When Skiing is Your Work

I'm a full time LIII who's parent's both teach skiing (my mom is still full time) and I stared teaching legally when I was 14. Needless to say, I don't have much to add to the topic from a skiing as your job perspective. It's always been my job. I do though, have to disagree with CROSS.

For me, teaching PEOPLE how to ski is my job. When I am skiing with someone, I am skiing with them. I'm not teaching them how to demo, so only when I have to do I stop and demo something. For me, a demo is a specific moment when you ask your student (s) to watch a particular movement or line. The rest of the time is spent guiding my students through situations that will ultimately give them what the need to become better skiers.

Teaching stays engaging for me because I am constantly looking at the terrain available and the person/ people I'm with and presenting them with the tactics and skills they need for that situation. It is a balance of speed, turn shape, use of the hill and attitude. All of those things change every run. Sometimes every 100 feet.

Skiing and teaching skiing are "ings"- verbs. There is no such thing as a skiing "position" or form. There is positioning, but we need to remember that it always boils down to the people.

Oh- and when I go free skiing, it's often, if not exclusively with my patrol friends. They don't ask you for advice on their skiing and you can always help them "trail check" when the skiing is good...

K

All the talk so far is from instructors and patrollers. Let me add a little from my perspective and the retail side.  One thing I have said many times is that I didn't want my skiing to become work, I wanted my on snow time to be mine. Being in the retail end of the business, I pick up and loose days on snow. I will pick up a couple of days for on snow promotions like demos and testing, but loose some because of hours I have to spend at the shop. I do enjoy the on snow events because I get to mingle with customers and factory people and if you didn't notice I am a bit of an extrovert. I did cross the line last year with being more on snow driven with my ill fated time as a rep, fortunately it was short lived. 

If we ever move to ski country it might change for my on snow needs it is fine. I am not sure I want to be on the snow 100+ days a year, 50-75 would be the max, especially in the east where the conditions can be more... varied. 

One of the patrollers at Plattekill skis non-stop from 8:00am to 5:00pm with less than a 30 minute break for lunch. He always says rest is what you do on the chair lift.  Oh yeah I almost forgot to mention.  He recently completed his 50th year as an active member of the National Ski Patrol.    He is not alone. There are many National Ski Patrol members that have been doing what they love for 50 years or more.

Sun Valley Ski Patrol video says it all.  All of a sudden I have been here 41 years.