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Snowbird Performance Camp turned Steep and Deep Camp…..

What started out as a technical bootcamp, almost overnight became an off-piste technique and tactics camp.  The group met up at the newly remodeled Aerie Lounge and Restaurant, the restaurant has some of the most amazing views of Snowbird.  The bathrooms may have the best view of all with floor to ceiling windows (no joke)!  The course started out with the group working on basic stance and balance and movement into the turn.  The next day the group woke up to a very snowy and stormy Snowbird.  Visibility was low with limited lifts running, the morning was a continuation of the previous day’s theme but on a litte more challenging terrain.  The afternoon which became extremely snowy and windy was focused on skill application.  The group became one of the few remaining die hards in the afternoon, skiing until the bells tolled – or the lifts stopped spinning.  It was pretty awesome riding up Little Cloud chair getting blasted by the wind and covered in snow (it was snowing at a rate of almost 2in/hour) and then giggling on the way down because each ride up produced an even more powder filled run down.  Nighttime saw the winds increase and the snow fall even faster.  We watched the storm through the windows of the Cliff Lodge excited at the prospect of shredding fresh pow and exhilarating lines in the morning. 

Morning came and so did the 4th of July, or at least that’s what it sounded like.  Avi bombs were going off every few minutes.  We saw daylight creep into the valley as we were doing our morning stretching routine, the sight of Snowbird’s peak filled with snow was awesome.  Snowbird is not for the faint of heart of the timid skier, this is big mountain skiing – lift accessed big mountain skiing.  When we headed up to breakfast we were hit with the bad news.  An Intralodge was in place, we were not allowed to leave the building until Ski Patrol gave the green light.  The access road had slid overnight and there was a massive avalanche debris covering the road, meaning most of the resort’s staff was unable to get up to the mountain (and the thousands of skiers just waiting to get after it).  The morning was slow going, we listened to Chris Fellows talk about the importance of mobility, stability and fitness to skiing performance and longevity within the sport.  The talk fostered some interesting insights and a great discussion amongst the group. 

We had a quick lunch and strategically chose to get in line for the Mid Gad Chair, as the Tram line was humongous and so was the line for the Wilbere chair.  Every skier in Salt Lake City and those visiting Snowbird were in line at every possible chair that was to open that day.  The energy was intoxicating, every one was celebrating the same thing: SNOW! 
You could hear hooting and hollering from the neighboring Wilbere chair that had began loading.  The excitement level rose even higher.  The lift maze was a colorful mix of people of all ages, though one common thread was that majority of skiers present were on big fat skis, probably the smallest waist was 98cm.  The chair began to load, and the crowd let out a big whoop.  It was game on from that moment forward.  We shredded alongside everyone else everything we could from top to bottom.  Each run was about 2-3000 vertical feet.  People were skiing lines, that when you looked at them, you couldn’t even fathom there was a line.  People were sending it off anything and everything, the atmosphere around the whole mountain was playful and you could feel everyone’s joy and excitement.  It really is amazing what a little powder can do to one’s spirits and mindset.  Again we skied until last chair.

The last day of the course brought even more terrain with the opening of the Peruvian Express lift.  Thanks to Chris Fellows’ insider knowledge of Snowbird, we found chutes and gullies where one would never expect.  We found wide open fields of powder, soft chopped up snow and fun powder bumps.  The feedback and training that was done over the last few days was put to the test.  The time and effort was well spent, because everyone in the group had a breakthrough and began to ski the challenging terrain with much more fluidity and efficiency.  It is so cool to see when something clicks for someone, there is a very poignant change in their skiing.  Mastering fundamentals is what opens the door to bigger, better and more exciting skiing!