Hello Meadows Learning Center Instructors!
We are so stoked to share with you that the Sahale lodge is scheduled to break ground in June 2019 with site work, utilities and foundation. This huge endeavor would not have been possible without the incredible dedication you have provided to your students, your team and Mt. Hood Meadows – thank you! The new lodge plus the new “Nordic parking Lot” will create more opportunity for our team and guests to enjoy our mountain home! But before then we need to rock the rest of this season. We are expecting to be busy this weekend with awesome sunny days and Spring like conditions, so if you can join us this weekend, please do! Also, please read on … there’s more
Last Weekend of Night Operations
Nordic Outreach Clinic Available this Saturday!
5th Grade Ski & Snowboard Days
Guest Comments – You Rock!
Wage Increases plus Overtime at 40 hours
Say hello to the construction of the Sahale Lodge
Toyota Friday and Saturday Afternoon Special
Fulfilling Your Commitment
How do I get my Level I Certification?
New Level I Certified Pros and Freestyle Specialists – Congratulations!
Exit Procedures
Last Weekend of Night Operations
This Friday, Saturday and Sunday are the last 3 nights of night operations for the season, and the last 3 evenings of clinics. The great thing about lessons and clinics this time of year is that it’s still light out! Come teach or clinic this weekend. Starting Monday 3/18 through 4/21 we will operate 7 days per week with lifts open from 9am to 4pm. We will then operate April 26-28 and May 3-4, with team member appreciation and ski/ride day on Sunday May 5!
Nordic Outreach Clinic Available this Saturday!
There will be an Outreach Clinic sponsored by PSIA NW this coming Saturday for all Nordic staff free of charge given by Phil Armiger. He was shadowing the level II and III exam that me Denes and Karen took several weeks ago. I highly recommend that everyone (all ability levels, skating and classic!) attend, there will be something for everyone! Phil is a great instructor with a wonderful sense of humor and this is special since PSIANW is footing the bill for him to attend in order to show our staff some of the great clinics that will be available to you by joining PSIANW! He will be focusing on ski improvement and Instruction via drills, timing and tempo changes, transfer of momentum and experiments ( that should be fun!). He will also be open to any suggestions or questions of topics to cover during the day. This is not intended as a level I certification.
Schedule
1. Skate skiing 9 am – 12 pm
2. Lunch 12 – 1 pm (Potluck maybe?)
3. Classic skiing 1 – 4 pm
Please RSVP by sending an email to Debbie.Bauer@skihood.com so we have a count of the number of people attending each section and if anyone is interested in a Potluck for lunch.
Hood River County 5th Grade Ski & Snowboard Days
If you still need to pick up some shifts to fulfill your commitment the following days would be great. April 9th, April 11th, April 16th, April 18th and April 19th. We invite all 5th graders (and some 3rd and 4th graders from the smaller schools) to join us for a morning ski and snowboard lessons with their class. Mt. Hood Meadows donates these lessons, rentals and lift access – the schools provide the bus transportation. It’s a super fun time so please join us by signing up to work any of these days – or all of them. Add them to your schedule by clicking this link: https://mhm.snowproportal.com/schedule-change-requests
Guest Comments – You Rock!
Cody Yost – Cody was amazing! He was so good with Savannah and I can’t believe how much she progressed due to her time with him.
Kyle Donahue – Kyle was very patient but at the same time he was encouraging
Brian Beardsley – Hope to have another lesson with Brian!
Chris – Chris did a great job. There were 5 in our group. He quickly knew everyone’s name. He communicated clearly. He got feedback from us. We got to see a lot of the mountain. I felt I improved. It was a great experience. Thank you, Chris!
Ian Duncan – Ian Duncan is like no other teacher. He really knows his stuff and how to teach properly. He gives helpful advice to improve the abilities of his students. He really cares about his students and his free spirit makes the sport fun for each individual.
Russ Van Orman – I had lost the joy and thrill of skiing this season. Two hours with Russ VanOrman as my instructor re-energized my love for skiing. He helped me get my balance right, use my edges better, and improved my control. All that combined to restore my self-confidence. Yesterday was an epic day for me! 20 runs and lots of smiles. Thank you Russ.
