This is the winter that thins the terrain but sharpens the pros. The season that efficiently and without apology separates instructors from true professionals. A time when we are teaching high-paying guests between the dirt and a hard place, something none of us imagined when we earned our pins in the Rocky Mountain region.
This has been one of the least cooperative snow years on record. The long-standing hierarchy of seniority and certification has compacted into a narrow battlefield where rookies and veterans now compete gracefully, diplomatically, and occasionally begrudgingly for the same work.
Beyond the Rockies, small mountains have honed the craft of teaching on limited terrain for generations. It is one of the industry’s understated truths. The West has rarely had to learn this lesson, although in many regions this has always been the work.
When winter gives less and guests expect more, we pivot.
Whether on skis or a snowboard, this season forces every snow pro to turn around their axis. Sometimes literally, sometimes figuratively, and sometimes both at once. With a fall line as unforgiving as it has been this season, gravity is no longer the trusty teaching assistant it once was. We turn in place and lead with skill because there is no other choice.
This season laughs at the old mantra “Never teach a new skill on new terrain.”
We could not teach on new terrain if we tried. There is none.
We are gamifying garlands.
Leapfrogging with falling leaf.
Hunting for pockets of snow that are not flow zones in an otherwise bottlenecked mountain experience.
The romance of instructing fades when the teaching environment shrinks and guest expectations expand. What remains, the heart of great teaching grounded in foundational skills and emotional engagement, becomes the universal test. It is a test every lasting pro eventually faces.
Those who make a true professional pivot by treating this season as a structured learning opportunity, developing measurable skills in movement analysis, risk management, and adaptability, will walk into next winter with a deeper skill set than any elective clinic could offer.
There may be less snow underfoot, but our guests will not receive less from us. It might not always be pretty, but it will always be professional.
