>
sandy macys
sandy macys
Lisa Densmore teaching the Women’s Discovery Camp.
I
was helping finalize the daily schedule for one of Sugarbush’s Women’s Discovery Camps when an email caught me by surprise: “John Egan is available as a guest coach.” A man coaching a women’s ski clinic? It rumbled the foundation of what supposedly made women’s ski clinics successful: women teaching women. In theory, by removing the coed social dynamic, women relax, are less self-conscious, and are more willing to challenge themselves. Within the nurturing sisterhood of other gals of similar ability, a shy cat could become a tigress, able to purr with precision on the blue squares and bound down the baddest bumps. I was skeptical at first about adding a guy to the mix, but John was an old friend and a pied piper of snow sports, so I designed a schedule in which he spent a half day with each group. The women loved it! You have to have an open mind when it comes to the Sugarbush Ski & Ride School. It’s like no other ski school in the country, melding an adventurous “can do” attitude with a variety of teaching methods that speak to anyone who wants to glide downhill more adeptly. It caters to everyone, regardless of age, ability, and learning style. Egan, whose official title at the mountain is chief recreational officer, sets the tone. “I’m the Vice President of Fun,” says Egan. “My job is to bring a sense of adventure and fun to everyone at the mountain.” Egan points to the Women’s Discovery Camp as an example of his teaching philosophy. “I asked the women, ‘Why are you here?’” explains Egan. “They said, ‘To get better so we can have more fun.’ Then I said, ‘Why don’t we have fun, and I bet you’ll ski better.’ It’s all about how comfortable I can make the guest.” By “comfortable,” Egan means finding one’s comfort zone on the slopes—which may sound odd coming from a guy who spent much of his adult life on some of the most extreme snow-laden pistes around the world, making dramatic descents for movie cameras. Egan says that phase of his life laid the groundwork for his approach to teaching Sugarbush guests today, not in terms of the risk taking but of the breadth of skills he acquired. “My rat pack was world-class skiers from Germany, Austria,
2012
John Egan teaches how to find your comfort zone on skis.
>
Russia, France, Romania,” Egan says. “It was a constant learning experience, very intense, very rich educationally, even though it was not through PSIA [Professional Ski Instructors of America]. In films, I had to learn to ski all conditions and make it look good.” Egan not only made it look good to everyday skiers watching the latest Warren Miller release, he also impressed the skiing elite. “A few years ago, I got to ski with Franz Klammer at Beaver Creek,” says Egan, recalling the legendary 1976 Olympic gold medalist in downhill. “I was thrilled to follow him skiing really fast. He stopped at the top of a mogul run, but I kept on going full speed into the bumps. Klammer said I was crazy, which was funny coming from the original kamikaze.” It was a telling moment for Egan about just how far he had come in his skiing, which he credits in large part to Sugarbush.
Egan grew up skiing at Blue Hills near Boston, Massachusetts, in a family of seven kids (he’s the third oldest). Each winter, his parents took the family to Mt. Cranmore, in New Hampshire, on a ski trip. Later, in junior high school, he rode the Blizzard Ski Club bus to Mt. Sunapee on Saturdays. After high school, he moved to Sugarbush. “In 1976, I sailed with a guy named Lou Anderson whose company did the accounting for Sugarbush,” remembers Egan. “He said, ‘If you really want to learn to ski, go to Vermont. That’s where the real skiers are.’ My first experience keeps me here today. It’s such a family here. Everyone really opened their arms to me.” When Egan arrived in the Mad River Valley, Sigi Grottendorfer headed the ski school, and his staff represented a mixture of teaching philosophies. Some of the instructors were certified 31
2013