:51:24.168-07:00

I've been riding my fixie quite a bit lately. I'm reminded of an idea I had a few years ago about how presure control is used in riding a fixie and how it is used in ski turns. If you could hook up a machine that could measure the pressure under your feet as you ski or as you ride a bicycle I think you would find some interesting comparisons between the two, especially if your bicycle is a

Ricky Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224746537626419700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591190448486429424.post-32059880316516025862007-09-04T08:41:00.000-07:002007-09-04T09:54:39.627-07:00

I ran across another site that seems to be dedicated to a similar concept as I have here. Actually it is probably more thought out and seems to be developed more as a business model. It's called MySnowPro.com. According to the site it's been set up for snow pros who want to have web sites to enhance their relationships with their clients. The main writers on MySnowPro seem to be Jonathan Lawson

Ricky Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224746537626419700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591190448486429424.post-52310458068978452712007-08-29T14:41:00.001-07:002007-08-30T09:15:27.966-07:00

So I'm talking to my about-to-turn-23 year old daughter, Rikki, this morning. She told me she thought it was funny she thinks almost the same exact thing about feeling like she was fit when she was 18 but now has to resolve herself to being too old to compete at the world class level. Really I was not trying to sound sad or sound as though it is too late to accomplish goals as you grow older,

Ricky Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224746537626419700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591190448486429424.post-33751223021240874802007-08-24T09:13:00.000-07:002007-08-24T10:59:57.089-07:00

All my training is paying off, but slowly. I'm really starting to feel fit again with all my riding. The only problem I feel is knowing how fit I once was. It wasn't so long ago that I was training as a serious athlete with a goal of winning a medals at Masters' Track Nationals. Ahhh, but life happens as they say. So now I'm working at getting fit again with a goal of earning Level III at PSIA

Ricky Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224746537626419700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591190448486429424.post-32344870243150889292007-08-23T10:32:00.001-07:002007-08-24T09:07:54.211-07:00

I totally agree with an article in September Ski magazine about having the right ski for the given conditions is best, "Put Your Best Ski Forward." Since I usually have limited cash, I generally try to find a ski that will do it all, also known as an “all mountain” ski. But as the article points out, this is a compromise. Last year I really felt the difference in my ability to ski gates fast when

Ricky Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224746537626419700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591190448486429424.post-17267739812299296102007-08-21T16:50:00.001-07:002007-08-21T16:50:51.604-07:00

I was on my road bike today for a 3 hour ride. Most of the time I was thinking about how much it will end up helping me when ski season gets started. I find the only real way for me to get in shape is to ride my bicycle and watch what I eat. Now if I can cut down on the beer, I’ll be really getting ahead in my quest to be fit for the upcoming season. I started out in the spring just riding a

Ricky Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224746537626419700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591190448486429424.post-2099207492872230852007-08-17T16:39:00.001-07:002007-08-17T16:39:26.314-07:00

Okay, I’m committing myself to this new form of publishing. This topic of course is all about my skiing and my students. This message posts to this blog via email. Looking forward to sharing all kinds of stuff with you.

Ricky Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224746537626419700noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591190448486429424.post-42924139205698042752007-08-17T16:09:00.000-07:002007-08-24T09:12:49.127-07:00

I'd like to add an entry every day that I am teaching lessons at Monarch. My hope is to post my feelings about how lessons went and also post pictures that I take with my cell phone. Perhaps I can even post video's that I take with my phone.Posting everyday would create a diary of all my students. It would help me remember their names and help me to keep track of how my work and career are going.

Ricky Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224746537626419700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591190448486429424.post-45809433424387137932007-08-17T15:32:00.000-07:002007-08-17T15:54:14.657-07:00

I'm starting to get anxious about this coming season. I've been riding my bicycle quite a bit. One of the main things I think about as I ride is that it is going to get me in shape for this coming winter. As an aspiring soon to be level 3 instructor being in shape is important. I think it was in the last PSIA Rocky Mountain Instructor to Instructor newsletter, Bergy from Winter Park, who is a

Ricky Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224746537626419700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591190448486429424.post-66374982173131604782007-02-26T16:44:00.000-08:002007-02-26T16:46:55.688-08:00

Greetings! Just getting started here. Testing one, two, three. One, two, three testing. One, one, one, three, three, three, two, two, two testing.

Ricky Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224746537626419700noreply@blogger.com0