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I didn’t pass any of the days. Failing the ski day seemed like arbitrary bullshit seeing as I’ve been skiing 30+ days/yr for the last 6 years and have taken 6 days of top level lessons (Aspen Highlands and Taos) in the last two years. I’m not diving into Corbets but I’m confidently lapping doubles as long as the snow is soft. This was pretty much the first time in years I’ve heard anything but praise or minor constructive feedback for my ski form.
I’ve taken enough exams over the years to know that even if the other men in my group somehow convince PSIA that the examiner or scoring was way off, all they would do is give us a test voucher at best. The power can go off in a test center when you are 99% done and if they can’t recover your exam, even if they do, they won’t make it a pass. That’s why I said earlier that really there is nothing that is going to motivate me for another PSIA test that is 3 days long for so little impact on my day to day. It’s one of two paths available to be cleared to teach green lessons.
There are many skills involved in skiing. There are a lot of people who can lap double blacks (or even dive into Corbett's) who may not exhibit the ability to demonstrate those skills. Frankly, an extra helping of testosterone or rotation may make up for some deficiency in fore/aft balance, outside ski pressure, or regulation of pressure. So many of the ski tasks, which are designed not as "stupid human tricks" but rather tests to exhibit a skill, are present to highlight your ability to demonstrate appropriate skills to a Level 1-4 skier. Take a look at your assessment form and reflect on what it suggests you need to work on to be an effective instructor who will develop those skiers in a fashion that they don't have to return to remedial work to eliminate ineffective movement patterns, or your communication skills to effectively coach them, or your ability to identify what is happening in their movement patterns that affects their ski performance. All of the exams are not tests of your ability to ski; rather they are exams for your ability to assess, teach and demonstrate both skiing and the skills that affect ski performance. And to present yourself as a professional exhibiting professionalism in all aspects of your time on the hill.
At the time I sat for my Level 1, I had attended 3 or 4 Epic Ski academy courses, spent 6+ years in weekly group lesson programs at the level 9 level, and had received several weeks of coaching from a PSIA demo team member. I had spent 2 weeks ski touring in Kashmir on super steep terrain, and had skied the double blacks at Big Sky, Jackson, Telluride, Breckenridge, Copper, A Basin, Snowbird, Snow Basin, and Alta. I nearly failed because I could barely do a wedge turn. But there were deficiencies in my skiing that all of that training and experience had failed to address. Sometimes it takes work to overcome those elements. I'm now in my 10th season teaching, and I'm still working on all aspects of my skiing, MA, and teaching.