Al and I took a trip up to the U.P. and it was great.
We hit Granite Peak (Rib Mountain in Wausau) on the way up. It was a great way to break up the trip and we got there right at 10am. There was fresh snow waiting for us and not many other skiers. We ended up liking what was on the right side which included some nice tree runs. I have done some tree skiing before but saw this as a small challenge, so I embraced it and we hung out there a long time. It wasn't too steep and was a nice re-introduction. And, thankfully, I didn't hit any trees!
That night, we arrived up at Al's uncle's cabin in Mercer, WI (you can see some pictures from last year's MI ski trip). We got settled in and I think I fell asleep during a bad movie we were watching.
The next morning we got up and headed over to Big Powderhorn. Somehow we left Mercer, passed into Michigan and then ended up un Ski Heaven! It apparently snowed like 13" a few nights ago and the kind snowmaking team at Big Powderhorn found it in their hearts to leave some runs with powder. Thanks, guys! We spent time there and then also found some even better tree runs way over on the right side. We skied every minute we could there. To top that night off, we hit a great pizza place in town. The best pizza. Ever. (Ok, maybe that's because I was really hungry)
Then on Saturday morning we headed over to Indianhead Mountain. It was cooler and there were more people but it was fine. We found a tree run but it was either not as good or we were too tired from skiing trees the previous two days. We also found a double black way on the left side which I had never skied before. Maybe it was closed before. There was a t-bar lift there but also very steep. We only did a few runs there. We found a supper club called the "Ding-a-Ling" and had some steak that night. Mine was Ok and Al's seemed to be better since he inhaled it.
Back on Friday, when we were at Big Powderhorn, I saw a PSIA instructor that I knew (Sheri McCabe) and she invited me to a clinic on Sunday morning. I decided to take advantage of it and join the Big Powderhorn Ski School staff for 2+ hours on a cool Sunday morning for a clinic by Sheri and Roger. It was good and I'm glad I went.
So it was a lot of trees, some powder, good pizza and a lot of laughs. Someone hit the replay button, please - let's do that again!
We had a skiing clinic last night at Cascade. He got in a little late due to traffic but I'm glad I stayed around for it. We had 2 hours with Harald Harb and there were just 5 of us in the clinic, which was nice.
He mainly went over the movements required to make short radius turns but the principles he gave could be used in any part of skiing or any kinds of turns / arcs. My assignment for the rest of the season is to stay flexed, tip the uphill ski more and finish my turns.
He was showing us some great ways to minimize upper body movements and always be ready ("right and ready") before committing to the next turn. I like how when you do this, your feet first get to neutral (the transition) and then your upper body then turns only after going into the next turn. That way, you're truly working from the feet up and there's less upper body winding up and unwinding going on.
Harald is a nice guy and great skier, of course. I plan to get some of his books and work on his system for a while since how he explains skiing really makes more sense to me than the myriad of terminology that the PSIA seems to want to throw around. I'll take the best from each system.
Ok, I wasn't skiing in India but got to teach of few people from Chennai how to ski.
Up at Cascade, we seem to get a lot of people in from the Chicago area. I ask them where they're from and they just say "Chicago" instead of what actual suburb they're in since they think I don't know any of the suburbs. Well, I do know some of them and they're impressed when that happens. What's even more impressive is when I get to teach people from India. I ask where they're from and they usually say where they're living here in the US. I then ask where they're from originally and they say "India" but that's not good enough for me. I ask which city. When they say they're from Chennai and I give an indication that I know where it is, they're usually pretty surprised. When I can mention which parts of the city I know, their jaws usually hit the ground. It creates an instant connection and helps me teach and helps them learn.
Honestly, when I teach people from India how to ski, they are the most fun lessons. We don't turn them into expert skiers but it's a riot. When one person falls, they all laugh like crazy. If I can get them stopping and starting to make turns, then that's success. They're always smiling and they have fun experiencing the snow and learning something new. So I really had fun with them and I know there will be more lessons like that to teach.
I hope to take another trip over there in April. If I can avoid going in May, that would be good - way too hot then!
It was a cooler day on Saturday but there was sun. There were 2 races going on and also a PSIA event. We were short on instructors but did just fine. I had 2 group lessons and 1 private lesson. I lost my voice after the first lesson since I've been sick this last week but somehow got it back.
This next weekend is Presidents' Day weekend and one of those where everyone from Chicago (suburbs!) come up to ski. It'll be busy but fun.
I think the season's going well so far. I've taught a bunch of lessons and have just been skiing up at Cascade Mountain. We've had good snow but the temps have been cooler than normal. This last week and right now we're in a break from the cold temps, which is really nice. The snow, of course, is still great.
Last weekend was a holiday weekend - Martin Luther King Day, so I think everyone in Chicago came to Wisconsin. We must have had over 6,000 people there on Saturday - pretty easily. Some were still remaining there on Monday, just trying to get every last bit of vacation. Below are some pictures showing just how many people there were. Just wall to wall people. We had over 100 people for the 12:00 lesson and it was almost impossible to find somewhere to hold the lesson. But it was fun.
I like seeing all the people and meeting them. I met a nice gal from China, Sophie. She did well for her first time skiing. Also in that class, we had to nickname one girl "Crash Magnet" since she kept on getting into minor accidents. It was a fun lesson.
During January, I took part in teaching Cascade's "Learn a Lifetime Sport" program. This is where I get the same students week after week for 3 weeks of lessons, an hour and a half each. I just had 3 people in my group: Jenn, Trina and Isaac. They all did great and we had a blast. Last night was the last lesson, so I took them up on what they thought was a pretty scary looking blue run (Manitou). And then since the North Wall was closed, we somehow made down a black diamond run, Anniversary. It took a while and there were some struggles but they seemed glad to have conquered so many tough runs. Good job, guys! There's one picture of them here by the "Most Difficult" sign that I like at the top of Anniversary.
We'll have another busy weekend when it's Presidents' Day but it'll be fun. And a trip up to the U. P. is in the works. I'd love to head out West for some snow but there's no trip planned yet - maybe late season, who knows?
I went to Guitar Center the other day to pick up some drum stuff. I needed a kick pedal, sticks and a throne. I enter the drum area and there's a dude there at the counter. He's staring at a computer and doesn't say hello or acknowledge me at all. Ok, maybe he's busy. I better not bother him. He looks pretty engaged in whatever he's doing there.
I search around and find the items I want, which takes probably 5 minutes as I try different thrones and pedals. The pedals are right by the counter. Still... nothing from him.
Even though their prices were good, I left. They lost probably $180 from me. To their credit, I was greeted when I walked in but the dude surfing the Net or whatever dropped the ball. He must not be on commission or else just didn't care. I ended up paying more over at Ward Brodt but Riley over there took great care of me and helped me tons. He was a drummer and had experience with the pedal I was looking at. To me, paying more and knowing I was getting the right things was totally worth it.
We had a skiing clinic last night at Cascade. He got in a little late due to traffic but I'm glad I stayed around for it. We had 2 hours with 