Wage Increases and Overtime at 40 hours
Beginning July 1st, 2019, overtime will be paid starting at 40 hours. There are quite a few team members that put in extra hours when needed and we want to compensate them. In the past overtime was paid after 56 hours following US Forest Service rules, however this does not align with our core values. We are very excited to be able to offer this team member benefit, and hope to be more diligent about keeping our team members with reasonable hours in a work week. The Board also approved the concept of a Meadows Minimum Wage. Instead of following the Oregon required increase of $10.75 to $11.25 on July 1st we will move to a slightly higher minimum wage amount than the Oregon State minimum wage requirement. This is a step in the right direction to sustainability for all our team members.
Say “hello” to the Sahale Lodge
No this is not a typo. If you check the maps around Mt. Hood you’ll see the spelling like, “Sahalie” however after consulting with the warm Spring Tribe about the use of the name, they stated that the traditional spelling is, “Sahale.” This new lodge that will connect via overhead breezeway the South Lodge will greatly enhance space for guests and the team. It is a huge endeavor; nothing this big has been built here since 1999 when the South Lodge was expanded by 40% and fully remodeled at a cost of approximately $10M. Construction will begin in June 2019 and is scheduled for completion in the 2020-21 season. There will be plenty more details shared about this – stay tuned to the MHM blog, our team email, and look for a public announcement with even more news about how this new space will enrich all of our lives.
Toyota Friday and Saturday Afternoon Special
We are offering afternoon first timer and novice lessons on Friday and Saturday afternoons similar to Toyota Nights. This is a great opportunity to invite guests to the mountain that normally would not have the means to do so. The cost of the lesson is $25, plus $10 for rentals and $10 for a Progression Pass – so $45 for a half day experience. If we have high numbers (like I hope we do), we’ll do “Station Teaching” which I can share more with you if you’re working one of these days. Again, if you need to pick up shifts to fulfill your commitment, these are good days. March 15, 16, 22, 23, 29, 30, April 5, 6, 12, 13. Add them to your schedule by clicking this link: https://mhm.snowproportal.com/schedule-change-requests
Fulfilling Your Commitment
If you are a part time instructor with an 18 shift commitment and have taught 65 hours this season you’ve earned a free voucher to share with a friend or family member. If you are a 24 shift commitment instructor and have taught 80 hours this season you’ve earned a free voucher to share with a friend or family member. Once you cross this threshold, every 4 lesson hours you earn another voucher for a friend or family member. How do you know if you’ve worked that many hours? Look back at your schedule here: https://mail.skihood.com/WebAdmin/ – then count the number of days where you have taught lessons – each of those group lessons are at least 2 hours, some are 2.25 hours. If you think you’ve crossed this threshold, email Josey or Tyler and we’ll review your hours. Please don’t ask us to review your teaching hours before you have competed a review of your own hours.
If you have NOT completed your commitment shifts there is still plenty of days left this season. Keep in mind that those who don’t meet their schedule commitment will automatically be a conditional rehire for next season, so please do your part to uphold our mutual commitments to one another. If you need to add days here’s the link: https://mhm.snowproportal.com/schedule-change-requests
How do I get my Level I Certification?
There has been quite a lot of confusion about this. It does NOT cost $400. The written exam is $10. The on-snow exam is $20. You must join PSIA-AASI in order to take the exam – membership is $121. If you are a full time instructor Mt Hood Meadows will pay for all of this, BUT YOU have to take the next steps. It’s not that hard, but apparently we have given the impression that it is.
New Level I Certified Pros and Freestyle Specialists – Congratulations!
Those who recently completed their Alpine and/or Snowboard Level I certifications were: Corbin Volbert, Shannon Malamphy, Kyle Donahue, Kyle Jeske, Frank Polermo, Erica Coughlin-Glaser, Claire Thomforde-Garner, Tyler Cox and Keeley Brownback. These instrutors just got their Freestyle Specialist 1: Dennis Balazs, Steven Dowling, Shannon Malamphy, Misha Miller-Hughes, Kyle Donahue, Jesse Eaton, Corbin Volbert, Derek Grant and Francesco Gentinetta
Exit Procedures
If you have fulfilled your commitment we ask that you let us know by completing and exit interview on-line, as well as turn in your uniform and drop of your nametag in the instructor lounge or give it to a supervisor. You may keep using your team member locker however be sure to remove any personal items from your locker (and the locker room) before the end of the season. Anything left after the end of the season is donated. If you end up picking up an additional shift after you have turned in your uniform we’ll just check out a uniform to you for the day. This reduces the burden on our uniform department if those who are done for the season turn in their uniforms in the coming weeks rather than the very end of the season. Here is the link for the exit interview: https://mhm.snowproportal.com/current-staff/exit-interview
See you this weekend!
Tyler
