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reencircles.Bluesquares.Blackanddouble-blackdia-
monds.The trail signssay itall:Skiing isasportnotorious
forability levels.Whilerunnersorbikerswouldrarely
describe themselvesas intermediatesorexperts, skiersand
snowboardersdo itall the time.Theproblem is that they
tend togetstuck in thesedefined levels, andmany interme-
diatesremain“blue”skiers forever,whilesomeadvanced
skiersmasterbasicblack terrainbutneverreallybecome
experts, stillputoffbybumps, trees, orsteeps.Noamountof
skidays lets thosestuckat thesecommonplateausmove to
thenext level.
Everymajorski resorthasaski school, but for thevaca-
tionskierwho takesoneor twobig tripsayear,anoccasional
privateorgroup lessonhasneversolved thesport’splateau
problem. Ina typical scenario, skiers takea lessononvaca-
tion—and then,withno follow-up, quicklyrevert toold
habits.During thenext trip, often toadifferentmountain,
they tryanother instructorwitha totallydifferentphiloso-
phyandanothersetof tips thatdonot last.
Fortunately, though, theski industryhasembraced
multiday immersionprograms, and thebest feature truly
world-class instructors, includingOlympicorWorldCup
veterans.Studentsarecarefullygroupedbyskill leveland
staywith thesame instructor, improvingandreinforcing
everyday.State-of-the-artvideoandcomputer technology
letsstudentssee themselves, andequipmentconfusion is
clarified.Radical improvements inskiandsnowboard
technologysuchasshapedskisandboardsand integrated
bindingscanhelpskiersprogressquickly, but theseoffer-
ingsareoftenbewildering torecreational shoppers.Top
immersionski campsmakerecommendationsandallow
participants toswitchdemomodels throughout,withaccess
to the latesthigh-performancegear.Thesecampsvaryby
themesandare foreveryskier type, fromall-around leisure
seeker toextremebackcountrydaredevil.Specialized
campsalsocater toallages, sexes, andequipment tastes
andare forsnowboarders, alpineskiers, and telemarkski-
ers.Nomatterwhatyour tasteorability level, there’sa
perfectcamp foryou.
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celebratedliving.com
WINTER 2009
