Hello MLC Instructors!
What a week it’s been. From awesome weekend weather to 4 inches of rain and 78 mph winds at the top Mt. Hood Express, to blue skies today – classic Mt. Hood! It’s Martin Luther King Jr. Weekend – that means it’s going to be busy. We have the most on-line daily lesson pre-bookings we’ve had all season, but rest assured they are within the Covid Response Operation Plans for the MLC and are at a manageable level.
That in mind, please drive safely, leave early, take the bus, plan on it taking much longer to travel to your mountain home tomorrow. Also, plan on it taking longer to get home when you leave tomorrow as the roads will be congested, too.
Please be respectful and patient with one another.
Weather is looking good!
Check the forecast here: https://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lon=-121.6688576341901&lat=45.34194381514135#.YAJGzthKiUl
Check your schedule in Dayforce – and be on-time (or early) to your assignment
I know you checked it last night, but check it again when you arrive at the mountain – it might have changed. You need to tap on the scheduled day in the Dayforce App, then scroll down to find your assignment.
Yes, you were hired to teach people how to ski and snowboard, but what’s more important is that you were also hired to help make our guest’s experience at Mt. Hood Meadows as best as it can be. If that means we need you to greet, or boot fit, or hand out skis, or do maze control – this all makes the guest experience amazing – plus you’re learning how to do something else that has an impact on the overall guest experience. And I can tell you that the other departments are so thankful we are there to assist them in times of need. Many guests are not making to the mountain before the lots close, some of the lesson guests just aren’t here yet, so having the “Operation Green Coat Takeover” help out in these critical areas is awesome. If you don’t feel comfortable doing a certain activity, please let a supervisor know and we’ll re-assign you.
Kids on Lifts & the Comfort Bar
There was some confusion and miscommunication at the lift operations meeting last weekend Saturday morning about helping kids on lifts lower the comfort bar. Lift operations will assist to lower the bar for your kids lessons, if you ask for assistance and they are able to do so. Please “call your lesson” when approaching the loading area, “Kids lesson with 2 kids boarding next.” This will alert the operator that there might need to be some special attention needed. If you need some help lowering the comfort bar for the kids, please ask, “Can you help lower the bar?” Be sure that your kids are on either side of the lift, so when helping with lowering the bar does not cause issues with the handle or foot rest (on lifts that have foot rests) hitting kids or equipment. Also, be sure to coach your kids from the back, when approaching the top unloading area, “OK. Work as a team to raise the bar on 3. Ready? 1 … 2… 3 … raise the bar!” Do this calmly yet assertively to your kids get the timing right and can be successful at raising the bar.
Be polite and respectful when using the Lesson Lane
I know it seems like you’ve been waiting “forever” … but it hasn’t. When it’s your turn at the front of the lesson lane, let the maze control person know you’re ready by saying, “I have a lesson taking up 3 chairs whenever you’re ready for us.” This will give the maze control person the information they need to assess the guest lanes then let your class with 3 chairs through when it’s your turn. If time is important to you I would advise avoiding lifts like Mt. Hood Express where there are 6 lanes and a lesson lane – just doing the math here means you’re going to wait.
Actual Guest Comments – You are all amazing!
About Val: Could not have asked for a better time or instructor. Val was the best! He pushed me and my skill level in the most positive way, judged my abilities appropriately, I never felt like my safety was a concern but was able to snowboard in places I never would have felt comfortable going by myself. Looking forward to another lesson and building my skills and confidence.
About Lynn Hickcox: Awesome thorough classes, gave me a ton of technique work and drills to work on! 10/10 recommend
About Austin C: Austin was a great instructor! He explained things well, by breaking concepts into small chunks, and then showed me what to do before I attempted it on my own. His feedback was specific and encouraging. He was super patient and relatable too! I started the lesson feeling really unsure about my ability to ever learn how to ski, and I left feeling like I really learned something! I’d love to come back for a lesson on how to navigate greens!
About Paul L.: The instructor was fantastic!!! I loved the level of feedback and the thorough explanation as well as little tricks I can use to improve. He was also very good at giving me advice on how to prepare for skiing and how to practice between lessons.
About Galan: Galen was super helpful and patient working with me and my son. I really appreciated how nice he was. He made things easy to understand and follow.
About Anne M: It was great, she was very knowledgeable and also very patient with myself and the other participant.
About Bruce: Instructor was really good. Appreciated his help!
About Loren: Loren did an amazing job!! We very much appreciated his time and learned a lot. We also appreciated the individual feedback that he gave us so that we were able to improve the areas that we were struggling in.
About Sophia: Sophie was an amazing instructor who gave great personalized advice and was extremely encouraging and supportive through the whole lesson. I would highly recommend her to anyone wanting to take a lesson.
About Andrew S: Andrew was great! We would recommend him to anyone. Thank you for the great experience!
About Brian B: Brian is the BEST! He easily identifies issues to focus on. He provides clear, easy to understand explanations that enable us to implement easily and immediately. He is patient and supportive. Having lessons with Brian has made skiing much more fun and really built my confidence.
About Garrett Cooper: Garrett did a great job teaching my children and an adult in varying levels of experience. He was able to connect with us and building on what we were learning, in an understandable way.
Those are comments from those who took the time to share. I’m sure many of you have made a positive impact on your students in many ways. Keep up the amazing job and know that you’re making a difference in people’s lives!
Yours in snowsports,
Tyler
