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Instructors, what have you heard from your ski schools?

Jack skis

Ex 207cm VR17 Skier
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Fidalgo Island, WA
The loss of independent/concession ski school operators at places such as Stevens Pass represent a major cultural change and loss to ski culture in the Seattle and environs areas. Those ski schools got a lot of people into the sport and were pretty exciting to watch when they hit Snoqualmie Pass each Saturday morning during the teaching season. Snoqualmie Pass was where is got to see them as I was married to an instructor who worked for two of the organizations (in different seasons). Her teaching helped support our family skiing -- we had 3 kids -- so her teaching earnings really helped. We were doing this before I-90 was built so the highway was just two lanes. Has to leave Belluvue early Sat. AM to make sure you were ahead of the long line of busses trundling up the pass nose to tail. Especially since we were often all crammed into a Saab 96, two stroke followed by a cloud of smoke
 
Thread Starter
TS
LiquidFeet

LiquidFeet

instructor
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New England
I got my letter from my employer inviting me back to teach this season. My ski resort is owned by Omni Hotels, by the way, and the letter came from human resources instead of from our ski school director, since we are employees of a hotel chain (yes, really).

The letter asks us to let them know if we are returning for the season. I will not return this season, but hope to next season if things change for the better.

Those that are returning are given a choice between attending the required pre-season meeting to do all the paper work in-person, or they can do the same thing online. It's good they made an online option available. For the in-person meeting, they will enforce social distancing and take everyone's temperature, and this year delete the free food. Huh. It's usually a three-hour big social gathering in the main lodge. Everyone finds friends they haven't seen all summer and catches up, fills out paperwork, watches videos on safety, jumps through the appropriate hoops to satisfy safety regulations, while enjoying and complaining about the breakfast and lunch food provided. Afterwards there's usually some outside stuff we do for another hour or so. In the past I've found it a good start to the season. I'll miss going back.

Nothing in the letter describes any Covid-19 accommodations that the ski school may or may not put in place to protect instructors from the virus once the season starts. Such information would be helpful in guiding instructors in their decisions about coming back. Our locker room is a small enclosed cavity in the basement of the main lodge, accessed by walking into the main lodge through the most-used doors, then through the crowded area where everyone gets backed up at the doors trying to get out of the lodge, then down the same steps everyone uses to get to the bathrooms. In normal times this is a densely packed lodge on weekends and holidays, and it's even somewhat crowded on weekdays.

Our instructor staff is quite up there in years, with the average age of instructors falling in the mid-60s. Our SSD did the math last year, and got a good laugh when he told us just how old we really were. We are a vulnerable crew. Our mountain comes with a massive historic luxury hotel across the street, so it functions as a destination resort even though it's in NH. Many people book lodging to ski at Bretton Woods days at a time. It's not just a locals ski area. I quit teaching early, on March 1 last year, because of the danger of all those travelers bringing the virus to our out of the way location.

I am still wondering what, if anything beyond masks and social distancing, will be done to help keep our instructor staff healthy as the pandemic continues. The letter did not leave me feeling like they are confident they have worthy plans in place.

I started this thread to see what accommodations ski schools would be making to assure the safety of their instructors. Does anyone here have an idea yet about your own ski school's plans?
 
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Thread Starter
TS
LiquidFeet

LiquidFeet

instructor
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My ski school director sent out an email with the Covid changes being made for instructors. All of the changes apply to season's start; things may change as the season progresses.

--We will not be in the basement locker room this season. Good. It's a petrie-dish, crowded, in a basement with no circulation. Instead, we will be in another building that's being vacated because the children's program has been cancelled.
--Our "locker room" will be the room where the kids in the day-long program would gather to play with toys in the morning, take hot chocolate breaks and then get their lunch. There is no mention of HEPA air filters being installed in that room. At least this big gathering room has three walls of windows.
--There will be no lockers and no storage for us in there.
--Instructors will be asked to keep 6' of distance while in this room (right), but there's no mention of instructors having to wear masks while inside. (NH: Live free or die).
--No group lessons will be offered.
--Only private lessons will be offered, and they will be for age 7 and up. Nothing about semi-private lessons. That means no more leaning over to teach 3- and 4-year olds before the carpet lift gets going early season; good.
--Kid seasonal groups - these will continue but with smaller class size; protocols are to be decided; lunch will no longer be served to them. There is no mention where these kids will gather.
--All lessons will be reserved and paid for online ahead of time; no walk-ups. Maybe this means no line-up is needed since all lessons will be pre-assigned.
--Family season pass benefit for instructors may be somewhat curtailed with blackouts to help limit crowds. (I never used this benefit as my family does not ski.)
--There was no mention of how instructors will handle chair lifts.
 
