When I was at Ski Camp...

Freestyle, summer of 1981, Beddor's lake house, Minnetonka, MN. 

What about Junior High School Ski Clubs?

When my daughter was 11, she went to a summer race camp up at Whistler and because it was so very far from home, I went with her and enrolled in a summer camp for adults.  Would never do it again.  Took us 2 hours every AM to get to the hill.  We were confined to our one lane.  Took about 15 seconds to get down the hill, at which point we got in line for the T-Bar.  Took around a half an hour to get to the top of the lane again.  By noon, they opened up the place to the masses and we started down the hill, which due to bus connections and walking back to the dorms, took as I recall, another 1 1/2 hours.  I spent more time getting to and from the first and last runs than we trained and I think if we got in four runs down the lane, it might have been unusual.  NOT WORTH THE TIME OR THE MONEY.  Other locations may be better, I certainly never accompanied her again.  She did mostly Hood after that.  Sometimes it was worthwhile, sometimes it was a loss.  Just like going to Mammoth to race, the expense is not worth the results.  (They cancel most of the races there, near as I can tell.)

Did Dan Egans Xtreme camp in Chile.   Pretty wild experience.....  there's a TR somewhere, too lazy to search. 

Most people think its crazy expensive to head south in the Summer but the reality is that the airfare is often as much as the week of skiing. The 2nd time we went down, we organized our own tour and then shopped it to a few different tour operators. You have to shop the rates, the costs will vary wildly.   Its an amazing experience and every skier should do it at least once.  Last year the conditions sucked and my arm was messed up and this year I'm still rehabbing and will have to miss but I'm def' heading back down next season.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sibhusky 

 Took us 2 hours every AM to get to the hill.

Ugh!  I couldn't do that for a week straight.  I can only do that about a half dozen times a year these days.

There were three other kids there the week I was there, two staying in a local motel and one driving daily.  I stayed at the house in one of their guest rooms.  We water skied til dusk every night, went to the movies, cooked out, etc..  They invited me to tag along in shopping errands rather than sitting around the house during downtime.  I'd say that week was the most sober and healthy period I had at age 17.  I recall thinking when I signed up that there would likely be some partying going on, but alas, it was very health focused.   I continued to work out and train for the remainder of the summer staying pretty focused for the upcoming season.  I still return to that mindset for a few weeks every October/November, but not nearly to the same degree I did in my teens. 

Did many a instructors clinic for one reason or another and PSIA Academy once, back in the day.  Improved performance a lot, maybe more by teaching than attending.  

Was getting all set to do an ESA when the plug got pulled.  Please plug it back in.  The talent you assembled for those was really impressive.

Have gone to several "gatherings" of online ski forums (not Epic) and old friends (school alumni who meet at Alta Lodge).  Some regional weekends in the southeast where the company is more important than the skiing. I go to those with my daughter.  A few 1-week gatherings (adults only) out west where the company and the skiing were wonderful.  I usually know a few people well beforehand, then make new friends.  Has a lot to do with why my skiing improved a lot the last few years because there are better skiers to ski with on advanced terrain, on or off piste.

Did a professional 3-day camp (mornings only) in the Tahoe area in conjunction with a gathering.  Took a while to decide that it was worth $600 but very glad I did it.  The bonus was that we had fresh powder (1-2 feet) to learn in for two of the days.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stranger 

Did many a instructors clinic for one reason or another and PSIA Academy once, back in the day.  Improved performance a lot, maybe more by teaching than attending.  

 

Was getting all set to do an ESA when the plug got pulled.  Please plug it back in.  The talent you assembled for those was really impressive.

In 1981 I was selected to be the guest of the Tyrolean tourist bureau for a week as part of a promotion for skiing in Austria.  I don't know if you could call it a camp, unless you include drinking and apres activities as a major part of the curriculum.

I attended an Instructors Academy in St. Christoph, Austria for a week in the mid eighties.  We got to ski with both outgoing US, & current Austrian D-team members.  In the evenings I attended lectures given by Dr. Franz Hopplicher whom I had met in 81' & had a big influence on me.

I also spent a few late Spring's as a coach for a week long adult advanced ski camp at Mt. Bachelor.  I am sure I had at least as much fun as the participants!

