Raised by wolves in the locker room...

I have to say that I am really grateful for a friend of mine. Every time that I'm worried that I won't make it, or that I'm not a traditional mom, or that this is hard and I expect a lot out of my kids, I think about that my friend and her sister came out just fine.

They were raised in ski school, ran rampant in the locker room, and grew up in the trailer park. Granted, it was a trailer park in Aspen, and those are really nice places to live, but you get my point. Her mom was a single mother, raising two kids. And these girls did just fine.

Today, Ethan and Bodhi were rockstars. They got up, ate pancakes, dressed for skiing while we watched Matchstick Productions' "The Claim" to get stoked for a nice powder day. I dropped them off at Aspen Mountain at the Max the Moose bus, and they headed to Buttermilk for a day of skiing. They carry their own gear, they know that they need money, ticket, release, helmet, goggles, gloves, all that.

I headed out to teach, and spent the day skiing fresh pow with a really nice family. I finished up early and had some time to catch up on paperwork, scheduling and phone calls, and then the kids got dropped off. We took their skis into the tuning room and the boys got to work.

Two hours later, the skis were tuned, waxed, brushed and ready to go!  We decided to walk over to Stapelton Sports to watch real tuners doing a great job by hand, and Bodhi and Ethan pestered them with questions for a while.

We headed home to find Andrew ready to play in the deep snow, so the boys and my sister Liat spent the night jumping off the roof. Andrew pulled off his first dryland backflip! It was awesome!

The boys jumped in the bath, Ethan laid on my heating pad for a while, and we read some Harry Potter. They fell asleep in about five seconds, and I'm at my desk plowing through emails and scheduling, a huge pile of clean laundry behind me.

My happy sister just walked in from a successful and fun hot tub poach, and all is right with the world!!

Andrew in mid air: first back-flip on land! WOW!

Honored to be Ratified as a Diamond Pro!

The ski schools of Aspen/Snowmass have a wonderful program called the Diamond. I am very honored and humbled to have been asked to join this group this season. It is a fascinating group of people who are very committed to a high standard in teaching and skiing or riding skills, and the process to become a Diamond Pro involves a serious look into one's self and motivations.

Going through the process helped me uncover, through peer review, some hard truths. I had the choice to look at them and take the coaching, or walk away. Even had I not been selected this year, I'm so grateful for the process that I went through in applying. It was a two season process, and the further I went into it, the more I was grateful for the coaching from the pros who were in the program.

For more information on the program, the process, and what in the world a Weems is, click HERE!

Thank you very much to the Diamond Team for your hard work and for inviting me to join the group.

Smokey and the Bandit: Deep, Profound, and Inspriational. Yes.

We got a long way to go, and a short time to get there...

Okay, its one of my favorite movies ever! I've never thought of Smokey and the Bandit as an, uh, inspriational piece, but I love this theme song.

And now that I think about it, the ridiculous optimism seems to be apropos. So Load em up and truck em, we gonna do what they say can't be done!

Making the Grade: Winning as a result of letting go of the desire to win.

Sometimes, I catch myself wondering if it can be done. I mean, I hear the thoughts in my head that say, with good reason, clarity and pragmatism, that the possibility of being a viable candidate for the National Alpine Team in a year and two months is very very low. Silly. Maybe even stupid.

The funny thing about thoughts like that is that thoughts like that make it even less likely to happen. And if it's that remote of a possibility, in order to succeed, there is no room at all for anything that diminishes possibility.

This journey, it turns out, has nothing whatsoever to do with making the team.

I think that the journey toward the tryouts has become a five-year meditation, a practice of training myself over time to let go of what is not productive toward growth and stay focused on what is.

Because the attached me needed an excuse: a goal, I needed somewhere to go, a fixed point to walk toward, making "The Team" gave me that focal point.

Sometimes, I think; Kate, if you were suddenly to win the lottery and had the luxury of paying for every kind of training possible and you trained your brains out without any other obligation for a year and two months it is STILL very unlikely that you would make the team, so why bother going all in for something that you are probably, in spite of giving it a "really good try" going to fail at?

The immediate answer, now that I've been training my heart to believe in me for five years, is simple. It doesn't matter if I fail, because its not at all about making the team. Its about every moment like that one being the lesson. How quickly can I let go of doubt? Can I live in a world where I accept what is and continue toward what can be? Can I stay integritous in my heart, committed to becoming, open to the lesson, open in my heart? Can I open more?

Thoughts like that distract from the possibility of improvement make it pretty likely that I will not get my feet past the ski cut. If I bleed emotional energy wondering why I am doing this, or if it is physically possible, or if it is emotionally possible, I slow down the flywheel of possibility I'm trying to build.

I see self-fulfilling  prophecies all around me, I've done it myself for years. I wonder if I can break the cycle? I wonder, can I be strong of heart enough for it not to matter if I get to the summit, but just to let the next footfall matter? Can I let go of the outcome and focus on the work?

My friend Lissa once said to me when I was having a hard time, "Chop Wood, Carry Water."

It is really immaterial whether I'll have the feet or not, I can't predict the future. All I can do is keep listening to my mentors, keep developing my internal coach, keep turning left and right as much as possible. For me, now, its time on snow. Time on snow, time on snow.

Heart Yoga: Willing to go to the place of benefit

In my skiing, I am not afraid of the hard work, nor am I afraid of failing, I know I can only work toward becoming and when I get to the time deadline, I will either be in a place where my feet have enough skill or I will not. I am content with this journey.

But like all of us, I have places where I struggle, and like most of us, my struggles are of wanting or wishing. Not about skiing, but about being.

Yesterday, in yoga, I had a sudden realization. I was in a heart opening posture and I had set my intention to let go of wishing things could be different for a friend, and therefore for our friendship.

I realized suddenly that I don't wish things were different for him, I have accepted in my heart this person has the struggle that he has.

What I realized that I have been wishing for is that he would consent to be my friend in practicing being wherever we, individually are, and each of us becoming from there.

Just like in yoga, you only need to go so deep into the posture to where you get benefit. If you try to put your hands on the floor before your back or hamstrings are flexible enough to do it, you are going past the point of benefit.

Yoga is not a goal based "sport." It is a series of postures, which have deeper and deeper expressions because as you practice, you need somewhere to continue to go so that you continue to gain benefit.

