PSIA-AASI

1.6.2012

Back to Basics and Learn to Ski and Snowboard Month

I learned how to snowboard because I wanted to surf the powder. But I learned how to telemark one season when the snow was especially late at my local hill, and that challenge of learning something new was what kept my friends and me on the lifts.

We didn’t wait in any lines. And we got enough mileage for our thighs to be burning at the end of each day as we tried to figure it out (and still try, as I’ve brought my tele gear to something like a dozen Team Training meetings at Copper Mountain in search of more expert tips). And I remember that other than us, there were racers on the hill, some boarders jibbing around the bare spots, and lots and lots of kids.

What better time—and conditions—to start rocking into Learn to Ski and Snowboard Month. Happening right now across the country, with the high hopes of teaching more than 100,000 lessons to kids, beginners, and lapsed skiers, LSSM is offering everything from free days to two-for-ones to deep discounts—all with the aim of reducing the barriers to getting on the slopes.

Of course, some snow would certainly help. And for those of you not getting any precipitation, I’m sure just the idea of being anywhere on the runs would be a dream come true—with the chance to turn some young kid on to the thrill of skiing or riding a spectacular bonus. All I can say is that winter is coming back sometime. Exactly when, I can only guess.

Coming out of last season’s record snowfalls, skier visits, and equipment sales, and with another La Niña weather phenomena predicted for this season, it was easy to have high hopes for this year. Especially when places like Wolf Creek and Whistler were getting off to such a fast start. But from Crystal Mountain, Washington, to Okemo in Vermont, and on to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, little by little the snowfall totals are beginning to creep up. And from Alaska to North Carolina, dozens of states—and many more ski schools—really are looking at innovative ways to get more people involved in snowsports this month. Here’s to these great learning opportunities, and keep those snow dances going!

—Peter Kray