PSIA/AASI-NRM Fall Festival

Fall Festival 2007

Join us for some early-season fun at Big Sky for NRM's largest annual event. This year's Fall Festival will begin on Friday evening, Dec. 7 and will run through Sunday, Dec. 9. There are lots of events and activities to choose from for a great price of $145, which includes two days of clinics, Friday night ski movies (free beer!) and the Saturday night banquet, auction and entertainment by your PSIA/AASI leadership. Discounted lift tickets and lodging are available for attendees.

Big Sky snow update! Nov 24, 2007

BIG SKY, Mont. — Big Sky opened Saturday with the second most skiable acreage in the Rockies with 854 acres of advanced, expert, intermediate and beginner terrain. The resort opened seven lifts including popular terrain from the Challenger Chair and the Lone Peak Triple.

The upper mountain terrain boasts completely natural snow that mostly fell in October. The three-foot base was then generously frosted with 14 inches of light, silky powder that fell Monday, November 19. Only Grand Targhee down the road to the south has more terrain open in the Rocky Mountain range from New Mexico to Montana.

“We got pasted with a perfect storm early in the week, followed by days of ideal snowmaking temperatures for the lower mountain,” said sales and marketing director, Meg O’Leary. “Black diamond powder skiing in November, what else can go right.”

Conditions continue to cooperate with snowmaking operations shifting to other parts of the resort, including Andesite Mountain. However, the story is the amount of natural snow that complemented the snowmaking efforts, both cold temperatures and additional snow are in the seven-day weather forecast.

The mid-mountain settled base is 21 inches while the upper mountain has a settled base of 35 inches. The resort has 38 runs open with terrain to fit all levels of skiers and snowboarders.

Fall Festival at-a-glance:
Tues. Dec. 4 – Thurs. Dec. 6		Alpine examiner training
Wed. Dec. 5 – Fri. Dec. 7		Alpine clinician training
Wed. Dec. 5 – Fri. Dec. 7		Alpine DCE-IT training
Thurs. Dec. 6		Snowboard DCE meeting
Thurs. Dec. 6		Snowsports School director's meeting
Fri. Dec. 7		Telemark DCE training
Fri. Dec. 7		Alpine Master's clinic
Fri. Dec. 7		Alpine Advanced Educator's clinic
Fri. Dec. 7		Alpine Train the Trainers
Fri. Dec. 7		Snowboard Train the Trainers
Fri. Dec. 7 (evening)		Avalanche presentation
Sat. Dec. 8		Fall Festival clinics
Sat. Dec. 8 (evening)		Fall Festival banquet and auction
Sun. Dec. 9		Fall Festival clinics

How to register:

Price is $145 if you register before Dec. 1, and $170 thereafter. Price includes a t-shirt or hat, admission to Friday night movies and beer, Sat. and Sun. clinics and the banquet on Saturday night.

To register, mail or fax registration form with payment to:
Neil Hetherington
PSIA/AASI - NRM
PO Box 11392
Bozeman, MT 59719

Or phone in your registration information at 406.581.6139
Or email in your registration information to director@psia-nrm.org

Lift tickets:
Big Sky lift tickets for Fall Festival participants are offered at a special discount of $39 dollars. Go to the ticket window and give them your name to receive the discount.

Lodging:
Big Sky is offering discounted lodging rates. Click here for rates.
If you are interested in sharing a room or a ride with another instructor, post your information to the lodging exchange.

Special Events at Fall Festival

Custom Bootfitting

Master bootfitter Brent Amsbury will be joining us again this year to help us all stand up straight, get balanced, and ski as pain-free as possible! If you need custom footbeds, alignment adjustments, or shell or liner modifications, Brent can get all of that done and have you skiing better and feeling better the next day. For major projects, such as significant shaping of the boot or setting up a new pair of boots, you'll need to schedule ahead of time by emailing Brent at pcputah@gmail.com (note this is an updated email address.)

For small projects like minor adjustments, you can schedule your appointment with Brent once you arrive at Big Sky. Availability is limited, so it's best to contact Brent to schedule your time in advance. Brent is offering discount pricing for instructors during DCE training and Fall Festival.