I am hoping that my friend can consent to be a beginner at "heart yoga" the practice of being compassionate to yourself and losing judgment, so you can face your fear of who you are and grow.

I realized, as I was in this posture, that the relationship I was "wishing" for (the definition of suffering being wishing that something was other than it is) is one where my friend accepts that he is where he is, and accepts without shame that I know and accept where he is, and that he spend his energy and life force letting go of judgement and practicing becoming from wherever he is.

I can not wish that someone else was willing to practice, because wishing is suffering. This helps neither of us. And its really unfair suffering: it is the suffering of imposition of want on another: I am wishing you could be this way rather than the way you are.

This is NOT an example of loving compassionate acceptance of the present. This is denial of the real, therefore fantasy, therefore suffering, which can warp the path you walk.

I can only practice my own path, with compassion for those around me. This is my practice.

It is difficult to wish for someone that they were unafraid to be where they are, even if that place feels shameful, difficult, full of judgment and sorrow, but to see the mirror of themselves, walk straight towards it, and practice becoming. Because I know from my own journey that this small bravery leads to freedom and space to grow.

And I know that I can not impose this understanding on someone else, pressing it on them. My job, I have learned, finally, is not to rescue or to save, but just to give that which I have to give without depleting myself. This means that even if I know that this friend, whom I love so deeply, would ease his suffering by being willing to practice, it is not my job to press it on to him and force it into him. That would be the practice of me wanting him to want what I want.

This is not a gift of love. A gift, a real gift, is something that you give freely, expecting nothing in return. Love should also be given this way. If I am giving love hoping that in return, he will be willing to practice, I am not giving freely.

This was suddenly both heart-breaking sad, and freeing to me, and I suddenly and violently cried so abruptly that my eyeballs ached and felt like they were going to come out of my head. I was so surprised by this! In the middle of class! Of a class full of people! But this happens in yoga. And in massage. And in life.

And here I had an opportunity to learn a lesson. Pain and fear so often point to the place where I need to grow and focus.

I snuck out of class and sat in the hallway and let this realization bloom and roll over me, and then knew my job was to accept that I now had this understanding and stay with it. There was no going back to wishing.

Once I was out there, I tried to look at what I had learned so that the lesson wouldn't leak away, and it was difficult not just to sit there and soak in it, feeling sorry for myself and my heart, rather than seeing it, learning it, holding it, growing from it, benefiting from it, letting it help me become and returning to now, class, life, flow...

I peeled myself off the bench and went back to my place and back into practice and found balance inside while holding this fear/freedom in the now and let go of wondering what it might mean in the future.

"We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves strong. The amount of work is the same."-Carlos Castena

Bump Skiing Videos

Okay, you asked for it! Here are my favorite You Tube videos to watch when I'm thinking about bump skiing, and I usually watch them while I'm doing dryland mogul practice on the Bosu Ball. Ive had a couple of requests to put up that dryland drill (which is really quite simple), so I'll get that up as soon as possible.

SO Much has been going on, we are 35 days from the Rocky Mountain Assesment Trials, so I'm deep in training (yay!) and sore like you wouldn't believe. I fell asleep on the couch last night while reading to the kids at about 7:45 and didn't wake up till 9, when they had built a fort on the floor behind the couch and were attempting to sleep in it for the night.

My little sister had done an epic bike ride yesterday, too, and so the boys were amazing, they were making us tea and covering us with blankets while I was reading. Such sweethearts!!

Enjoy and train hard!!

Busy bouncing, please hold...

I'm dying to write a blog post, but I've just figured out a really cool bump skiing dryland workout with a bosu ball and two chairs, so instead, I'm watching JGS 4 on continuous loop while my boys "ski" around the living room and over the furniture and I work on this CORE stuff that feels sooooo goood... Rocky Mountain Assessment Trials in 37 Days!

Local resident, Kate Howe recognized as one of fourteen skiers who GO FACE-FIRST TM

March 7, 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

TODI USATM Launches TODI TEAMTM and Announces the Founding 100

Local resident, Kate Howe recognized as one of fourteen skiers who GO FACE-FIRST TM

Portsmouth, N.H.—March 7, 2011 TODI USATM is announcing the TODI TEAMTM Founding 100. Local resident Kate Howe is among the elite few to be recognized.    This is not an easy win.

Kate Howe
TODITM selects athletes who best represent the spirit of their brand. “TODITM is not about the fastest runner or the leading scorer. It is about an athlete’s resolve, the true grit and determination to push it past the limit in every training session,” explains EJ Cheney, General Manager for TODITM and former ski racer.

Howe is in the company of athletes who are crushing it on the slopes, every run, every turn. Her teammates include Bryon Friedman, Tyler Peterson, David Patrone, Willie Ford, Erik Schlopy, Steve Nyman, Heather McPhie, Kate Howe, Marjorie Bourbeau, Mike Cremeno, Nick Fairall, Phil McNichol, Rachel Bauer and Shroder Baker.

TODITM is inspired by her spirit and humbly honored to include her as a Founding 100 athlete.

TODITM Symbolizes the Spirit Found Deep InsideanAthlete’sCore. Onlyathletesexuding this resolve are named to TODI TEAMTM. They are currently accepting athlete nominations for a handful of remaining spots across varying sports to complete the Founding 100.

Kate Howe
Willie Ford
Heather McPhie
Nick Fairall
Tyler Peterson

Meet the rest of TODI TEAM skiers and other athletes.

TODI USATM, LLC. (www.TODIUSA.com  ) is an apres-sport athletic footwear brand, created Exclusively For Athletes Who GO FACEFIRSTTM into every training session. TODITM symbolizes the spirit found deep inside an athlete’score.

Designed for athletes who beat their feet, the cork TODI TM footbed molds to their feet, feeling like a piece of them over time.    The company’s first shoe, the TODI OriginalTM is currently available in Model T Black.

TODITM will be available in a TRI TONE COLOR PALETTE summer 2011. The company is headquartered in Portsmouth, New Hampshire with western operations in Park City, Utah.

Kate Howe’s Profile   

A Great Coaching Cue for Hip Dumping, Twisting and Leveleing of the hip in Skiing

We flipped on the video camera while Liat, Alisa and I were having a conversation about how a day on the snow practicing a coaching cue for hip movements really helped me understand how to move my hips more precisely and more efficiently in the turn.

