Unexcused Absences

Jack Rabbit Alley

This is an extremely accurate drawing of how I spent my winter, courtesy of my final group of students. In fact, all the colors of everybody’s ski boots, snow pants, helmet and jacket are perfect!

I taught quite a few returning students this winter; I really enjoyed seeing my students again! They’re all bigger, stronger, and smarter. I’m absurdly proud of their progress as skiers and as ‘people in training’. I love seeing their little minds at work. At the same time, I’m torn to see them grow up and realize that the ‘gold’ for the Gold Mine isn’t actually gold and comes from my pocket.

I normally teach kids, mostly girls, from about age 5 until 13. I almost exclusively teach half-day private lessons, which gives the kids a chance to rest before meeting me again the next morning. I’m delighted to report that there is a lot of good parenting out there that makes my job MUCH easier. I love that my students are polite, clean up their area after their snacks, and alternate well in the lift line. Thanks Moms and Dads!

My typical winter’s work day begins at 9am when I meet my students at their home, hotel, or at the base of the Centennial chairlift. During the first run, we warm up and familiarize ourselves with the conditions. Next, we play some games (disguised drills) and work on some skiing drills (drills I haven’t figured out how to disguise). There is normally a ‘recess run’ through Jack Rabbit Alley (where my students unknowingly work on balance and agility, practicing their latest skills).  Next, we take a potty break disguised as a hot chocolate break. We then repeat the same process and usually hit a race course on the way to meet their parents at lunchtime.

A lot of parents ask me to join them and their children for lunch — which I really enjoy (and not just for the excellent free food). Over the past two years, I have met lots of great people.  I enjoy catching up with them while they’re on vacation, learning about their lives, and finding out what their kids are up to outside of skiing.

My evening looks a lot like my students’ evening. I tend to eat dinner and immediately register that I’m exhausted. I try to stay up until 9pm to preserve my self respect, but admittedly I fail occasionally. It’s pretty much bathing, dinner and bed for me in the evenings.

All in all, it was a great season at The Beav!

Oh, and something needs to be said about Jack Rabbit Alley. Children love this run. I enjoy it quite a bit if there is decent snow coverage. Children who can ski blues can handle this run which goes through the trees, over stumps and large bumps and under obstacles. But, it’s hard to ski Jack Rabbit Alley if you are a grown-up! Children weave throughout the woods on their tiny skis, making terrain features that are simply navigational hazards to grown-up skis. But, with good snow it’s a blast to zigzag through the forest, under teepees, over small jumps and through a natural halfpipe!

So, if you find yourself at Beaver Creek and want to know what your kids will find fun, here is a list of kids’ favorite places:
-Jack Rabbit Alley.
-The Gold Mine (hint to parents: bring your own ‘gold’).
-Any path through the trees.
-The Spruce Saddle for a hot chocolate break with LOTS of whipped cream (whipped cream is out on the bar).

And here are a few fun places that most parents don’t know about

-The Poma lift above the Ritz Carlton where kids can ride the lift on their own (they don’t leave the ground).
-The ‘secret’ fort at skier’s right and about 50 feet below the first intersection of Gold Dust and Cinch.  The entrance is marked with a carved beaver.
-Buffalo Bumps (in the Haymeadow, just above and to the east of the Hyatt).

Scott Snow - all smiles after going fast!

Scott Snow — what a great name for an alpine ski racer! And, Scott Snow just happens to be the youngest member of the US Men’s Alpine Ski Team. Sitting down with Scott’s father, Shep, over dinner during the Birds of Prey World Cup Ski Race, I asked him what it is like to have a son on the US Ski Team. What I discover during our conversation about the costs involved and sacrifices from the family shocks me.

Pay to the Order of the US Ski Team

Scott pays his own way on the team. In fact, only the top 5 or 6 athletes on the team don’t pay their own way. Shep writes a check to the US Ski Team for $22,000 per season. Not included in this price are any plane tickets home (from North America and Europe) during the season and a host of other, smaller expenses which will total about $5,000-6,000.  For example, the athletes cook their own meals on the road. When cooking facilities or grocery stores aren’t readily available, the athletes eat out. An 18-year-old ski racer eats a couple of entrées in a European resort town after a day of training, and those bills add up quickly.