JF

Quote:

Originally Posted by 4ster 

In 1981 I was selected to be the guest of the Tyrolean tourist bureau for a week as part of a promotion for skiing in Austria.  I don't know if you could call it a camp, unless you include drinking and apres activities as a major part of the curriculum.

 

I attended an Instructors Academy in St. Christoph, Austria for a week in the mid eighties.  We got to ski with both outgoing US, & current Austrian D-team members.  In the evenings I attended lectures given by Dr. Franz Hopplicher whom I had met in 81' & had a big influence on me.

 

I also spent a few late Spring's as a coach for a week long adult advanced ski camp at Mt. Bachelor.  I am sure I had at least as much fun as the participants!

 

JF

Your camp was way better than mine.  

I've gone with ski club to...just ski! I can't figure out the purpose of this poll so can't decide if those counts.

Same with Gatherings. Everyone comes and goes at random days and sometimes the only commonality is just the morning meet up and after ski drinks. As fun as gatherings are, the total lack of structure make me think they're about as far away from any idea of "camp" in memory!

The only real "camp" I did was an instructional one: ESA. There's no doubt it's a CAMP in every conceivable definition.

"This one time at ski camp......."

I've been to 3 Jackson Hole Steep and Deep camps (spread over the last six or seven years) and one EpicSki Gathering.

I was semi-planning to do an ESA, but I waited too long.

The JH camps were all a lot of fun and pretty educational, but they were all different. 

The first camp convinced me that I was a tail-pusher and I really needed to modernize my skiing.  The second one taught me not to be afraid of easy chutes, and involved a lot more evening socializing and drinking.  The third one taught me:

1) I'm a reasonably good skier when my game is on, and I am still getting better

2) I am horribly uneven, and sometimes bad habits come back and I am a really bad skier

3) I need to work on skiing in bad visibility, and I need something more than just telling myself to deal  with it.  My coping is getting worse instead of better.

4) Powder face shots are cool

5) Austrailians are fun to drink with

6) I am really, really out of shape

I have been meaing to orgainize my thoughts and pictures and write a real TR for the one I did last winter.  Hopefully I will get to it before the summer is over.

I did a NASTC week in Zermatt in 2010.  Great experience.  I've been meaning to did it again but limited ski weeks (2 to 3 per year) and the need to ski with family always get in the way.  

I guess I'm a Gathering junkie.  I've been to several Epic Gatherings and a few associated with other sites.  These are great fun and have plenty of 'structure' for an anarchist like me and although they may have been a bit campy at times I wouldn't call them camps.  I mosdef look forward to attending more.

As far as traditional 'camps', it's the cost and the structure that keep me from doing more.  I attended a two day race camp that was affiliated w/Epic a couple of years back.  The cost was negligible, the coaching stellar, the advancement in my skill level was plain to see and it was big fun.  I would even consider doing it again..... but the whole time I was itching to get out of the gates and go skiing.

I guess in my view, instructional camps are for peeps of all ability levels who want to improve their technique.  Even though I have a long way to go if I want to call myself an expert, I don't have a tremendous drive to improve but meeting up with friends old and new to go ski the best bits of some awesome mountains will always be high on my to do list.

Never been to one, don't plan on attending any, unless I strike it rich.  Then, I would go to a "gathering" type camp for skiing for fun with like-minded skiers.  If I do strike it rich, I'll just hire a good instructor for a "private" ski camp.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ghost 

Never been to one, don't plan on attending any, unless I strike it rich.  Then, I would go to a "gathering" type camp for skiing for fun with like-minded skiers.  If I do strike it rich, I'll just hire a good instructor for a "private" ski camp.

I admit the one private lesson I've taken taught me more (normalized for duration) but camp is more fun.