Rick Vetromille, lead trainer at Aspen Mountain gave me this very interesting coaching cue to try to get my hips to move into the turn without twisting. Remember, this is a coaching cue, a concept to think about while you are practicing.

When you are skiing, it is very difficult to feel the pelvis moving, because your proprioceptive awareness around the hip joint is quite low. Many of us struggle with dumping, setting, tracking of the hip (if you do, you've probably heard those words and gotten that feedback), bracing, hiking, over-lifting, or twisting of the hip.

We tend to be good at moving it, just with large, imprecise movements. Since the hip can be the heaviest part of our body (hello, ladies...) its a really important piece to move with precision.

Keep in mind that the lower you get over the snow, you path you take to move back across with have a bit of a "sine wave" to it. But the intention, the concept, the coaching cue, is the same.

This helps tremendously with dumping of the hip, hips tracking with the skis, one hip coming around in one turn, an inability to level the hip, a contrived hip leveling (through lifting) and all kinds of other hip issues.

If this coaching cue works for you, go practice the drills and see how it might affect your accuracy in your lateral or tipping movements in your more dynamic turns!

(By the way, if the coaching cue works well for you, try it in all the turns, pull it through all your skiing: Wedge, Wedge Christie, Open Parallel, Short Turns, Medium Radius Dynamic and so on)

The discussion about counter, being over the outside ski, and all that can flow from here is also interesting, but lets focus on the hip position in the conversation that follows. That's the main point.

Extended Deadline for Rocky Mountain Trials!!

EXTENDED DEADLINE!!!

Rocky Mountain Assessment Trials

“RAT”

                                                                                                                                                              

Arapahoe Basin April 18 – 20, 2011

Train for the 2012 National Teams Selection.

Gain valuable insight and feedback to enhance your development.

Bring back valuable tools & coaching to your home resorts.

Represent your Division as you train together for the big show!

Open to all Level 3 Certified instructors in good standing.

Completed Applications are now due March 20th to the RM office.

Download the Trials Application on the RM Website.

Cost is $300 for the three day event.



*Disclaimer:  This divisional process is NOT required to attend the National Selections in 2012, although it is strongly encouraged.  Whether or not you are able to attend the regional training/selections, you will need to let the Rocky Mountain office know of your intention to participate in the National Teams selection by November 1, 2011.

Sign up for the 50/50 PSIA National Academy!

Whether for one night, a few days or a whole week, come help celebrate PSIA-AASI's first 50 years and at least 50 years to come! Those thirsting for a National Academy or Rider Rally experience will love the education components, and if you're just plain thirsty we've got you covered there too. Want to bring friends and family? Go for it! See old friends, make new ones, and have a blast both indoors and out at the PSIA-AASI 50/50 Celebration.

SIGN UP HERE!

RMT Results! Happiness!

WOW what an experience!

Over the course of the three days, I lost 9 pounds, improved my understanding of skiing, improved my skiing, improved my ability to recognize and develop my own performance cues, not to mention I made at least 16 new friends and had a great time.

I did really well on the clinic leading and on the MA and Technical parts, and I missed the skiing by 1.1 points.

I feel really good about my results, I learned so much in the process, and I'm psyched to share it all with you! Its taken me a few days to recover, I'm MUCH more tired and sore than I thought I would be!

Thank you SO MUCH to everyone who showed up for results and gave hugs, thank you to all the folks who emailed and texted from all around the globe, (I even got flowers!!) Thank you for helping me learn how to better support YOU all when you go for your next event.

I am happy, excited and eager to take what I've learned and press on. I've analyzed the numbers and drawn some conclusions, which I'm also excited to share, and I'm looking forward to the Rocky Mountain Trials at the end of the year!

Thanks again!!

xoxoxo
Kate

Day 3 of RMT, Results at 5:30!

Hi everyone! Well, I'll say this. It went as well as it could. My skiing got better as the day went on, I was able to make, keep and improve the change that Todd gave me.

There were moments where I bobbled, but I'm pleased with the overall performance. Peter wrote a note on my Face Book that I got this morning, that REALLY helped me stay present and playful, as Weems had reminded me to be, and I ran into Megan on the chair, and she gave me a performance cue that helped me do what Todd had asked.

I incorporated Chris's flexion into all my runs today, about 60% of the time, and I had my best off piste skiing probably EVER in the last run of the day under the chair in Temerity, on Kesslers, a steep, double black sun baked crud run with some bumps.

We finished up with indoor presentations, and Kristin Heath and Joey hit it out of the park, mine was okay, but man, we were all cooked by the end. I forgot to tell my group which KIND of questions I'd like them to ask each other (oops) and I'll tell you more about the presentations later, but for now, its over!

My assessment: The teaching passes, the technical knowledge passes, the presentation passes, the skiing is sometimes above and sometimes below the standard, and they need to see it more consistently above. I think they saw the skiing get better and better over the three days, but that they are going to ask me to go again next year when I own the changes I made today.

Results are at 5:30 at the Highlands fireplace, my Twitter isn't working on my phone, so stay tuned, I'll get results up as soon as I can.

Regardless of the results, it was an AWESOME experience that has made me a MARKEDLY better skier and teacher, and I'm super stoked at the VERY clear path in front of me. I have fantastic coaching cues and I can't believe the exciting jump my skiing is making because of the hard work and dedication of the trainers and examiners in this process. What an INCREDIBLY supportive environment to go get diagnostic in!!

Thank you to everyone who put the event together, worked so hard in it to make it a great experience for ALL the candidates, and to all the AMAZING people who I got to ski with over the last three days! Holy WOW, this is why I can't stop doing this!!

Talk to you soon!!

Days 1 and 2 of Rocky Mountain Trainer Accreditation

Okay, here we go!

Yesterday was day one of the first PSIA certification I've done in two years. I forgot how fun it is to be in a group of candidates training toward a goal, the excitement is palpable, the energy is awesome, and the athleticism goes up right as the stakes do.

I can't honestly believe I'm in this group. Its a bunch of really good skiers and teachers, from all over the Rocky Mountains. Copper, Steamboat, Breckenridge, Vail, Beaver Creek, Aspen and Telluride. These dudes rip. And yes, they are dudes. The only other girl in the RMT is my friend and training partner and fellow MWR (Mommy Who Rips), Kristin Heath.

Yesterday, I got up early, had everything laid out, I'd washed my jacket in Oxy Clean so it looked professional, braided my hair, my skis were newly tuned, my hot bag had my boots at just the right temperature, and all my training materials were in my bag and ready to go.