“Scott could have gone to Harvard — twice — for what we’ve spent on racing,” Shep says. Knowing they are not a rich family, I press him on how they paid and continue to pay these bills. Shep explains that the family follows a strict household budget as well as putting all bonuses, tax refunds and windfalls in the envelope. But personal savings are only a small part of the story.

“I always knew it was coming.”

Scott started skiing by himself at the age of 2. At the age of 4, his family moved to their current hometown of Sagle, ID. Scott skied 140 days that year. In fact, Scott stopped attending traditional school in 5^th grade, opting for homeschooling and spending over 130 days per year skiing with Shep. Let me emphasize that point again; Scott stopped attending regular school in 5^th grade to ski and train during his childhood. That’s how much work Scott put into his ski racing before joining the US Ski Team.

Early on, Shep earned his USSA coaching license, allowing Scott (and his older sister, Bonnie) to race as “Independents” rather than join an expensive and structured ski racing club. When he was 7, Scott won his first national championship at the NASTAR finals in Beaver Creek. Given his talent and dedication, the family knew Scott would likely have a career as a ski racer.

“I want to go fast”

At the age of 14, Scott firmly decided to pursue a career as a racer, aiming for the World Cup and the Olympics. At that point, the family redirected his college savings toward the expenses associated with racing, including travel and race entry fees. Seeing Bonnie enjoying great success with school as well as developing a strong interest in military service gave the family hope that her college expenses would be covered (Scott’s other two siblings are out of college). Sure enough, Bonnie received a full ride with academic and Army ROTC scholarships to Montana State University, where she currently studies Chemical Engineering.

“The bottom line is that if Bonnie hadn’t received an ROTC scholarship to college, Scott would not be on the US Ski Team,” Shep continues. “We never told Scott that his goal was unattainable. He is very aware of the sacrifices made by other family members, but we never want to ladle on the guilt. Let’s just say that our family weighs expenses a little differently than others.”

Of course, Scott also contributes. He works all summer (he has two jobs) besides being available for all sorts of odd jobs like landscaping, minor construction and selling firewood in his hometown of Sagle, ID. Being able to squat 500 lbs certainly has its advantages in the job market! Scott also sells his old ski gear, contributing his earnings to the envelope.

“We really receive wonderful support from gear manufacturers,” Shep enthuses. “As he’s gotten older and faster, sponsors now offer him everything he needs from long underwear, socks, back protectors, helmets and goggles to skis. I think Atomic has given him $16,000 in skis per year! Plus, we never could have done it without the help of the T2 Foundation. In fact, I know World Cup athletes who would not be there right now if the Foundation had not helped out. We also receive all kinds of support from generous friends, family and local businesses.”

“The greatest ski racer in the world has probably never put a pair on,” quips Shep. 

This is where the story of Scott’s racing success diverges a bit from the many similar stories of young, successful athletes and their families. While coaching Scott and Bonnie when both were young, Shep quickly became aware of a number of other local kids who were interested in ski racing. Skiing is an expensive sport and most of these kids could barely afford a season pass, much less membership in a USSA ski club. Shep knew many folks and businesses were willing help out good kids. So, he went from coaching Scott and Bonnie as “Independents” to founding and coaching the Independence Racing Team in 2000.

“You’d be amazed what you can make happen,” he exclaims when he speaks about the Independence Racing Team. The team is made up of “blue collar kids” who wouldn’t normally have the money to ski race. In the US, ski racing is normally reserved for kids from wealthier families. “We don’t bother with uniforms or any of that unnecessary stuff,” Shep says. “And the kids work during the summer at fundraisers to earn enough money so that they can race during the winter.”

So what started out as a way to reduce the cost of Scott and Bonnie’s ski racing became a full-fledged USSA alpine racing team. The Independence Racing Team boasts over 85 alumni, 100 USSA medals, and 5 Junior Olympians in only 12 years!  Shep is currently the full time director and coaches kids 6-14 years old five days a week.

While the Snow family story is one of great successes and sacrifices, it’s also an incredible story of generosity. The Snows didn’t just support Scott; they supported many aspiring athletes – who would not have had the chance to race otherwise – and opened up the sport of alpine ski racing in the process.

