Skiing
I didn't pay much attention to skiing until I got out of college,
even though I had been on skis a few times when I was growing
up. After moving to Rochester, New York I fell in with a
group or my collegues that often went night skiing after work. I
quickly became addicted and spent many hours on the freezing night time
slopes of Bristol Mountain. It wasn't long before we started
spending winter weekends and vacations skiing in New England, upstate
New York, and Canada. We skiied from Mt. Tremblant down to
southern Vermont, with the most time in Mt. Snow and Whiteface
montain. I spent a winter between engineering jobs skiing
in ski areas not too far from New York city. Then I got an
engineering job in Annapolis.
I found local skiing in nearby Pennsylvania to keep my feet in the
snow after the move. In 1973 I got a 
part-time job as one of the
first instructors at the new Ski Liberty ( now Liberty Mountain) ski
area in Fairfield,
Pennsylvania. Our director was a big wig in the Canadian SKi
Instructors Alliance (CSIA), so that was our affiliation for two
years. I joined the CSIA in an entry level position after
spending a week in clinics and exams near Mt. Tremblant at the
Greyrocks. Suddenly we became an American school, and my
affiliation change to the Professional Ski Instructors of America
(PSIA). 
I
joined PSIA and passed my full certification (now
called Level III) in 1978. That same year I was appointed a
Supervisor, and took my turn at managing elements of the Ski School as
it grew over the next two decades. I taught clinics for
instructors and candidates as well as the skiing public. It was a
labor of love, although sometime the supervisory aspect was a bit like
hearding cats. In addition to skiing extensively along the east
coast, I was able to visit and ski all over the country with ski
industry hospitality during my travels in my "real" job as an
engineer.
I have learned an awful lot about skiing and ski teaching from a
number of great skiers over my career. I continued to attend
workshops for a few years after I retired from pro skiing, but
have not done so recently. I miss it.
I
became affiliated with Fischer of America as an area
representative early on. I represented Fishcer Skis, Dynafit
boots (discontinued in 1998), Leki poles, and Carerra eyewear for much
of my skiing career. The Ski School and Fischer affiliations
enabled me
to keep the whole family skiing without going broke. It was
a great association since I passionately believed in the products.
Both of my sons have been on skis since they were two years
old.
The three of us exploring mountains together are among my fondest
memories. One son was a part-time instructor for a time with his
own little
guys to take skiing, the othee skied when he
could. Yes, my wife was a skier too, with many miles
under her skis.
revised 11-13-2020 by dbz.