I got to the Highlands locker room on time, only to find that my name wasn't on the roster because I was told I could bring a check the day of. (Yes, this is an issue that I am really focusing on. Its hard to raise two boys by myself as a ski instructor, especially with taking a lot of time off to cert train, and the cost of clinics. I'm grateful that my sponsors, public and private, have really helped me out raising the money for RMT and for the RAT this spring. Now, its time to make sure that I manage money really well for the next two years and into the future. Its time to get really good at that.)

We got it squared away, and the locker room was filled with the awesome buzz of certification, all the E1 potential hires (that's Examiner, Rocky Mountain is hiring two. There were at least 13 candidates), and all 16 RMT candidates. There were three examiners for each group of 8, as well as well wishers and the regular staff. It was awesome. Pre competition rituals abounding all around as we prepared to go show our best.

The nerves were high, and I wondered where my skiing would be. We started right off the chair with wedge christies and basic parallel, which I think I skied well for me. I'm worried about some small movements in the basic parallel, I think I've shown it well since then, but its on my list of things to make sure I ski right in front of the examiners tomorrow.

I had my list of performance cues in my pocket, tidbits that had really helped from Jenny Macarthur, Jenn Metz, Schanzy, and lots of other folks who have helped me build my skiing in the last few months. 

We moved on to one of my favorite tasks, medium radius carve turns, and I felt that I skied them twice really well. Not as well as on the preview day on Sunday, but good enough.

The whole morning, however, I was feeling like there was something going on, I was missing something. I couldn't figure out what the heck it was.

We switched examiners, and the feeling got worse. My goal was to make sure that the skiing continuously came up, as well as the attitude, over the day, but I couldn't find the key.

I felt good, I was nervous, but not too nervous, I was happy, I felt present, I was on my feet, I could feel my skis, I just was missing... what?

We went back around for another lap of tasks and in the Medium Radius Carve Turns, something weird happened (Cindy was video taping it, I have no idea what it was) and my inside ski wandered, and I nearly did the splits. I saved it, got back on my feet and made three good turns after it, but there was something very strange about my movement patterns on my skis.

We took a break and I wandered around wondering what was going on. I remembered my first level 3 when Weems and Mermer Blakesly were at Big Sky with Squatty, and how they caught my terrified little carcass in their arms. I got on the phone and called Weems from the Merry Go Round.

Angel that he is, he answered the phone. I explained what was going on.

"Kate, did you forget to go skiing?"

uh. Yeah.

That's why I love him. I had, that was it, that was the missing piece. I forgot to let my body do the moves it knows how to do. I was so concerned to show my best that I was skiing my focus rather than going skiing with a focus. I know better than that! SHEESH!

On the lift, I put Cindy Lou and Kurt in my heart, looked over on the chair and saw Shanzy and Andy laughing at me and making fun of me. I thought about what it feels like to be surrounded by friends playing in the snow and bringing your performance up at the same time.

The next run was sodbuster, and I had promised myself, and Schanzy, that I'd keep what we were working on in that run. I committed to it. We skied it, and I did the task. Fall line bumps the way we'd been working. I stayed in the short swing realm to make sure I stayed in the fall line, and it felt pretty good.

The second pitch was even better than the first, and I caught myself smiling and saying "Yeah!" as I was skiing. Because, you know, I was SKIING!

The day was over after that, and Jason ClossicSchanzy had given me, and then it was time for cuddles with the kids, a quick bite in town, and time to talk through my teaching segment and write the clinic outline.

I was late to bed, I crawled in around 1am, and got up at 7 to take the kids to school. I woke up not nearly as bright eyed and bushy tailed as I would have liked, but something felt different. The kids were hugging and kissing, cheering me on, and I headed in for day 2 of the exam after dropping them at school.

I walked in on time, turned in my Proficiency Log, and sat down to go through my ritual.

"On snow at 8:15!" came a call through the locker room.

Are you KIDDING ME? Its 8:05 and I'm still in my snowboots drinking coffee! When did THAT change! I thought we were supposed to be on snow at 8:45!

Right. Its a good thing that I came prepared, I hate to be rushed ANY time I'm competing, but that's why we live out of our bag for three weeks before any big event, I knew what I had to put on, where it was, and I was on snow at 8:15 ready to go.

Kristen taught first, and did a great job slowing everyone's extension down in medium radius carve turns. I was excited to have another opportunity for redemption, and so I decided to light it up on the NASTAR pitch in flat light while practicing a new move.

Can you see where this is going? Yeah. Double E. I came out of both skis and went down hard. Lucky for me, I was far inside the turn, so I spun out. I couldn't believe it. Really? This is my FAVORITE maneuver! And I feel good and I'm going skiing! What the HECK IS GOING ON???

Oh, wait, I wasn't going skiing. I was excited to show them what I could do, and I dialed it up before I should have. In flat light. And I paid the price.

I got back in my skis and carried on.

I was teaching next, there was no time to hang onto worry, here.

My teaching segment went really well, I taught Movement Analysis 301 on snow, and we used one footed no pole whirly birds for a circus trick to do MA on. Everyone got to play around a little, we laughed and got it done. It went well, and I got to show and warm up some of the new movements in the next segments in the bumps.

The rest of the day just got better. The next guy to teach taught using Medium Radius Carve Turns. Really? I get another chance? FOR REAL???

We skied up to the top of the pitch, and our group, which had gotten really tight, was so awesome, Joey said, "Okay, Kate. Redemption Time. You go first. Crush it!" and everyone in the group was encouraging me to ski it.

I shook my head and thought of the day that Weems and I went and made WHEEEEEeeeee turns at Highlands, all inclination, no angluation, not even in the eyeline. It was SO fun and we skied So fast. I tipped my skis over and pulled my hands up and suddenly, I was over my skis, over my feet and the turns felt like my turns again. They weren't the BEST turns EVER, but I was still standing at the end, and every turn was better than the last. The group put me there, and for that, I owe them a HUGE thank you.

The skiing got better and better as the teaches went on, we have some outstanding teachers and skiers in our group, John from Telluride, Joey from Copper, Kristen, Boomer, it was an amazing day, and I was really honored to be included in this group.

We ended early, around 2pm and then went in to change. I headed home and grabbed the kids, and we came back to Highlands Pizza to wait for the results of the E1 selection.