What’s happening now

Having finished High School last spring, Scott continues racing for the US Ski Team on the long climb upward toward World Cup and Olympic racing (read how this is done in this excellent blog post by Shep). He heads back to Europe later this winter, finishing up his season at speed events here in the US. You can follow his personal blog here and his racing here.

The Snows (including Scott who is en route to the World junior Alpine Ski Championships in Italy) will be at Bryce Resort over the Presidents’ Day weekend.

A personal note

Scott learned how to ski at Bryce Resort — on Kent’s old red plastic skis. We’ve watched Scott grow and are deeply proud of his athletic accomplishments. We are prouder still of the kind, fun, thoughtful young man he’s become over the years. Knowing how much it means to Scott to have the opportunity to race on the US Ski Team and how much his mother, father and siblings support him, we’ve also made a commitment to support him. If you would like to contribute to Scott via the Independence Racing Team, follow this link.

Beaver Creek Resort. We are back, just over one year later, to the location of our original Unexcused Absence. Much like last winter, Kent works in the Race Department and teaches skiing during peak times or when clients request him.  Heather also works as a ski instructor while training for her PSIA (Professional Ski Instructors of America) Level 2 certification. On days off, we ski!

We feel fortunate to continue our rather self-centered lifestyle for at least a few more months. We constantly discuss how to navigate modern life with its costs and responsibilities while spiritually maintaining our Unexcused Absence lifestyle — unchartered territory for us!

Snowing in Avon

We’re currently ensconced in a cozy condo right in the heart of Avon which looks out directly at the slopes. With little snowfall during the month prior to our arrival, we feel we can certainly take credit for the three storms which have brought snow since our arrival.

We still have lots more to say about our trip to South Africa, and will be posting more on that during the next few weeks.

For now, we wanted to let folks know that we’re currently based out of Beaver Creek, that it’s snowing, and that we’re looking forward to seeing both our visitors and our old friends over the course of the winter.

Heather previously posted the writings she did as official Talon Crew blogger for the 2011 Audi Birds of Prey World Cup Downhill at Beaver Creek, so here I’ll just add my $0.02 on our week in Colorado and include two slideshows of photos I took during the 10-day event. For more on what the Talon Crew is about, see Heather’s posts on the subject, “Life on the Talon Crew” and “A Volunteer’s Life”

My impression of this year’s experience on the Talon Crew was even better than the two previous years. The whole operation really is a well-oiled machine, from the top (Brad, Jen and Kerry) on down. Living in the base village was superior to staying down in Avon and having to deal with the shuttle buses, so thank you to The Charter for their discount Talon Crew rate! We had a minor glitch with our room layout that they solved with a smile, no questions asked. Moving the Tuesday night volunteer party to the Dusty Boot was another big win; while the Minturn Saloon of previous years was a good time, it was certainly more convenient for those of us without cars to attend the event at the base village.

And I can’t talk about how fun volunteering is without mentioning our crew chiefs, Sean and Kevin. They set a really good tone for the work, keeping things organized and flowing during the day, and definitely letting their hair down once happy hour comes around. From Sean and Kevin and the returning crew members all the way to the new recruits this year, this team is a blast to work with.

First slideshow is a set of photos from the pre-race course prep. The Talon Crew begins preparing the downhill track the Friday after Thanksgiving, and works for five straight days setting up A-net, slipping the course, preparing the start house, installing B-fence, and raking out uneven areas of the course.

TALON CREW COURSE PREP 2011

Beaver Creek Village

Spruce Saddle Lodge at dawn

Tools of the trade

Talon Crew hauling A-net liner

Sean Norris

Raising the A-Net

High-speed slip above "Pumphouse"

Grading the back of the A-net

Just in case

The steeps in "Pete's Arena"

Course prep with a chainsaw?

Top of Golden Eagle jump

The final grading

30 seconds of rest

The daily debriefing at the Coyote Cafe

Conference at the top of Golden Eagle jump

Our room (thank you, The Charter, for the nice discount!)

Next comes two days of downhill training and three days of World Cup racing action. I’ve got action photos of some athletes and other associated race-day photos.

RACE DAY PHOTOS, BIRDS OF PREY 2011

A VERY early chairlift ride on race day

A Sony broadcast camera with a BIG Canon lens

Slovenian coach (team motto, "Go SLO!")