Friday 5:30-6:30 pm - Avalanche awareness indoor presentation

A one hour presentation by Angela Patnode will cover weather, snowpack, terrain and human-factors related to avalanche hazards.

Thurs. Dec. 6 - Ski School Management Meeting

Attention directors, the Snow Sport Director’s meeting is scheduled for the Thursday evening of Fall Festival. We will have Eric Scheckleton presenting new and exciting stuff from National. Lots of things going on there and I look forward to hearing about them. Also Jessi Spencer will share some ideas from Utah’s school’s snow sports curriculum and Ski in Three from MSAA. So please plan to attend. Hope to see you there!

Fall Festival Clinics 2007

Friday, Dec. 7
alpine	Master's Clinic - *(Alpine Level II and up) Ski with a D-Team Member* ($60 - not included in Fall Festival base price ) Spend all day with a D-Team member, working on the latest and greatest techniques. Tune up your turns and teaching.
alpine	Advanced Educator - (Alpine Level III only) *Begin your journey toward becoming a DCE* ($60 - not included in Fall Festival base price) This is the first step for instructors who are interested in becoming trainers, clinicians, or examiners. During this one-day clinic you will learn about the DCE program, get high-level skiing feedback, and be evaluated for entrance into the DCE-IT program. After you successfully complete this clinic, you may apply to enter the DCE-IT program. Open to current alpine Level III members only.
alpine	Train the Trainer - No charge for one trainer from each member school Join the DCE staff for a day of sharing ideas on how to improve your training techniques to improve staff education and prepare instructors for further advancement in PSIA.
snowboard	Train The Trainer - No charge for one trainer from each member school Register with Rock: beanerandrock@rushmore.com This is a great opportunity: Each NRM member school can send a trainer to this clinic at no cost. (not including lift ticket) This is a one-day; all day clinic dedicated to helping trainers exchange ideas and learn from each other. We will have access to a D-Team member and our own DCE staff to lead the clinics and get everyone revved up for the new season.
Two-Day clinic - Sat and Sun
children's ed	Accredited Children's Educator (ACE) for Level II and up - for alpine, snowboard or Nordic instructors This two-day course is conducted on snow and indoors. It investigates the development stages of children and teens how they move, behave and learn. Instructors are shown how to help their young students to discover all that they can in order to successfully explore the mountains on snowsports equipment. A self-study workbook is given at the end of the clinic and must be completed within one year of the clinic in order to receive the NRM-ACE accreditation.
Weekend Clinics - clinics are one day: Sat or Sun, unless otherwise specified
multi- discipline SAT	Basic Avalanche & Snow Safety - *CANCELLED* As an alternative to this event, there will be a one-hour avalanche presentation by Angela Patnode on Friday night at 5:30 PM.
alpine SAT or SUN	Ski Lesson - with Video Analysis - *Compare Personal Skiing Improvements* Everyone loves a video clinic! This clinic is a bit of a ski lesson with video included giving you the chance to see “that thing you’re doing” you keep hearing about. A clinician will lead you through the morning with video of skiing and tasks. At lunch you will view your morning video and discuss it with your group. In the afternoon your clinician will lead you through more video while trying out suggested changes. Video review will follow.
alpine SAT or SUN	What do I do now? - Life after Level III This clinic will provide professional development for Level III instructors. Here you will explore topics that are relate to contemporary, high-level coaching and skiing. No need to obsess over exam tasks, so you will be free to try out some new concepts and let loose! Open to current alpine Level III instructors.
alpine SAT or SUN	Ski Lesson - Ski with a D-Team or DCE Staff Member Use our association's finest for a day to improve your own skiing. A great way to kick off your season!
alpine SAT or SUN	"Men are from Mars"... so I'll ski with women - *Technical and tactical ski tips for women* Led by women for women. The day will be spent working on specific women's topics as well as individual skiing skills. Intermediate group Saturday and advanced group Sunday.
alpine SAT	Expand Your Box - Improve Your Teaching Skills Take your teaching skills to the next level by understanding how your students learn. Learn to effectively use teaching tools to tailor to your students learning style and goals. Expand your teaching boundaries by trying out teaching styles that are different from your own, and sharing yours with others.