My friend and training partner Andrew was in the selection and skied well and worked hard, as were Will and Benjamin, both good friends and training buddies going through this selection. The division was only hiring 2 examiners, and none of these guys got the job, but Ben Roberts, one of my coaching clients from last National Tryouts got selected, and it was awesome to see him again. I was proud!

The kids had a blast running around Highlands with all the other kids of the examiners and candidates, and then it was time to come home and prep for tomorrow.

I got a piece of feedback from Todd Metz at the results, I asked him if there was anything in particular that he needed to see in my skiing tomorrow. He had something, and it is serious.

Its a small change, but a very important one, and a very hard one to make. I was knocked back for a minute while I was listening to this. I was SO grateful for his honesty and his willingness to tell me when I asked.

I realized that without this change, I will not pass this exam.

I realized that this change is one of the hardest and most sought after pieces in any one's skiing, and its something I've been chasing. I thanked Todd and left with a sinking feeling, knowing what I'd need to do.

I left and brought the kids home and then drove into town. While I was in town, I thought about my skiing, when it feels really good,when its on and the skis are nimble, I have options, and they can go where I want them. I've done this. I've made this change before. I've skied like this for days on end.

Its time to commit to owning this piece. I realize that this is a change I'm not only capable of making, its a change I'm capable of showing, and keeping.

Tomorrow is the last day of selection, and I'm ready to go skiing!!

Even deeper profound insights into the blatantly obvious: Flexion and Extension movements in the bumps help a lot. For real.

OH my gosh I have SO much to tell you guys! But I only have a few minutes to write a couple of blog posts because I have one more day of the Rocky Mountain Trainer exam, and I get to give an indoor presentation tomorrow afternoon which I have to build tonight. WHEE!!

FIRST: Bumps. After the exam yesterday (yes, hang on I'll get to that), I was at the bottom of SodBuster with Jason Closic. He asked me if he could give me a coaching cue, and that was to move the flexion or absorption movement that I was doing at the bottom (or top) of the bump (take your pick) up higher.

So imagine you are travleing down the trough toward the transition of the bump, and rather than waiting for the tip of the ski to begin pushing back toward you because the bump is coming at you, but seeing the transition and begining your flexion movement in anticipation of the transition.

I did it, and an AMAZING thing happened. Suddenly, I had time. More time.

Jason asked me if I had another turn other than a short swing turn in the bumps, and I told him, yeah, I have a reaching round turn, and I've been trying to figure out how to blend them together or pick one or the other in order to be in a more "create" space than "choose" space when skiing bumps.

Jason asked me to ski some of each, using the adjustment of the timing of the felxion movement. A wonderful thing happened.

Because I was able to judge and decide on the flexion BEFORE I got to it, I wasn't looking at it or thinking about it when I was doing it. I was glancing briefly at the lip of the transition and then looking to the next transition. I could decide how round, how much twist and when and how much to dive my skis.

Suddenly, I had six turns where I had options in every turn. I was able to find a steep one and choose to launch into the air, and land in the trough right where I wanted to. I could round out the next one and make the next four quick slidy check turns. I was beginning to paint. And the colors weren't getting muddy.

Wanting to be able to blend the turns the day before, it was miraculous to get a coaching cue the next day that gave me a key to do just that.

You know what it felt like? An integrity gift. I promised to keep my fall line turn that Schanzy had been working on with me in the exam. And I did! And then, waiting as a present at the bottom of the run was Jason, handing me a key.

Today, bumps were an entirely different animal to me. I was playing more and more with them, and that's just what it felt like, playing. Its not always pretty, don't get me wrong. But its changing. The time in the bump seems to be stretching out. The options are opening, and now I get to play and create sometimes. Oh, its BLISS!

At the end of a run in a teaching segment where we got to get air in the bumps on a run called Deception at Highlands in the most BEAUTIFUL chalk snow at the end of a long teaching day, Chris Doyle gave me a new cue.

He said, you get down there well. Stay down longer. He showed me this beautiful move which I've seen in the best creative free skiers in the bumps, which I've felt the beginngs of sometimes in my skiing, but not really identified what it was to make it repeat.

He absorbed early and kept absorbing as he went over the transition. His skis passed the transition and kept absorbing. His ski boots were almost off the snow, the entire forebody of the ski was off the snow, but his flexion movements were from not only his knee, ankle and hip, but also from his spine very effectively, and he was STILL absorbing. Because he was also strongly countered, he was in a great position, so as he twisted his feet, the skis also dived into the trough.

So now I get to add: See it. Begin to move early, get to it, keep moving down, keep that counter developing while absorbing even more. Then go.

Profound Insights into the Blatantly Obvious: In which Kate learns to ski Bumps. Again.

About three weeks ago, I was working with Josh Fogg and Kevin Jordan on bump skiing. I love skiing bumps. And over the years, I've learned lots of things about them from lots of different people.

Dave Evans at Bridger Bowl first gave me the Nollie, Ollie lesson on getting the tips to dive and stay connected to the snow. My first understanding of ski/snow contact came from him.

Steve Hill and Chris Jones gave me opening and closing my ankles in the bumps, and Weems helped clarify it for me.

Lots of people have had me do Pivot slips down the bumps, in the bumps, on the groom, everywhere in order to work on leg steering.

Dennis Handley was the first person who had me ski the outside line (I know that lots of people had explained it to me before, but I wasn't really ready to incorporate it into my skiing yet.).

Squatty gave me "Sun Valley"turns, or upside down bump skiing, which works well in blue bumps.

Kurt made me do 8000 retraction turns on the groomed terrain before he would ski bumps with me again, and then Cindy skied behind me for two days yelling "NO" whenever I was extending off the top of a bump.

Over time, I had thought that I was going for one movement pattern that worked well in the bumps, whose DIRT, (Duration, Rate, Intensity and Timing) changed just a bit to suit the size of the bump.

I knew on some level that there were several ways to ski the bumps, several types of lines you could choose, but I was sort of looking for that "create" place where the line evolved as you skied. For some reason I was thinking that that line would evolve out of one kind of turn as it changed for the bump in front of you.

When I was working with Josh and Kevin, we went back to pivot slips. I got a rotary movement that Josh liked, but I increased my BBI (ballistic bump interface) and decreased my speed control. I wasn't really thinking about the tactical choice we were making, that of skiing fall line bumps, or the zipper line. I was thinking about skiing down the fall line, but not (for some reason) thinking that "skiing down the fall line" was the same thing as skiing the zipper line. Hmmm.