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Mike King

AKA Habacomike
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Louisville CO/Aspen Snowmass
We've had 2 town halls to discuss how the school will operate this winter and they are anticipating a town hall every 2 weeks. There's so much to cover, it's mind boggling!

Mike
 
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TS
LiquidFeet

LiquidFeet

instructor
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We've had 2 town halls to discuss how the school will operate this winter and they are anticipating a town hall every 2 weeks. There's so much to cover, it's mind boggling!

Mike
Sounds like your people are asking the troopers in the trenches what they think.
 

Chris V.

Making fresh tracks
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--There will be no lockers and no storage for us in there.
--Only private lessons will be offered, and they will be for age 7 and up. Nothing about semi-private lessons. That means no more leaning over to teach 3- and 4-year olds before the carpet lift gets going early season; good.
--Kid seasonal groups - these will continue but with smaller class size; protocols are to be decided; lunch will no longer be served to them. There is no mention where these kids will gather.
So I gather they expect you to schlep about 45 pounds of gear from and to home every day? And deal with cranky, starved, freezing children? I don't know how many will put up with that. I hope they compensate instructors well for the labor and added misery, but somehow I doubt it. Perhaps with group lessons eliminated, the reductions in supply of and demand for instructors will balance out.

I fear that skiing is on a path toward becoming an even more elitist activity. Maybe there are skiers who will pay $450 per day for lift tickets, ride one per chair, not have to stand in line, and be provided private, hermetically sealed warming and dining cubicles.
 
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TS
LiquidFeet

LiquidFeet

instructor
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@Chris V. I doubt there will be kids in there. I'm guessing the seasonal programs will probably meet outside. Most of the privates, although not all, at this mountain are for kids.

As for storage... I never got a locker in the real locker room, nor did many of us. It was too small. So yes, about a third of the instructors schlepped boot bags in and out each day. But we could leave our skis. Some people left their boots on a drying rack (I'll never leave my boots anywhere).

I wonder if they will let instructors leave their skis in this new location, or if "no storage" applies to skis as well. It's an aging staff. Carrying skis on the shoulder along with a bootbag up the hill from the employee parking lot is not much fun when you're over 70. Last season I stored five pair of skis in the locker room all winter.
 

Mike King

AKA Habacomike
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In Aspen, we will have access to locker rooms for storing boots and skis, but everything else will be schlepped. And we are to arrived dressed in uniform to minimize time in the locker room.

this will be a challenging season. It also presents opportunities to improve things. We’ve massively moved things online, and scheduling should be far more efficient — far less over scheduling of instructors waiting around to see if there is work.
 
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LiquidFeet

LiquidFeet

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One of the ski schools where I have previously worked has informed its potentially returning instructors how things will be run this season.

--The locker room will be closed to use due to crowding. Instructors will need to use their car as their locker. No personal items can be stored at the mountain this season.
--All lessons will be reserved ahead of time. Instructors will know their assignments ahead of time.
--When they don't have a lesson, instructors can enter the former children's building (not being used for children's daily program this season as in the past) and stay for a total of 8 minutes per hour to warm up (this is New England where it gets cold in winter). No more than 8 minutes per hour.
--Instructgors can also use the bathroom in that children's building, but they cannot not hang around inside to warm up beyond their allotted 8 minutes.
--Instructors are not allowed in the main lodge where guests gather, nor to use the bathrooms in that building, nor to use the cafeteria there. They will need bring their own food and eat lunch in their car.
--When they don't have an assignment, if it's early or late in the day, instructors can free-ski. But throughout the middle of the day instructors who are not assigned to a lesson will need to go sit in their car to wait for next line-up. They are not allowed to free-ski in the middle of the day.
--On busy days getting to one's car nvolves riding the shuttle to the employee lot. Waiting for the shuttle in the middle of the day can take as long as 30 minutes. I speak from experience.

Honestly, no instructor gets paid enough to endure these rules. I'm so glad I no longer work there. I wonder how many instructors will return to this ski school to work this season. My friend who told me about these rules isn't returning.

Disclaimer: I may have gotten some of these rules wrong, but I have tried to stick closely to what I was told as I posted this. Some of this is hard to believe.
 
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Steve

SkiMangoJazz
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Holy you-know-what!
 

hrstrat57

Skis guitars Mustangs
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Yawgoo Valley RI
Tough times LF

I’m back to Phase 1 and skiing is 100% out. Right at the moment little Rhody residents are not welcome is most of ski country. Make no mistake this thing is something us over 60 folks can’t take a chance on. Can you even imagine the terror of getting wheeled into a covid19 hospital ward?

