- Joined
- Apr 24, 2017
- Posts
- 1,577
I first noticed this clinic two years ago and finally pulled the trigger. Mammoth is renowned for its Unbound world-class terrain parks. Main Park, South Park, Wonderland, Forest Trail—I have done many, many laps through them all. Not hitting every feature, not sending it big, just playing around and having a good time. My goal was to land a spin and get more comfortable on some of the features.
The clinic was held on a weekend and advertised as “an ideal way to learn the basic techniques you’ll need” and “help you master the tricks you’re interested in and progress…at your own pace.” Video analysis, an equipment clinic, and an après camp party were all to be included.
You can’t sign up for the clinic online, so I called and made my reservation. The customer service rep asked me if I was a passholder and which level—being a full IKON holder, I received a 15% discount off the list price of $329. This was a pleasant surprise. Two days before the clinic, I received an email from a supervisor at the ski school inquiring as to what level I was and what I hoped to work on.
We were to meet up at the Private lesson flag out of Main Lodge, between the gondola and Discovery Chair by 9 am. I got there a little early, hoping to interact with the instructor prior to the start of class. There were instructors milling around, waiting for their assignments, but no one who seemed preassigned to the clinic. After a while, the supervisor came over and asked who was waiting for what, and then proceeded to group us together.
There were 5 students all together—2 adults, and 3 preteens. My group ended up just being the adults, which caused the class time to be shortened. If there were less than three participants, it would only run from 9-12 pm versus a full five-hour day. This was alright with me as I don’t think my body could have handled five hours in the park at a time! The other attendee in my group was a middle-aged man who wanted to work on rails and landing a 360. Despite having different learning objectives and skill levels (he was much better than I was), it was a good mix. Mammoth sets up their parks with a lot of variety; I could work on my stuff and he could work on his, all on the same run.
My instructor was the same both days and was encouraging, friendly, but not very instructive. More of a “do what I do” rather than break down the tricks into “basic techniques”. While talking with him on one of the chair lifts, I learned that he was a PSIA Level 1, but had never had any instruction in how to teach park. He was told, “Today your going to be doing a park lesson.” Mainly because he was able to do some tricks himself and was willing.
I really wanted to learn how to do more than just a straight air, so I focused on 180s. I was able to pop correctly, but lacked the mental strength to commit to the trick once in the air. This proved to be the biggest hurdle. I wished that my instructor would have worked more with me in this regard. Maybe some specific drills to warm up on? Breaking the trick down into smaller steps? At one point he did have me practice doing a flat 180 on the slope, with limited success. On the bigger jumps, I shadowed him in order to know the speed at which to go. I landed a few, then fell. After that, I couldn’t attempt it again. Fear of injury had set in.
That leads to another MAJOR consideration. Be prepared to be sore! I fell on little jumps, I fell on big jumps, but the worst was falling on the boxes. I have a gnarly set of bruises on one calf as a result of ski edges. My lower back was sore from twisting over and over and over again. I have no idea why my forearms and biceps were sore, but they were. On the last day, toward the end of the clinic, I was tired and fell and slammed my helmet on the ground. I laid there thinking, “ugh, not whiplash again!” I’m feeling better now.
I was excited going into the clinic. I really wanted to get better at the basics of park skiing, learn more about the different types of park-specific skis, and learn a “cool” trick or two. Unfortunately, despite Mammoth’s reputation as a terrain-park leader, their clinic was lacking in organization and focus. A few examples:
The clinic was held on a weekend and advertised as “an ideal way to learn the basic techniques you’ll need” and “help you master the tricks you’re interested in and progress…at your own pace.” Video analysis, an equipment clinic, and an après camp party were all to be included.
You can’t sign up for the clinic online, so I called and made my reservation. The customer service rep asked me if I was a passholder and which level—being a full IKON holder, I received a 15% discount off the list price of $329. This was a pleasant surprise. Two days before the clinic, I received an email from a supervisor at the ski school inquiring as to what level I was and what I hoped to work on.
We were to meet up at the Private lesson flag out of Main Lodge, between the gondola and Discovery Chair by 9 am. I got there a little early, hoping to interact with the instructor prior to the start of class. There were instructors milling around, waiting for their assignments, but no one who seemed preassigned to the clinic. After a while, the supervisor came over and asked who was waiting for what, and then proceeded to group us together.
There were 5 students all together—2 adults, and 3 preteens. My group ended up just being the adults, which caused the class time to be shortened. If there were less than three participants, it would only run from 9-12 pm versus a full five-hour day. This was alright with me as I don’t think my body could have handled five hours in the park at a time! The other attendee in my group was a middle-aged man who wanted to work on rails and landing a 360. Despite having different learning objectives and skill levels (he was much better than I was), it was a good mix. Mammoth sets up their parks with a lot of variety; I could work on my stuff and he could work on his, all on the same run.
My instructor was the same both days and was encouraging, friendly, but not very instructive. More of a “do what I do” rather than break down the tricks into “basic techniques”. While talking with him on one of the chair lifts, I learned that he was a PSIA Level 1, but had never had any instruction in how to teach park. He was told, “Today your going to be doing a park lesson.” Mainly because he was able to do some tricks himself and was willing.
I really wanted to learn how to do more than just a straight air, so I focused on 180s. I was able to pop correctly, but lacked the mental strength to commit to the trick once in the air. This proved to be the biggest hurdle. I wished that my instructor would have worked more with me in this regard. Maybe some specific drills to warm up on? Breaking the trick down into smaller steps? At one point he did have me practice doing a flat 180 on the slope, with limited success. On the bigger jumps, I shadowed him in order to know the speed at which to go. I landed a few, then fell. After that, I couldn’t attempt it again. Fear of injury had set in.
That leads to another MAJOR consideration. Be prepared to be sore! I fell on little jumps, I fell on big jumps, but the worst was falling on the boxes. I have a gnarly set of bruises on one calf as a result of ski edges. My lower back was sore from twisting over and over and over again. I have no idea why my forearms and biceps were sore, but they were. On the last day, toward the end of the clinic, I was tired and fell and slammed my helmet on the ground. I laid there thinking, “ugh, not whiplash again!” I’m feeling better now.
I was excited going into the clinic. I really wanted to get better at the basics of park skiing, learn more about the different types of park-specific skis, and learn a “cool” trick or two. Unfortunately, despite Mammoth’s reputation as a terrain-park leader, their clinic was lacking in organization and focus. A few examples:
- No specific instructors for the clinic, just day of assignment, not a high priority. My instructor wasn’t specialized in teaching park.
- IKON discount wasn’t given to all holders at sign up. The other group member had to go to three different areas in order to get his applied retroactively.
- The après party was lackluster. No signage at Tusks Bar, no one seemed to know what was going on. Only one instructor stayed to “hang out”. I did get a free drink and appetizer out of it though.
- There was no equipment clinic; when asked about it, my instructor was unaware of any offering.
- Video analysis wasn’t provided or mentioned the first day. The second day I specifically requested it. My instructor used his cell phone a few times, but didn’t end up showing me any footage.
- The clinic was more like skiing with a buddy, rather than an environment where technique and tactics were learned and taught.
- Dedicated time in the park. Lapping Chair 6 for two days straight.
- Being able to practice with others, being encouraged and cheered on.
- Small group size which allowed us to steer the day as we wanted.
- Any level of park skier could join-- you don't have to be an X-Games contender.
