L3 Recommendation for Big SKy

[SnoWonder]

My wife and I ski about 30 days per year and are looking for a recommendation for PSIA L3 at Big Sky, MT. We are both about PSIA 7+ but not quite an 8. We ski a lot of blues fast to practice for recreational racing, and can ski most blacks but technique is less solid as it gets bumped. We would appreciate any recommendations for a good instructor.

Thanks

 

[KevinF]

Ursula Howland is somewhere between "legend" and "goddess". You would be hard pressed to do better.

 

[Jilly]

Second Ursula or Laura (@Skisailor ) Ursula's protege...

 

[Tiki]

@Skisailor
Excellence!

 

[MissySki]

Yes to both of the above!

 

[lisamamot]

What they said ^^

 

[whumber]

Jon Lamb.

 

[karlo]

Jon Lamb.

Formerly at Killington?

 

[karlo]

looking for a recommendation for PSIA L3 at Big Sky, MT

Last year, I had the chance to ski with Ursula. I booked a day with her for Big Sky’s guiding service. I ended up booking the next morning for a lesson.

Instruction is in her blood. The guiding was liberally infused with helpful tips. It wasn’t until the end of the day that we did one of her drills. That was an unexpected, for both of us, an eyeopener. I’ve been working on recuperating from a hip injury and this drill exposed a significant assymetry between the good and bad hip. I wanted to work on that more, hence the lesson the next day.

We started indoors, just doing some motions. That got my rotators moving. On snow, she snuck in a game that she likes to use, to get folks to match skis. I say snuck in because she presented it as sharing a teaching method from one instructor to another (I am a into my fourth year instructing; she’s been doing it a lifetime). In retrospect, she was getting me to activate the uncooperative muscles.

We also talked about what I was frustratingly incapable of doing that I previously could do. Funny thing is that talking about it put the picture in my head. So, when she told me to go do it, I could! Of course, I still had impediments. But, I took what I learned to my trainer, one I engaged to help me rehabilitate, and we began working on the newly identified deficiency. I can still feel assymetry in the workouts and in my skiing, but far less.

If you can get Ursula, you won’t go wrong. But, I understand she can be hard to book, so book early.

One thing to note. If you are also looking for some guiding, Big Sky instructors cannot take clients to a lot of terrain seen on the trail map. That’s because there is a bunch of terrain that (belongs?) to a (club? coop?); I don’t recall the details. That was the one thing that irked me, as I had allocated a full day to Big Sky’s guide service and Ursula couldn’t take me to all of it. I don’t know what the solution is, or if one exists. Other than that, it was still great fun skiing with her.

Do you plan r

 

[BS Slarver]

2nd Jon Lamb and yes, he was at Kton and a eastern examiner.

happened to ride the lift with he and his student yesterday. If your truly a level 7/8 you may be able to wrap a private lesson and a guided tour all in one with him.
Just might be the breakthrough you’re looking for.

 

[whumber]

Formerly at Killington?

Yep, the one and only Dr. Seuss of skiing.

 

[karlo]

2nd Jon Lamb

I spent a day with him too, when he was at Killington. PSIA Examiner and Killington trainer. Wow, three years ago now, my first year teaching.

I like to spend a day with Dan Egan at the beginning of each season. Very motivational. That year, he had to cancel and I got set up with Jon instead. Very different than Dan. With Dan, it’s about going out and enjoying the day, doing some good skiing, playing with a drill or two. With Jon, it was more instructional. First lesson I’d had in years and years from a PSIA instructor. We worked on patience in tipping the ski, seeking to be at maximum edge angle only at the belly of the turn. I used to love park n ride turns. In fact, my objective was to minimize the time in transition. The less time there and the more time in a deep carve, the more fun. Not any longer. Now, I find the longer I can not let go, the more fun. Dan calls the transition the moment of bliss. I heard what he was saying, even understood it. But, it wasn’t until Jon had me work on it that I came to Feel the Bliss, rather than the Ski the Beast (sorry, that’s a Killington thing). It’s like reaching your fingers out to retain the very last contact as your hand irresistibly and inevitably loses contact with one you love.