alpine SAT	Everyone is a Kid - Do it, I dare you! Contribute your knowledge of children’s instruction and learn from others. Not only do you get to learn cool games and stimulating tasks to engage your students of all ages. But you get to participate in them as well!
alpine SAT	Oh Sure, You're Going to Fall Fest! - Spouse Clinic Bring your husband, wife or significant other to clinic with a DCE member. They will work on improving their own skiing, but also they will have a better idea of what you do.
alpine SAT	Off Piste Got you Piste Off? Tactics For Off Piste Skiing Learn drills and tasks to help you develop your proficiency off piste. Your clinician will guide you in experimenting with different tactics to give you more success on varying terrain.
alpine SAT	Boot Fitting Workshop Master bootfitter Brent Amsbury will be joining us again this year to help us all stand up straight, get balanced, and ski as pain-free as possible! This clinic will help you understand how proper boot fit plays an integral role in your own skiing, as well as your students' comfort and performance. The morning will be indoors and the afternoon will be on-snow. Individual boot fitting appointments can also be made through Brent at pcputah@gmail.com (note this is an updated email address).
alpine SUN	Where Does it Come From? - *Movement Analysis* Analyze basic movements of the body and determine what muscles and joints create those movements. Affect change in your skiing by identifying where your common movement patterns originate.
alpine SUN	Race Clinic Whether you’re an ex-ski racer or never raced before, find out how the world of ski racing and ski instruction relate. Learn the drills used by racers to develop the skills they need to stay on course, and how these drills can help improve your skiing.
alpine SUN	Yes YOU can do Freestyle - Don’t be afraid! Develop your personal and instructional freestyle skills. This clinic will spend time on flat land maneuvers, small jumps, and possibly boxes and rails.
snowboard SAT or SUN	Freestyle Clinic - Teaching Basic Freestyle Come have fun and learn the essential tools needed for a SF&L (safety, fun and learning) experience for your students in a terrain park or pipe. No experience needed but helmets are highly recommended. Safety, etiquette, movement analysis and teaching progressions are some of the topics that will be covered.
snowboard SAT or SUN	All the Mountain has to Offer Hopefully we will again be blessed with enough snow to get into some steeper terrain, but we will ride whatever is open. This will no doubt be a great opportunity to hone your skills and run your questions and ideas by everyone. This clinic will be lead by local DCEs that know the mountain and will be able to find those not so well-known areas (in bounds of course)!
snowboard SAT or SUN	Teaching Intermediate Riders Use different tactics to analyze students' needs after they have come to the all-too-common intermediate plateau. This is where students and instructors alike need a new learning (and teaching) breakthrough. We'll work on lateral teaching using tasks to refine movements and help students take the next step up!
snowboard SAT or SUN	Exam Awareness Clinic This will be designed to be similar to a prep clinic, only much faster paced. (Not much standing around!) It will be a good opportunity to ask questions and help you decide if you want to pursue your next level of certification.
snowboard SAT and SUN (2 days)	Level I Don’t mistake this for a beginning teaching clinic! You need to have taught a minimum of 20 hours, have read the snowboard teaching manual and feel comfortable doing basic snowboard riding. It is up to Ski School Directors and other AASI members to get the word about this out to potential candidates. This worked so well last year, let’s try to make this an annual Fall Festival event!
Nordic SAT	Telemark tune-up with Scott McGee Telemarkers unite! Join us for a day of fun and coaching for free-heel skiers. We will be sure to make plenty of runs (as long as our legs hold up) and give you some personal feedback on your tele technique.
Nordic SAT	Basic Avalanche and Snow Safety- *CANCELLED* As an alternative to this event, there will be a one-hour avalanche presentation by Angela Patnode on Friday night at 5:30 PM.
Nordic SUN	Skate Skiing at Lone Mountain Ranch With proper technique, skating is fast and fun. Yet without that, it seems that you are fighting yourself the whole way. This clinic is for skate skiers of all levels and some targeted coaching will get you on the way to smooth, efficient travel across the snow. Equipment rentals will be available. Meet at the Lone Mountain Ranch rental shop at 9:00 AM.

Exam Awareness Clinic