Park City Instructor : recommendation ?

[Michael Ando]

Hopefully it ok to ask for this and I have asked in the right area.
I will be in Park City in February 2018 . I was hoping the ski school would have a multi day lesson program happening then but unfortunately not so. In fact the ski school doesnt offer group lessons above a fairly low level. This was quite a surprise to me but I guess I can see the logic.
This leaves me with a private lesson or nothing. A private lesson is , to me, a large amount of money especially when the tip is added on to make sure the instructor actually makes a reasonable wage.
I want to do what ever I can to optimise my lesson. I dont want a guided tour . I do want a completely honest, realistic appraisal of where my skiing is and how best to move on .
Could anyone recommend an instructor at Park City who is skilled at this and would be straight forward and upfront in their feedback/ recommendations. If you could send me a private message that would be great.
Thanks Mike

 

[Mendieta]

Hopefully it ok to ask for this and I have asked in the right area.
I will be in Park City in February 2018 . I was hoping the ski school would have a multi day lesson program happening then but unfortunately not so. In fact the ski school doesnt offer group lessons above a fairly low level. This was quite a surprise to me but I guess I can see the logic.
This leaves me with a private lesson or nothing. A private lesson is , to me, a large amount of money especially when the tip is added on to make sure the instructor actually makes a reasonable wage.
I want to do what ever I can to optimise my lesson. I dont want a guided tour . I do want a completely honest, realistic appraisal of where my skiing is and how best to move on .
Could anyone recommend an instructor at Park City who is skilled at this and would be straight forward and upfront in their feedback/ recommendations. If you could send me a private message that would be great.
Thanks Mike

Mike, you asked the right question in the right place. See if you can hook up with a good instructor and perhaps work an hour a day, for at least a couple days. Some places have specials at certain times of the day, etc.

Paging @4ster , @Lorenzzo and @lswedish to the courtesy phone, they might have great ideas ...

 

[Monique]

In fact the ski school doesnt offer group lessons above a fairly low level.

If you haven't actually called the ski school, I would suggest doing that first to be sure. I see what you're seeing on the website, but I suspect it's simply wrong. Breck and other Vail Resorts have had similar screwups in the past.

 

[Michael Ando]

Monique, I have exchanged a couple of emails with the ski school. I was surprised at the first response but had it confirmed in a later email.

 

[peterm]

Hopefully it ok to ask for this and I have asked in the right area.
I will be in Park City in February 2018 . I was hoping the ski school would have a multi day lesson program happening then but unfortunately not so. In fact the ski school doesnt offer group lessons above a fairly low level. This was quite a surprise to me but I guess I can see the logic.
This leaves me with a private lesson or nothing. A private lesson is , to me, a large amount of money especially when the tip is added on to make sure the instructor actually makes a reasonable wage.
I want to do what ever I can to optimise my lesson. I dont want a guided tour . I do want a completely honest, realistic appraisal of where my skiing is and how best to move on .
Could anyone recommend an instructor at Park City who is skilled at this and would be straight forward and upfront in their feedback/ recommendations. If you could send me a private message that would be great.
Thanks Mike

Have you thought about doing a group lesson at Deer Valley instead of a private at Park City? Might be cheaper even including the lift ticket. I had a good experience doing a half day group lesson there a couple of years ago.

 

[Michael Ando]

Good suggestion. I hadnt thought of that.
Thanks.

 

[Lorenzzo]

I'd second the group lesson at Deer Valley. Classes are limited to four skiers. @lswedish teaches there he may have additional suggestions.

 

[Monique]

Monique, I have exchanged a couple of emails with the ski school. I was surprised at the first response but had it confirmed in a later email.

WAIT JUST A GODDARN ....

I just checked Breck's site, since it's also VR, and it would be weird for them to have different products. Same deal. I have taken *so many* advanced group lessons on holidays and powder days to cut lines ... what the fiffle?

I'm going to reach out to instructors I know at Breck, and their ski school main line, for more info, because this is some bullllllllllllshit.

 

[Uke]

The group lesson (Max 4) for intermediate and up are offered in the afternoon. The instructors are often private rotation level who have the PM free. If you end up one on one with an instructor then the three hour group becomes a two hour private.

uke

 

[Monique]

The group lesson (Max 4) for intermediate and up are offered in the afternoon. The instructors are often private rotation level who have the PM free. If you end up one on one with an instructor then the three hour group becomes a two hour private.

uke

So, after the powder has been skied out.... and during the part of the day when visibility is getting worse and people are getting tired and cold.