Course inspection

Nordica ski tech

The finish arena during the downhill

Scott Snow greets his fan club at the finish arena

Big right foot turn in "Pete's Arena"

Ted Ligety on course

Aksel Lund Svindal (easy now, ladies!)

Snow squalls during the Super G

Austrian TV

Didier Cuche with his famous ski flip

Bode wins the 2011 downhill

Team Jacket Composite

I also shot a brief video of McD doing some course prep… with a chainsaw!!!

Sunday marked the start of the final countdown to closing day at Beaver Creek. On April 17 they’ll shut off the lifts, park the grooming machines (which have been running 20 hours a day since mid November), and put the 2010-2011 ski season to bed.

The "Taste of Vail" food-and-wine fest

Recent days have highlighted a few contrasts. Wednesday I returned to Colorado from the sunny and warm south of France (details to follow in a future post). Thursday and Friday we had blue skies, warm temperatures, and pretty good spring skiing. We also had a friend from Bryce stay with us a couple days. Our friend Susan gave us tickets to the Taste of Vail (unlimited free gourmet food, wine and beer), so like during the World Cup when she gave us VIP passes to the food tent, we were able to “live beyond our means,” if only for a couple hours.

Saturday was a last gasp of winter, with temperatures below freezing and slick conditions. Mid-morning, a third of the way down Larkspur Bowl, I looked up to see a red jacket with “ESF Meribel” embroidered across the back. Flashing back to our trip to the French Alps in 2008, I knew that ESF stood for “Ecole du Ski Francais,” and that Meribel was the village where we stayed at the Trois Vallees ski area. But what was a professional French ski instructor was doing in Beaver Creek, Colorado?

“Habitez-vous à Méribel?” (do you live in Meribel) I asked?

“Vous savez les Trois Vallees?” (you know the Three Valleys) he asked back?

“Oui, j’y étais il ya trois ans.” (yes, I was there three years ago).

Spring snowstorm at Beaver Creek base

We skied together for the rest of the morning, until he had to depart for the airport. Stèphane was at The Beav for a big travel industry conference, and had snuck out for a few turns his final morning before flying back to France. This was his first time skiing in the USA, so I took him on a quick “local’s” tour of Beaver Creek. He was amused to hear that I had just been in France 4 days earlier. He was also stunned to learn that Beaver Creek has almost 1,800 ski instructors. Meribel, where he works, is the biggest ski school in France, and they have about 450 instructors.

Top of the Sheephorn moguls

It was a shame he had to fly home Satuday, because Sunday we awoke to 7 inches of fresh snow, possibly our final powder day of the winter. At this point in the season we knew how to avoid the weekend powder crowds; we got second chair up Strawberry Park (instead of waiting in the 10-minute line at Centennial), over to lower Larkspur, then up Grouse Mountain for glorious first tracks down Raven’s Ridge, back to Larkspur for a couple laps in the bowl (still mostly fresh tracks), then up Birds of Prey and down Centennial/Sheephorn to Harrier (more mostly fresh tracks), and back up B.O.P. to Stone Creek Meadows (a few pockets of untracked here and there).

Fresh mid-mountain powder

A lap on Red Buffalo, followed by a run down Cataract, then over to Barrel Stave, Gold Dust, and a few final pockets of untracked on Assay. Not a huge day, only 17k vertical feet, but the conditions were getting tracked up when we left the mountain by 11:45am in time to grab lunch (free, courtesy of their ski instructor loyalty program) at Blue Moose Pizza.

Our front yard back in Virginia, this time last year

The biggest contrast of the week was when we got back to our condo. We studiously avoid the time-suck that is television, but once a year I treat myself to the Masters golf tournament. It was fun to sit by the fireplace, with snow coming down outside, and see the green grass and blooming azaleas of Augusta National Golf Course rendered in beautiful High Def color on the condo’s TV. Charl Schwartzel was one cool customer, shooting birdie on each of the last four holes to snatch the win from the much bigger names in contention.

This ski season has been a fantastic experience, but we are beginning to miss the green leaves and colorful flowers that are sprouting right now in the mid-Atlantic. One more week of winter to go!