Three day (9 a.m. to 4 p.m including lunch) Billy Kidd Race Camp, now know as BIlly Kidd All Mountain Camp. Went mid-January last year at Steamboat as my NASTAR times had stagnated. They advertise small class size and video taping to improve technique. The class size for my age group (old) was very small - just me.  After three very full days of what turned out to be private instruction and frequent videotaping, which included some one-on-one time on the snow with BIlly Kidd, my skiing was demonstrably better and my NASTAR times improved. And Billy had some great yarns to tell. Great program for improving overall technique and getting video feedback of lazy or sloppy habits you didn't realize you had picked up or regressed into.  Not a true racing camp.  A little pricey (although hiring a private instructor for three days would have been significantly more expensive). 
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Finndog 

Did Dan Egans Xtreme camp in Chile.   Pretty wild experience.....  there's a TR somewhere, too lazy to search. 

 

Most people think its crazy expensive to head south in the Summer but the reality is that the airfare is often as much as the week of skiing. The 2nd time we went down, we organized our own tour and then shopped it to a few different tour operators. You have to shop the rates, the costs will vary wildly.   Its an amazing experience and every skier should do it at least once.  Last year the conditions sucked and my arm was messed up and this year I'm still rehabbing and will have to miss but I'm def' heading back down next season.

Here's something related to your TR, if not the actual TR.  (broken image links) 

http://www.epicski.com/t/85587/dan-egan-and-katie-hucking-a-20-footer

Quote:

Originally Posted by bbinder 

ESA!!!!!!

Hell Yeah!!!!!  

A major reason that my skiing still improves is because of ESA.  Both with the direct results of the clinic and the influencers in my life from ESA. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by bumpfreaq 

I guess I'm a Gathering junkie.  I've been to several Epic Gatherings and a few associated with other sites.  These are great fun and have plenty of 'structure' for an anarchist like me and although they may have been a bit campy at times I wouldn't call them camps.  I mosdef look forward to attending more.

 

As far as traditional 'camps', it's the cost and the structure that keep me from doing more.  I attended a two day race camp that was affiliated w/Epic a couple of years back.  The cost was negligible, the coaching stellar, the advancement in my skill level was plain to see and it was big fun.  I would even consider doing it again..... but the whole time I was itching to get out of the gates and go skiing.

 

I guess in my view, instructional camps are for peeps of all ability levels who want to improve their technique.  Even though I have a long way to go if I want to call myself an expert, I don't have a tremendous drive to improve but meeting up with friends old and new to go ski the best bits of some awesome mountains will always be high on my to do list.

You did some bump camps at MJ that I was drooling over. 

I attended the Next Level Ski Camp at Squaw, with Ingrid Backstrom and Jessica Sobolowski in Jan 2011.  It was fun to do a tactical camp for women on the incredible terrain that Squaw offers. 

I'd love to do an ESA at Squaw.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trekchick 

 

You did some bump camps at MJ that I was drooling over. 

 

 

Oh yeah, how could I forget?

Bring back ESA!!!

Regarding on the comments from my last post:

4ster, I can't take any credit for the vid, it was shot and edited by one of the other dudes at the camp.

Finndog, right down the road, man =)

TC, it's a pretty long vid!

Thanks, all =)

Need a little help here.  What would I enter for these camps?:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bob Lee 

Need a little help here.  What would I enter for these camps?:

 

Most likely the last option but I'll keep my fingers crossed for the third.

Not sure about the definitions here.  As others have noted I wouldn't call the Gatherings a "ski camp."  Ski camp implies some degree of instruction to me.  So I wouldn't call the cat/heli trips "camps" either, though a few of those places run "intro weeks" for first timers.

With regard to Whistler in summer, I didn't do it by my son did at age 17 with Mike Douglas' freestyle camp.  He loved it, though park is not his forte so he was a little sore from doing that for 6 out of 7 days.

I've done the Extremely Canadian 2 day clinic at Whistler twice as well as their Las Lenas tour in 2005 and La Grave tour in 2008.  Whistler is instructional but moves at a fast pace, especially with the fresh powder I had the first time.  One of those days was 30K.  Instruction is provided as needed on the World Tour weeks.  Those are pricey, ~$3,500 for land package only (transfers, hotel, food and guiding), but worth it in places like I went where you need guiding anyway to get the most out of the skiing.

The Ice Axe Antarctic trip was similar to Extremely Canadian tours in terms of very high level guides providing instruction as needed, in this case with respect to backcountry travel and gear.  There was a prep trip for that on Mt. Shasta, very educational for a mostly resort skier like me.