 

[Started at 53]

DV Lesson? I am a devout lesson taker/believer, but I do not do groups. $605 for a 1 on 1 morning lesson. That won’t be happening.

Good thing I have lots to work on from previous lessons and drills to practice. Can you say Falling Leaf?

 

[fatbob]

Can you say Falling Leaf?

Thought you and DV didn't like snowboarding?

 

[Kneale Brownson]

I just checked Breck's site, since it's also VR, and it would be weird for them to have different products. Same deal. I have taken *so many* advanced group lessons on holidays and powder days to cut lines ... what the fiffle?

I'm going to reach out to instructors I know at Breck, and their ski school main line, for more info, because this is some bullllllllllllshit.

I've emailed the adult lesson manager and adult intermediate/advanced program supervisor, Monique, asking about this issue.

 

[Kneale Brownson]

Thought you and DV didn't like snowboarding?

Falling leaf is a valid ski exercise too.

 

[fatbob]

Yeah I know but it is THE snowboard base level exercise.

 

[peterm]

Here's the link that shows the available lessons on Saturday 10 Feb 2018, for advanced adults. All options are private lessons except for "ADULT PEAK TO PEAK GUIDED SKI EXPERIENCE". Looking at this more, I really do think it is a messaging problem. The name doesn't sound like a lesson at all, but if you click on the link and read the description it does sound like a lesson and a pretty fun one at that.

https://www.parkcitymountain.com/plan-your-trip/ski-and-ride-lessons/search-results.aspx?sport=Ski&age=Adult&level=Advanced&date=02/10/2018&location=00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000&types=&durations=&UseTopLevelCriteriaForSearchWhenNoResults=true

 

[Lorenzzo]

Pretty sure it's just corporate blithering. Can't picture VR explaining to WS analysts why eliminating adult group lessons is accretive or a good idea..

 

[Mendieta]

How about we stay on topic. Mike is asking a very specific question:

Could anyone recommend an instructor at Park City who is skilled at this and would be straight forward and upfront in their feedback/ recommendations. If you could send me a private message that would be great.

How about we focus on helping him, and we open separate threads for other stuff, such as lessons in general, are they worth it, and the state of instruction in the US . So far, we haven't found a recommendation for a good instructor in PCM, and the one idea (that I second) is to give Deer Valley a shot (though it won't be cheap). Let's keep the good stuff coming.

 

[Monique]

I've emailed the adult lesson manager and adult intermediate/advanced program supervisor, Monique, asking about this issue.

How about we focus on helping him

Just to clarify, Kneale and I have both reached out to Breck ski school, which is where we have contacts. The web interface is the same for both PCMR and for Breck. Thus, I believe that if we find out that actually there ARE advanced group lessons, and they're just being described poorly, we can help OP.

 

[Monique]

So, I just did some research, and from what I can tell -

1) The "Guided ski experience" sure looks like a rebranded advanced lesson.

• Gain the confidence to tackle new and more challenging terrain
• Improve on your fundamentals and move on to learning new skills and techniques
• Learn comfortably at a relaxed pace in a social environment with other like-minded individuals

It's the same price as other group lessons (i.e., ridiculous - $209)

(My only objection might be that "relaxed pace" business ... whut?)

2) Apparently VR is trying to get away from students trying to classify themselves into exact levels -

http://www.snow.com/faqdetail/Ski-a...oard-lesson-should-I-take-What-level-am-I.axd

We split the lessons into what 'zone' you ski in; beginner, intermediate, and advanced. For instance within the beginner zone, there are skiers/boarders that are first-timers, up to those just starting on intermediate runs. Within that zone, you will be matched up with other students that are at your level. So all you really need to let us know is if you ski on beginner, intermediate, or advanced runs, that's the level of lesson to take.

This actually seems like a reasonable way to avoid the problem of misinformed self-classification, although my cynical heart says it's also a way to collapse level 9s into a level 7 group and call it fair. I'm not sure to what extent you can ask for a refund if they won't give you the sort of class you want.

FWIW, I can't even find an equivalent of the guided ski experience thingie on the Breck site. There's something called a private guide experience, but that's explicitly not a lesson - you have to bring a beacon, and you get to start early. And you have to sign up as a group, not individually. (I do know some of the instructors who do this, and I can imagine it would be super fun.)