I got new Volkl Deacon Pro 74’s last season and my eyes were truly watering as I handed them over to a real nice young beer league/ Nastar racer in a carefully socially distanced Craigslist deal. Right now cash is more important than new skis in the closet (no I’m not going to sell my FIS raceTigers or any other beloved skis)

You’ve made the right choice. I’m hoping for a February vaccine so I can make a few turns in March/April.

If not 21/22 will be make up time!

Good thread.
 
Thread Starter
TS
LiquidFeet

LiquidFeet

instructor
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I double-checked today with my source. Yes, what I wrote is what he heard from his SSD. I'm guessing they will need to change some of those unreasonable requirements, or there will be very few ski instructors working.
 

KevinF

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@LiquidFeet , wow to those rules! Eight minutes to warm up? There have been plenty of instances where I wouldn't be even remotely warmed up after eight minutes. It takes me longer than that just to get my boots off and back on.

And sit in your car for the majority of the day if you're not working? That sounds incredibly boring.
 

James

Out There
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I double-checked today with my source. Yes, what I wrote is what he heard from his SSD. I'm guessing they will need to change some of those unreasonable requirements, or there will be very few ski instructors working.
Sitting in the car, of course it’s on, while you could be skiing in between line ups. Just insane. It’s bad enough to have to bring two sets of clothes these days if we get dismissed.
Plus, sucks for them if they suddenly need someone.

Does NH have a no idling law?
 

Steve

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My school is still discussing, planning, thinking about it. At the end of the day what they do and what others with advance plans, may not be that different as no one knows what's going to work.

There's no way that that school will be able to hold on to instructors, than again they may not have students, than again they may not be open.
 
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LiquidFeet

LiquidFeet

instructor
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My school, the one I am not returning to this season, says this season instructors can't leave anything in the room that they will be using instead of the too-crowded and unventilated actual locker room. I'm betting that means nothing can be left there overnight. Surely leaving boot bags inside during the day, with a change of jackets and shoes, is acceptible in the state of NH. Why would the state require anything one way or the other for objects in buildings? Instructors definitely need to shed layers as the cold mornings turn into warmer afternoons.
 
Thread Starter
TS
LiquidFeet

LiquidFeet

instructor
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Sitting in the car, of course it’s on, while you could be skiing in between line ups. Just insane. It’s bad enough to have to bring two sets of clothes these days if we get dismissed.
Plus, sucks for them if they suddenly need someone.

Does NH have a no idling law?
OMG. I just looked up no idling laws. Here's MA:
The law states that a car cannot be idling more than 5 minutes unless it is being serviced or it is being used to deliver or accept goods where engine assisted power is necessary. If someone is caught, they can be levied with a $100 fine for the first offense and up to $500 for subsequent offenses.

In NH it's more reasonable:
New Hampshire regulations help to minimize the health and environmental impacts of idling by establishing a limit on the amount of time that engines are permitted to idle. ... If the outside temperature is between –10°F and 32°F, maximum idling time is 15 minutes. Below –10°F there is no limit.

This is what I found for VT:
Motor Vehicle Idling Law (V.S.A. Title 23 Chapter 013 Section 01110). Act 57 was signed into law in May 2013 and includes a provision that, effective May 1, 2014, limits all motor vehicle idling to five minutes in any 60 minute period with some exceptions.

Then there's this. Puts a damper on Your Car is Your Baselodge.
CDLLife-Idling-Laws-By-State-704x767.jpg
 

James

Out There
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OMG. I just looked up no idling laws. Here's MA:
The law states that a car cannot be idling more than 5 minutes unless it is being serviced or it is being used to deliver or accept goods where engine assisted power is necessary. If someone is caught, they can be levied with a $100 fine for the first offense and up to $500 for subsequent offenses.

In NH it's more reasonable:
New Hampshire regulations help to minimize the health and environmental impacts of idling by establishing a limit on the amount of time that engines are permitted to idle. ... If the outside temperature is between –10°F and 32°F, maximum idling time is 15 minutes. Below –10°F there is no limit.

This is what I found for VT:
Motor Vehicle Idling Law (V.S.A. Title 23 Chapter 013 Section 01110). Act 57 was signed into law in May 2013 and includes a provision that, effective May 1, 2014, limits all motor vehicle idling to five minutes in any 60 minute period with some exceptions.

Then there's this. Puts a damper on Your Car is Your Baselodge.
View attachment 113228
One can install a Webasto or Eberspacher heater that uses the fuel from the vehicle and gets around the law. If you do the type that heats up your engine coolant, you get the benefit of warming the engine. They have timers, phone based apps, etc so your vehicle can be toasty before you get in without the engine on.
No need for block heaters you plug in at night.

They’re expensive. Nearly $1k without install.
 
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