I realized during the day that I needed to make my rotary motion match the distance traveled down the bump to the next transition, just like any good turn on groomed snow.

After I put that piece in, Kevin told me that I had lost my ski to snow contact. How could I blend that diving movement back into this new movement pattern? By being conscious of that concept. The next run down, the tips were diving, I was pivoting through the entire turn and diving again. I was on my downhill ski. I was happy.

Then I went and skied with Jenn Metz, and she asked me if I could round the turn out more. I spent the day high siding until I pulled the movement patterns into a better sequence, and rounded out the turn, but stayed in the fall line.

Here's where I made my mistake. I've spent so much time thinking about one way to ski (oops, first off) for instance, on the groomed in a specific task, (for instance, medium radius carved turns), there is an optimal blend of movement patterns that go toward a better medium radius carved turn.

I let go of what I had learned with Josh and Kevin and continued toward what Jenn and Dennis had given me, thinking that this was headed toward the "optimal" and therefore more mutable bump turn.

What I didn't realize was that I had learned two different types of turns to use in fall line bumps. One is a short radius, reaching turn, and one is a short swing turn. Both of these turns are useful in fall line bumps, one is more optimal than the other depending on the bump, line, or rut you are facing. Having both well developed and being able to develop the blend of skills not ONLY in each turn according to the bump, but being able to blend these turns together as well, as needed is where the CREATE part of fall line, or any kind, of free skiing in the bumps happens.

Yesterday, I was skiing the rounded, reaching short radius turn down the fall line, and I felt really good about my ski to snow contact and about my development of my bump skiing.

Today, I went out and skied with Schanzy. He asked me to ski fall line bumps. I smiled. I was happy. I know that to get where I'm going, I have to ski bumps much better than I am, but I felt like in the last two weeks, I'd made a HUGE breakthrough in my fall line bump skiing, and I was glad to get to practice it now.

I skied the run.

"That was nice, but it wasn't fall line bump skiing."

I was confused.

"In fall line bump skiing, your center of mass doesn't really leave the fall line, Kate. Yours was going back and forth across it." Yes. Because I was making short turns. I was skiing bumps in a corridor, but I wasn't skiing the task of fall line bump skiing.

Schanzy showed me the pivot slip down the bump. I looked at Cindy in abject panic. Why was the "optimal" or "ideal" turn in the bumps this other vocabulary that I'd let go of? I felt like I'd spent weeks taking that out of my skiing on purpose!! Shit!



I let go of my fear and decided to open my ears as big as I could get them. The point here is to become a better skier. Passing the test is a milestone along the way, and not the point. The point is to understand with DEPTH the movements we make and why we make them. I'm here to learn from Schanzy, not to defend my old belief.

I peeled my fear off of me, dropped it in the snow and skied away from it. I kind of wanted to skate back up the hill and get it, but my ears were big and Schanzy was giving me gold. Screw it. I'm brave enough to walk down this path and fail tomorrow.

I worked on this turn. I worked on it until I heard him say that I had great steering and was doing what he wanted, but I wasn't diving the tips and could I add that back in. CLICK! Oh, this is THAT turn, for real! Yes, I can, I know I can because I did it before.

I added it back in. The last three turns had the piece I needed. I had still been, in this turn, missing something, and that was often times speed control. I also wasn't sure what to do when I came upon a bump that this wasn't the best tactic for. (Completely ignoring all of these other choices: a short reaching round turn, airing it out to the next bump, cutting the bump off, skiing the cross line, making an extra turn on the back of the bump... hello, Kate! You are hauling your bag of tricks around FREAKING USE IT!)

Sometimes I get so focused on the lesson I'm trying to learn that I forget that this is an integrative sport. Its about choice, its about creation, its about playing on the features the mountain presents to you. its about choosing from your bag and moving down the face. Its not about skiing a task ONE WAY.

As we stood at the bottom, Schanzy talked about edging in this turn. I love the way he teaches. He asked me, is there edging in this turn? Yes. Where? At the bottom and only for a moment. The rate is quick the duration is short. Its a check that happens just before the flexion or absorption of the bump, or right with it, depending on your choice.

We talked for a while about the blend, about the fact that that's where the mastery is: in the blend, as it changes, over the run.

For now, we'll take four things in sequence and over time, they will blend. Check. Absorb. Dive. Rotate. Repeat.

I had two runs like this, on the way down to the bottom. Then we got to a nice final steep pitch, and the concept of not only blending the movements in this turn, but blending the turns came to mind as I remembered that Schanzy had begun a run following four big bumps around and when they got smaller, he went to more of a check turn.

What if, in these bumps, I made some of each, and some that were both in some places?

It worked. It was the beginning. Finally, I feel like the lexicon has cracked open and I don't have such an unfortunately myopic view. It took real truths from Schanzy for me to see it.

"Often times you choose a bias and it shows all the way down the run. You don't have depth, Kate. You are showing me, right now, I'm working on steering. Right now, I'm working on fore/aft. Right now, I'm working on checking or quick edging movements. Eventually, I don't want to see that. I want to see that sensual, snaky, creative bump skiing that evolves with the run."

Oh, man. Me, too. I felt it a few times today for sometimes as many as six bumps. And there is no feeling I've felt in skiing quite like it.

Its time to get serious, its time to develop. Its time to commit to depth of understanding and move away from pictures into blends that create on the hill. Its time to start skiing.

Take your truth straight up, let go of your ego, and FLY.

If you are going to fly, you have to commit.

Yesterday was an incredible day, as I mentioned in my last post. I skied well, the snow was, as Kurt calls it, "Buffo Deluxe," and I got to practice my performance cues for each maneuver.

I was a bit nervous, because in my time in the theater when I was younger, we always used to say that we want a lousy dress rehearsal so that the opening day is spectacular. I'm not sure I could hope to put it together on Sunday much better than I did on Friday.

I fixed that worry by skiing with Cindy and Schanzy today. The thing about Schanzy is that he is tough. He calls it like he sees it. He does not sugar coat it. He holds me accountable and makes me nervous. He calls me on anything that doesn't make sense, and he's not there to make me feel good. He reminds me of my old figure skating coach, the one who used to yell at me, "Katya, you look like 800 pound cow. I won't watch."

