Hello MLC Instructors!
In the episode of the weekly instructor update …
Weekend Weather Outlook
We need help tonight and Toyota Saturday Night
Sunday – Sunday – Sunday – we need you!
Monday Hood River Schools are out!
How do you know you’re doing a good job?
Lift Loading and Lift Riding Best Practices
Next Level I exam is March 14
Annual Team Member Survey.
Please read on …
Weekend Weather Outlook
Tonight: Snow likely before 10pm, then snow showers after 10pm. The snow could be heavy at times. Low around 18. Wind chill values as low as -1. Windy, with a west wind 26 to 28 mph, with gusts as high as 39 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New snow accumulation of 3 to 5 inches possible. Saturday: Snow showers, mainly before 4pm. The snow could be heavy at times. High near 25. Wind chill values as low as zero. Windy, with a west wind 18 to 23 mph, with gusts as high as 32 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New snow accumulation of 3 to 5 inches possible. Saturday Night: A 40 percent chance of snow showers, mainly before 10pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 18. Blustery, with a west northwest wind 14 to 16 mph, with gusts as high as 23 mph. New snow accumulation of less than one inch possible. Sunday: A 20 percent chance of snow showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 26. Blustery, with a west wind 11 to 16 mph, with gusts as high as 23 mph.
Friday Night Help – Tonight and Next Friday Night
To accommodate the differing arrival times and ages for Friday night walk in and program lessons we really need to have 4 more snowboarders and alpine instructors. If you can make it tonight to help out, or stay for the night shift tonight, we could really use you. Please reply all to this email and we’ll add you to the schedule. Yes, you would earn a ticket for a friend or family member for picking up tonight or next Friday night.
Toyota Saturday Night
Presently there are 62 alpine and 78 snowboard lessons pre-sold for Saturday night. We are looking pretty well staffed, however I would expect some people to call in sick, so if we could have 2-3 more alpine and snowboard instructors join us on Saturday night, that would be awesome. Please reply all to this email. Yes, you would earn a ticket for a friend or family member for picking up this Saturday night.
Sunday – Sunday – Sunday Help Needed
Please signup to pick up the next 2 Sundays. We are really short staffed in program lessons, so if you can help out on Sundays we can use you. If you can pick up this Sunday or next Sunday please reply all to this email. Yes, you would earn a ticket for a friend or family member for picking up this Sunday and/or next Sunday.
Monday March 2 – Hood River Schools are Out
We are going to need a few more instructors to join us on Monday as the Hood River Schools are out. If you can pick up this Monday please reply all to this email. Yes, you would earn a ticket for a friend or family member for picking up this Monday.
Instructor Performance: Professional Appearance + Safety, Fun & Learning
To evaluate whether you are performing as your best, please consider your professional appearance – in uniform, with name tag, showing up on-time, ready to enrich the lives of our guests. Showing up late, not wanting to teach lessons, eating food and out of uniform to your assigned lesson area is not being “pro.” These simple things are what we use to measure your professionalism.
As for your teaching and lesson content consider the following (in this order): Safety, Fun and Learning. These are the three tenets of snow sports instruction. Safety: Keep your students (and you) safe by choosing appropriate terrain, choosing safe stopping areas that are out of the way, teaching students how to navigate terrain as well as getting there, which includes riding the lift. Fun: it’s why most people are here – to have fun. Make your lessons FUN! How do I do that? Share your passion and enthusiasm for the sport. Learning: this is the easy part – if you keep students safe, make the lesson fun, then learning will happen. Yes, you must actually “teach something” but also remember that instructors tend to talk too much and make things more complicated than they need to be. Keep it simple. Share just enough information to get students doing what they need to. You can always add more information as it is needed.
Lift Loading & Riding Best Practices
Let’s revisit some lift loading and riding best practices. I have seen some student / teacher arrangements that look different than the diagrams below. Instructors should have a student on either side of them. If you are riding a quad chairlift and have a third student, the most skilled student should be closest to the lift operator. If you are asking a capable adult to ride with your class of students (if you have a class of more than 3 students) please confirm that the guest is comfortable doing this and can assist with lowering the bar. This “capable adult” should be in the position the farthest from the Lift Operator position.
For CLC Lessons with students aged 4 to 6, you will always ride with them on a quad. You may also ride Easy Rider with 4 to 6 year olds as a “triple” but make sure that you fit by testing it out on the Practice Chair. If you have a third student of 4 to 6 year olds on Easy Rider this student should ride with a capable adult who can lower the bar. If you do plan to do a “triple load” on easy Rider, be sure to alert the lift operator to slow the lift. This is not a typical scenario for lift operators so be sure to warn them.
Capable Adult Scenario
When Riding the Lift
Please lower the bar, this goes for you free skiing/riding and in lessons with your students. Kids should only attempt to lower the bar if they can reach it. On Buttercup and Easy Rider there is a strap attached to the bar to help those who are shorter to be able to reach the bar and lower it.
Remember the 3 basics:
SIT STILL, HOLD ON! No horseplay or moving around. Simply hold on to the chair and enjoy the ride to the top.
BACK TO BACK, BOTTOM TO BOTTOM. Keep your back against the backrest on the chair at all times. Do not ever try to lift up off the seat or stand on foot rests.
PACKS IN LAPS, CHECK FOR LOOSE CLOTHING. Before you load, remove your backpack and check for loose clothing. Unremoved packs prevent riders from being safely and fully seated and can also snag when trying to unload.
For more information about riding the lift with kids, see this website: http://www.kidsonlifts.org/ and for information on loading and riding best practices, including the Triple Load Procedure, please see an excerpt from our instructor manual here: https://mhm.snowproportal.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/96/2020/02/Lift-Safety.pdf
Next Level I Exam – Alpine and Snowboard – March 14
The next Level I Exam is happening on Saturday March 14. You must sign up for the on-snow portion of the exam by end of day Saturday. You must also complete the on-line written exam and the Level I E-learning course prior to being able to sign up for the exam. You also need to complete the required in-house clinics so you will be ready to pass the exam. You can get all the details here: https://mhm.snowproportal.com/training/level-1-exam-info
Annual Team Member Survey – Only 1 day left to complete it!
Please help us make Mt. Hood Meadows an even better place – your comments and suggestions shape our next steps. This is a deeper look into your satisfaction with a 21 question survey. It has easy score items and places to make comments in each section. As we have been doing this year, the survey is anonymous, however if you wish to leave your name you may do so after any comment you make. Your name will appear to managers and directors and will only appear only on the exact comment you make, not the entire survey.
Take the English Survey or Take the Spanish Survey
Thanks and see YOU this weekend!
Tyler
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Tyler Barnes
Learning Center Operations & Training Manager
O: (503) 337-2222 ext.1276
M: (541) 490-4580
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