PSIA National Academy Snowbird Utah, 2008 - Day 2
Day 2 of the 2008 PSIA National Academy started early once again. While morning stretching exercises started at something like 6am, that is to early for me so I simply relied on the wake up call because the alarm clock, a Sony ICF CD815 has an alarm that is impossible to use; even the front desk was not sure how to use it.
Breakfast at the Aerie Restaurant at the Cliff Lodge at Snowbird was another excelent buffet. Thanks to PSIA for bundling breakfast buffets in with the package deal!
Following breakfast, it was down to the 3rd floor in the Cliff Lodge where the skier services area is located. for the second day in a row, I picked the Volant Machetes to ski on. They are kinda stiff which was good for the late season hard pack (firm packed powder as it is known in Pennsylvania), variable crud and some bulletproof sections of the trails and slopes. I brought the Machetes and Rossignol B4s which are great for powder but a little flimsy on hard pack.
Just like yesterday, Steve Smart of the Rookie Academy was the group leader. Steve has exposure (lots of it) to teacing and skiing styles from all over the world and had a full quiver of technical exercises to help hone in on specific element of skiing to help improve overall performance. My big things to work on for the day (and for the week for that matter) included basics like stance - not standing quite so upright and also staying centered on the skis.
Skiing on one ski helped to get more centered and balanced. Drilling on basics including edging, short, medium and long radius turns, variations on side slipping and trying to ski with the skis and not so much the upper body were also areas of focus. Steve’s style of sking was somewhat different than the last “intense” clinic I did with Gavin Kerr Hunter of SnowPerformance in Las Lenas Argentina a few years ago. The skiing there was soft, crud, creamed corn type stuff anywhere up to 12 inches deep and the focus there was standing taller, staying forward more and letting the skis do the work. Steve emphasized a more compressed stance which I think was better for the steeper, more advanced hard pack conditions out at Snowbird this year.
After the morning session with Steve, it was back to the hotel room to take a 45 minute break before heading back out for the afternoon session. The afternoon session was to be a follow-up on snow session with Jim ___________ to see just how adjustments in boot fitting and and other slight variationsin equipment come together to affect a skiers performance.
Unfortunately, I was a few minutes late getting back down to the Snowbird Tram area and could not find the group. It was dissapointing to have missed the clinic because Jim’s indor boot fitting session on Sunday was good. It would have been nice to see and feel all that stuff he talked about at the indoor session out on the slopes.
Since there was no clinic to be had, I just free skied; all over the mountain. There was some nice runs in Mineral Basin and on the front side of the mountain. As the afternoon went on, the snow softened up and I got some good runs in. Since I wan’t in a clinic, it was possible to get in a lot more runs. I skied till about 4, came back to the room and then headed to the ballrooms for the presentation from ____________ about the Great Britain ski school system. It was interesting to see all the different requirements to reach the different ski instructor levels that included research papers in some cases. It was by far the most expensive instructor certification process to go through. If I was going to go for a non-US certification, I’d go for New Zealand, Australia or Argentina, definitely not Great Britian.
After the GB ski school presentation, I went to the Steak Pit at Snowbird with my roomate, Doug and some of his co-workers from Sunrise Park Ski resort in Arizona. While not bad, the Steak Pit is not worth going to in my opinion. The food was ok, not bad but nothing to write home about. The waitress ws good and very hospitable but for what they charge, the food just isn’t that great. A 20oz Ribeye was $44.00, a 16oz lobster tail was $60, a pound of king crab legs was around $45.00. I had the ribeye, a couple scallops from one of their appetizers, a beer, and some kind of chocolate cake type desert for $70 all together. A $10 bottle of wine was $45. It’s worth 2.5 stars out of 5. There is just nothing about it that is worth paying a premium to eat there.
After dinner, it was back to the room, down to the outdoor hot tub for a little while, watch the tube a little bit and head off to sleep fairly early to get up the next day. Still no fresh powder in sight. 