The only difference is that he does it from a place of kindness that is true and real. I trust Schanzy more than almost anyone. If things fall apart, he's the one I talk to. When I need the truth, he's the one I ask. 

In the coaching realm, this is a kind of coaching I respond well to. I can't do it 24/7, but I need a lot of it. It pushes me to do better, every turn, all the time. Cindy asked me what I needed from her today, and I told her, I need her to be present, to show up as Cindy, to talk and to say what's real.

She said, "Oh, good. That was crap. I don't know what that was, but it wasn't like anything I saw you do yesterday. Don't do that again." I smiled. Oh hell yeah. Now we are getting somewhere.

The three of us had a great day working on MA from the chair and on snow, and working on short turns and fall line bumps. We skied from about 10 to about 2, with a nice lunch at Highlands Pizza Co. It was an easy day on the legs, and an intense day in the emotive, intellectual, and motivational aspect. Just what the doctor ordered.

At one point during the day, Schanzy said to me, "If you ski like that, Kate, you are not going to win." and he skied away. He had a point. I thought to myself as I stood on the top of Aces and Eights, a steep double black bump run with gladed trees, and thought to myself, I'm not here to show up, I'm not here to get a score, I'm here to win.

And by winning, I don't mean getting the highest score in the group, I mean owning my own skiing and purpose to such a depth that I have shown up and continue to show up in every turn. That also means being willing to show up and continue working on the movement patterns that I'm working on, rather than defaulting back to what I know will "work" and show less possible mistakes.

I know this to be true. I know from all kinds of competitions, from skating to climbing, to tennis, to boxing, that if the coach changes my grip on my racket, and its harder to connect as often as when I used to, but when I do connect, I send the ball with accuracy and speed that was never in my repertoire before, I need to keep that new grip.

If I change my grip, or default to what worked "well enough" in the past because I'm in a pressure situation and I just want to connect and want the win SO badly, that new movement or grip takes WAY longer to incorporate into a permanent, owned place.

Instead, I flip flop back and forth between the two for months, using the new grip in practice and the old grip in competition, until the line in-between is so muddy that neither is effective.

So at that moment, standing at the top of Aces and Eights, I made the choice. I'm showing up with what I'm working on. I'm bringing the game in progress. I'm not resting on what worked "well enough" last week. I own, more than anything, my commitment to myself to develop depth in my skiing over time. To do that, I have to LET GO of all that was so I can become what is.

Sponsor Appreciation Day! POC Rocks!

Thank you SO much to POC Helmets and Armor who are helping send me on my way to my goals!! Thank you for the gear and the support to get to events, but most of all, for believing in me!

After my scary crash in which I broke a bone in my neck, I wear my spine protector every day, as well as my helmet. Thanks for keeping me safe while I train hard to get where I'm going!

Two days to Selection and counting...

I often find myself in the position where I wonder where I am in my skiing. I have, for so long, been the weird girl that people generously not only tolerate but encourage and help. I'm the one in the group of outstanding skiers that is falling, coming out of her gear and skiing like a spaz.

There is still a voice in my head that says, "Hey, you are doing okay. I think you are skiing in the top third of the group. The bottom of the top third. Nice." and then there is a voice, about 75% off the time (Thankfully OFF snow) that says, no, that can't be right, you are surrounded by wonderful, loving people who are indulgent of your ridiculous optimism and when they say "That's good!" what they mean is, "That's good for you. But its still way way way far away from where you need to be."

My job this month especially, has been to gently and lovingly examine the source of that voice, rather than listening to it and capitulating, or listening to it and getting angry, or believing it, or any emotional reaction.

I feel that way because that was the truth for a while.
But that was me three and four years ago. I'm half way through the fifth year of my journey, and I'm realizing that I'm prepared for this exam.  I've trained to it, I've studied for it, and I've double checked my internal coach with the examiners and selector's eyes that I've been skiing with. It seems like when I'm skiing below the bar, I know it, and most of the time, I'm in the box.
Of course, there are several things to this selection aside from the skiing. There is movement analysis, technical proficiency, and teaching, as well as indoor and on snow presentations.

Today, a group of about 13 of us skied Highlands in a mock selection with John Wiltchen. It was fantastic. The snow was about as good as it can ever get, the bumps were perfect, the temperature finally warmed up, and the company was outstanding.

"Tom Repairing" went to a good home today, and the exam is officially ON.

I got to ski with Kurt and Cindy, two of my best friends and inspirations. Andrew Rumph, who I've been training with for a few weeks, got me back on the horse as far as being willing to pop off stuff and I even dropped about five feet off of a little rock, and realized that I can do this, I'm a solid skier, I have the technical ability to drop things. I'm back on the horse, and I have Andrew's inspiring and incredibly athletic skiing to thank for that, not to mention his infectious playful attitude.

The group was nervous as a whole, and it happened all the sudden. We got together, we were going to ski the tasks on the likely terrain we would be tested on. We rolled up to the top on the first run, and suddenly, it felt just like the exam. Butterflies galore.

It was a great morning, I was glad at first that it wasn't the day of the exam because I was so incredibly nervous, and I got to practice implementing my own performance plan on myself. It worked well, and in spite of the nerves, I felt like I skied to my potential.

On the chairlift, I found out that I had sold a painting, which means I can pay for my exam (nothing like three hours before the deadline!). I'm so grateful for that support, the timing is really not an accident, but I'm glad that I have something of value that I can give to the person who is so generously helping me reach my goals.

In the afternoon, we had some blow out fun runs on short steep pitches and then I came home to play with the kids and hang out with my friend Eric, who is here from Beaver Creek and crashing on my couch for the exam.

When I left Highlands today, I had an incredulous feeling. I felt solid, happy, and prepared. I feel like my skiing, in general, is where it needs to be do pass this exam, and when I am skiing really well, I might do really well on some sections of the exam.  I'm excited to go. My kids are excited for me.

Last night, Bodhi made me tea and tucked me into the couch while I read Harry Potter to the kids. Ethan got my heating pad all ready to go. Liat has been my dedication coach, my positive morale booster, and a great helping hand with the kids when it gets intense.

Tomorrow is a fun ski day with Schanzy and Cindy in the morning, and to bed early before the three day selection starts. Thank you to everyone who has been so supportive, and good luck to all the TA and E1 candidates who are going this week!