So, Jon’s at Big Sky eh? I’ll 2nd the 2nd. I’m guessing he may not be easy to book either.

 

[Mike King]

One thing to note. If you are also looking for some guiding, Big Sky instructors cannot take clients to a lot of terrain seen on the trail map. That’s because there is a bunch of terrain that (belongs?) to a (club? coop?); I don’t recall the details. That was the one thing that irked me, as I had allocated a full day to Big Sky’s guide service and Ursula couldn’t take me to all of it. I don’t know what the solution is, or if one exists. Other than that, it was still great fun skiing with her.

@karlo, I've never had that experience. There is terrain that requires a shovel, probe, and transceiver to access, but I've never had any restriction on skiing any of the terrain on the Big Sky map with Ursula. You aren't thinking of the terrain at Spanish Peaks or the Yellowstone Club, are you? Those are separate, HOA-owned, private ski areas.

 

[karlo]

@karlo, I've never had that experience. There is terrain that requires a shovel, probe, and transceiver to access, but I've never had any restriction on skiing any of the terrain on the Big Sky map with Ursula. You aren't thinking of the terrain at Spanish Peaks or the Yellowstone Club, are you? Those are separate, HOA-owned, private ski areas.

I don’t recall. Maybe. I just remember her pointing out places she couldn’t take me when wearing the Big Sky jacket and what appeared to be a lot of terrain we didn’t cover. Having never been there, I stopped over for a weekend on the way home, in the East, from a business trip out West. It was a whirlwind visit and I wanted to see as much as possible quickly. Scouting really, as a possible longer trip with family - type of terrain for my wife, dining, village (aka shopping), etc.

Not a huge deal. It was fun anyway.

 

[Mike King]

I don’t recall. Maybe. I just remember her pointing out places she couldn’t take me when wearing the Big Sky jacket and what appeared to be a lot of terrain we didn’t cover. Having never been there, I stopped over for a weekend on the way home, in the East, from a business trip out West. It was a whirlwind visit and I wanted to see as much as possible quickly. Scouting really, as a possible longer trip with family - type of terrain for my wife, dining, village (aka shopping), etc.

Not a huge deal. It was fun anyway.

One of the great things about Big Sky is the terrain -- they have everything, and lots of it. One of the limiting things about Big Sky is that it lacks a lot of resort amenities such as fine dining and shopping. It's a great mountain, but I'm a skier, not a vacationer.

Mike

 

[SnoWonder]

Thanks for all the replies. It was good to get several recommendations. In the end I booked Ursula - in part hoping that my wife may relate a little better to hearting it from a woman or she may have a better understanding of female skiing issues. We like to do this fairly early in the season - get a day long private to calibrate ourselves and get things to work on to continue to improve. Normally we do it in North Lake Tahoe where we have had the opportunity to get some excellent instructors who were also trainers/examiners. Last year we called to schedule one of our regulars, but found he was skiing a Jackson Hole that year. Fortunately for us we were going there a few weeks later and our lesson took place in new surroundings. It was also nice to get a mountain overview.

 

[Skisailor]

I don’t recall. Maybe. I just remember her pointing out places she couldn’t take me when wearing the Big Sky jacket and what appeared to be a lot of terrain we didn’t cover. Having never been there, I stopped over for a weekend on the way home, in the East, from a business trip out West. It was a whirlwind visit and I wanted to see as much as possible quickly. Scouting really, as a possible longer trip with family - type of terrain for my wife, dining, village (aka shopping), etc.

Not a huge deal. It was fun anyway.

The Spanish Peaks terrain is now officially part of Big Sky for the past few years. You may be thinking of Dakota Bowl and Wyoming Bowl above the Dakota territory. These are areas that are outside of the Big Sky Resort boundary. There are gates that allow access to this side country but instructors and guides cannot operate outside of the ski area. Big Sky instructors/guides can access any terrain within the resort boundary assuming that Ski Patrol has deemed it safe for skiing. Needless to say, weather and snow conditions can result in closures of certain areas at certain times for safety reasons.

 

[karlo]

I forgot. Depending on when you go, you could also sign up for Dan Egan’s Steeps Clinic.