xx-ploring Nordic Season Review

By Mickey Stone PSIA-E Nordic Coordinator, PSIA-E Nordic Examiner and ACE Team Member

Iam writing this article during the superb ending of the Levi Finland Interski extravaganza. What an inspiring event! Amazing to see our own Eric Sheckleton at the head of Interski, all the Regional and National administrators participating, plus all the American teams. It brings back memories of the Norwegian Interski in 1999 which I took part in. We cannot wait for the tam and others to bring back their stories, performances, and maybe some new traditions at our events. Congrats to all spectators and participants – especially our own Keith Rodney.

Back home during the season we struggled a bit in the beginning with snowfall. For two months, we relied mostly on machine-made snow. Finally, after President’s week, we started to receive those western storms moving East and then cycling back as Nor’easters. We were fortunate to receive about five of them through March. It pays to schedule off-piste and bump events after the vacation week.

Highlights from this season. We opened with our popular CEU credit zoom event on Snow Sense and Planning with 27 participants. We hope to see some of these Zoom participants at a future on snow Backcountry events. Big thanks to Bruce Hennessey for running these events. Check out these snow pits in the Green Mountains.

Our early season Cross country event at Rikert in Middlebury VT and the XC ITC (Instructor Training Course) at Bretton Woods both had 13 participants – a great turnout on little snow. Our event at Waterville Valley turned out to be in a snowstorm so we had ample coverage which made everyone happy. A bit cold but great snow.

our off-piste events. Our Mad River Glen and Jay Peak participants received over a foot of snow!

Our Telemark exam started out well on Friday the day before St Patrick’s Day, but it drizzled a bit then froze on Saturday morning. A tough way to start your assessment process, but it warmed and softened up by Sunday. Congratulations to all who participated and gave it their all. Big thanks to assessors Ali Pirnar, Keith Rodney and Kurt Byrnes. Successful Level II candidates were Tanner Jacobs, Paul Rainey, Gary Summerton and Nicholas Zygmot. Our successful Level III candidate was Jake Crawford.

Welcome and congratulations to Liz Stefany of Sugarloaf, Maine, our new Development Team Member. Here is an introduction to PSIA-E Telemark Squad by Liz: “Hey all! I’m Liz Stefany, and when I was in my early 20s I thought I’d teach skiing for ONE winter. That didn’t work out as planned, so since then I’ve spent 19 seasons at Sugarloaf doing all sorts of things – fixing (most) of my self-taught alpine habits, learning to telemark and snowboard, and teaching all of those as well as cross country at least a handful of times. I love teaching, but I love learning more, and it’s truly amazing to share in the joy of learning with my students. I hope I get to meet, teach and learn from many of you in the years to come.”

Thank you Liz and welcome aboard.

Cross country Examiner Mike Innes made the following observations on his Waterville Valley event: “With crystalline snowflakes falling on the trails of Waterville Valley Nordic, we had the perfect setting for the class Cross Country Level I Skiing and Teaching Upgrade. The timing of the snowfall couldn’t have been better as the storm coated a base of ice, bringing the trails back to life in short order. We had six participants from across the New England region coming to improve their skill sets for their own skiing and teaching of others.

“Every course ends up having its own distinct experience, as we all bring different levels of experience, athleticism, technique, knowledge, and expectations. This Level I group had a common theme of crossing over from an alpine-oriented teaching and/or skiing background to Nordic. Our attendees brought a deep familiarity with the student-centered teaching model, but were pivoting to applying these skills for cross country. We spent much of the class focusing on teaching progressions for both classic and skate-skiing. We focused on laying a strong foundation for teaching others, but we always get the added benefit of improving our own core skill sets. We drilled on skiing uphill more efficiently and transitions on varying terrain.

“Probably the best bonus of our class was that we were quick to create personal connections with our fellow skiers. Nordic is known for being welcoming and collaborative, and we lived up to that hype.

Thank-you so much Mike Innes Bretton Woods Cross country Director and Cross country Examiner

This season we certified two participants at our Level II XC Exam. Congratulations to Steve Brunner and Maggie Bassow!

Our Telemark discipline had a busy season with 24 total events and 191 participants. Per usual, our Pro Jam, Southern Hoedown, Spring Fling, Spring Rally and an in-house Level I at Mt Snow had double-digit participation. Some of our best snow happened for

Another season gone by, enjoyed, organized, and many more new relationships made. Thank you to all who participated in events, to all on-snow staff for a job well done, and to our great office on whose support we rely. It is on to Breckenridge in May for National Education requirements and updating our new educational and assessment process.

Enjoy your summer and see you when the snow flies. <<