TA Selection Study Guide

Those of you going for Rocky Mountain Trainer's Accred, I've compiled a study guide from all the places that I've found requirements and materials.

This, by the way, is what you need AFTER you complete the requirements for Application, which can be found here. 

OBTAIN:
Letters of reccomendation (no more than 2)
Letter of recommendation from your Ski School Director

READ:

• Core Concepts
• Alpine Technical Manual
• Bob Barnes' Complete Encyclopedia of Skiing
• Ron LeMaster's Ultimate Skiing (for physics concepts)
• Warren Witherall's Ski Technique: Learn and Improve (Chapter on Bootfitting is excellent)

STUDY AND KNOW: (many of these things are found in the books above, if they are not, I've included links to what I could find online.)

• Stepping Stones 
• ATS: A great description from the Nordic system is here.
• GCT: (Grids are available at here, the full workbook can be copied from someone who has an original copy from the Winter Park materials)
• CAP: interactive web presentation on PSIA here.  A more complete description can be found in this PDF from Children Specialist 2.
• Learning Styles
• Teaching Styles
• Maslow's Hierarchy
• The MA Model, applied to levels 1, 2, 3
• Basic Ski Physics
• Ski Design
• Basic Boot Set Up and Alignment
• The Skills Concept
• Bio mechanics of Skiing (ie: 4 types of rotary mechanisms)
• Kolb's Experiential Learning
• The Multiple Intelligences
• Bloom's Taxonomy
• Facilitating Guests Needs and Developing Goal Statements
• the IDPs for Movement Analysis, Skiing Standards, and Teaching
• Training by Objective Handout

WATCH: (DVDs, Internet)

• Movement Analysis
• Teaching Theory
• ITC Training
• Tech Foundations and Presentations
• Skiing Standards for Rocky Mountain PSIA

REVIEW:

• Clinic Outline and notes from Performance Skiing 401
• Clinic Outline and notes from Technical Foundations and Presentations 401
• The Alpine Trainer Selection Process
• Scoring for Trainer Selection

PRACTICE:
MA in exam Format:

From Schanzy and Rick V.

1. Pick 2 skills: Primary and Secondary
2. Talk about Primary through all 3 phases of the turn using DIRT for SKI performance
    Talk about Primary through all 3 phases of the turn using DIRT for BODY performance
3. Talk about Primary through phases of the turn using DIRT for SKI performance
    Talk about Primary through all 3 phases of the turn using DIRT for BODY performance
    Talk about Secondary through all 3 phases of the turn using DIRT for SKI performance
    Talk about Secondary through all 3 phases of the turn using DIRT for BODY performance
4. How do the skills enhance or hinder each other? (Relate back to the primary)
5. Relate to the ideal, creating prescription for change. GOAL. What is the result?
    Make sure you address BOTH skills and how coaching one effects the other.

6. Reduce to a Level 2 MA - Primary ski and body performance from one phase to another
7. Reduce to Level 1 MA - Snapshot of the Primary Skill for ski and body in 1 phase.

From John Wiltchen:

Level 1: Pick 1 skill and give a snapshot in one phase of what the ski and body are doing
Level 2: Add movement. What are the skis and body doing from one phase to another? Use DIRT.
Level 3: Pick a second skill. How does it enhance or detract from the primary in all three phases of the turn. Use DIRT.  (Comparative words, quantifiers)
Rx For Change: Compare to the ideal. There is NO teaching in Rx for change, this is a mechanical analysis only. ie: If this skier wanted to make a more ideal parallel turn, he would need to move forward in the ski to pressure the ski more in the center of the ski, allowing him to rotate both feet at a consistent rate through the entire turn.

PRACTICE:
Clinic Presentations

Download all 9 possible clinic outlines under Alpine Education Course Outlines
Complete Clinic Outline Form to reduce each one of these topics to a 15 minute presentation. (Review Tech Foundations and Presentations handouts and notes for help doing this)

• All Mountain Performance
• Performance Bumps
• Teaching Contemporary Skiing
• Extreme Mountain Performance
• Precision Skiing 301
• Teaching Beginner Bumps
• MA 201 on snow
• MA 301 on snow
• Jumping Improvement

COMPLETE:

• Proficiency Log
• NASTAR Gold or Platinum and attach
• Clinic Application
• Trainer Accred Application

SKIING PERFORMANCE VERIFICATION (Proficiency Log)

• Carved Uphill Arc (both directions)
• Wedge Turn
• Wedge Christie
• Sideslip in Fall Line or Guided Arc
• Linked Hockey Slides or Hockey Stops
• Basic Parallel
• Switch Basic Parallel
• Entry Level Bumps
• Linked Railroad Track Turns
• Medium Radius Carved Turns
• Linked Pivot Slips
• Performance Short Radius Turns
• Bumps
• Variable Terrain and Snow Conditions
• Half Pipe / Natural Transition Skiing

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Signatures from Ski School Director: This candidate is:

• learning to be a ski school trainer
• is a role model and a mentor at the home area
• contributes positively and is accepted by ski school staff

Additional signature from SS Director: Directors letter of recommendation

TA TECHNICAL APPLICATIONS
Signed off by a current home ski school trainer.

• Practice MA from video
• Practice MA on snow
• Teach MA clinic for Level 1 or 2 instructors at home area
• Create indoor clinic with technical content and materials
• Do MA on your own skiing from video
• Practice describing skiing in accurate, concise format
• Pinpoint cause and effect relationships in high level skiing
• Teach MA clinic for Level 1 or 2

TA CLINIC LEADING DEVELOPMENT
Signed off by a current ski school trainer, and a peer

• Lead a clinic at home area and have a trainer evaluate
• Attend a clinic and gain ideas on presentation skills
• Have a peer attend your clinic and provide feedback
• Create written lesson plans for developing clinic content
• Assess the needs of your home ski school and create clinics
• Create a series of 1 hour clinics in a progression
• Create a clinic in your weakest topic area
• Create a clinic evaluation form that will give you feedback
• Have someone video your indoor or on snow clinic

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN:

• Determine Goals for Personal Development
• Develop a plan and Time Line to Achieve Goals

TA SKIING EXTRA CREDIT
Verified by home ski school trainer

• Attend PSIA National Academy
• NASTAR verification (Gold or Platinum) : ATTACH RESULTS
• Ski fun half-day with another Ed Staff Member
• Peer Coach Ed Staff member during ski day