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2.2.2012 SnowPro Update: SIA Snow Show Product Standouts
Judging from the number of PSIA Alpine Team and AASI Snowboard Team members who were present at the SIA Snow…
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7.7.2010
The 50/50 Blog: What Story Do You Have to Tell?
It always amazes me how clearly I remember some of the ski instructors I had as a kid – the girls who I thought were snow goddesses and the guys who I thought were cool. And how they seamlessly led me and an ever-shifting pack of fuzzy mittened ankle-biters around the mountain, squealing like pups in the snow.
I have the same clear memories of when I started working as an instructor myself. Of some of the faces and names and friendships that, if it weren’t for teaching, I never would have known.
But I must admit, it surprised me at first how almost every other ski instructor I have ever met has those same memories, too – of the first people who inspired them, those first cold mornings in the new uniform, and those first students experiencing a smiling breakthrough.
Especially when those instructors reliving their memories are some of the giants of the profession – like PSIA Founding President (and founding father) Bill Lash, Innovator (and soon to be member of the Colorado Ski Hall of Fame) Horst Abraham, and Robert “Hak” Hakkinnen, who first earned his certification in the Central Division in 1962.
“I loved that feeling at the beginning,” says Hak, of Minnesota, “When everything we did felt like it was brand new.”
Those are the very same memories that we would like to hear about from you. What was your introduction to snowboarding? Who is your personal ski guru? And what did it feel like when your first student started skate skiing like a pro?
Please, feel free to answer any and all of the questions below, and send your reply to us at
so that we can post your story right here, too.
What Story Do You Have to Tell
What’s Your Favorite First Memory of Being on Snow?
Who is Your Favorite First Instructor?
Who is Your On-Snow Guru?
What is Your Favorite Thing about Teaching Right Now?
Why is Your Region so Important to You?
What’s the Best Part about Going out on the Mountain with Your Friends, or just by Yourself?
What Else Makes You Smile (Getting Certified? Wearing Your Pin? Meeting Other Instructors from Around the World?)
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