The amazing stupidly of city tourists to the ADKs

I was just busting your balls coach, I'm sure your radar can pick up on goofy kids from the city that are embarking on an adventure that likely might be over their heads.

As was at my end with tourists a few years back when I was doing the jeep tour thing in Sedona. It was so bad that I wouldn't call anyone or do anything social on my free time because I couldn't stand talking any longer. If I wasn't getting paid for it I found myself biting the heads off of anyone that would ask me a question. It was time for me to move on and was one of many reasons I'm in school now.

PeeTex wrote

So do you think these were the two guys who went into the bar and asked the bar tender if they knew how they could find a ski instructor, the bar tender said - don't worry, they will let you know who they are...

HA! I ski instructed when I was a teenager for a few seasons. I wasn't ever really into it. I quickly realized that if I wanted to actually be skiing it wasn't a good gig, it's good for people that like to talk about skiing tho. There are exceptions of course, so don't get your undies in a bunch folks.

If I were an instructor now I don't think I would tell anyone. :)

I'm at the point with instructing that I'm not sure I really want to do it anymore.  The pay sucks industry wide but Orda is not even close to being competitive compared to the pay in VT and the hassles are just too much.  We don't have enough staff so we teach more than I really want to and don't ski enough which is why you do it in the first place.  On Holidays when it is not good to free ski anyway I guess its ok.  Maybe I'm just burned out at almost 30 years.  I've heard MC echo some of the same things about working for Orda.

Could you just teach during holidays and have fun the rest of the time?  U deserve it bro!  

Can the free pass Z. Buy your own. Ski waaaaay more and no hassles. Woo Hoo !!!

Dad..... any mo' flatland funnies ?

The amazingly stupidly haha

Thacheronix wrote

The amazingly stupidly haha

Right you are T ! Eron-iously hallarious !

Though it appears you yourself committed a faux pas with a superfluous ly.

Extraneously eron-ious.

skimore wrote

snoloco wrote

Not everyone is a backcountry skier who hikes miles for every run like you are.  Most people go on a few big hikes a year, if that.  It would likely take them longer to get up and down, and they might lose the trail if it got dark and they had no light.  Only experienced hikers should be in the woods after dark.

Nonsense. A bunch of 20yr olds can get up and down Cascade in 4hrs easy. Also stop with the after dark crap. Only a bunch of morons couldn't get off Cascade in the dark with some lights.

Hiked Cascade with my family last Summer (including my 4 & 7 year old at the time). We did it in about 4.5 hours. We got there early enough that we were headed back down around 1:30-2 and people were JUST starting out. The majority were not at all prepared; no pack, one small half bottle of water, 2 or 3 people in JEANS, etc. I was pretty concerned for a guy with an LI accent who was gasping and grunting, red-faced, and barely spit out "How far to da top?". He was about 1/4 of the way up the trail.

Honestly, most people underestimate nature these days and many think they can just call in for a rescue on a moments notice.

Coach Z wrote

I'm at the point with instructing that I'm not sure I really want to do it anymore.  The pay sucks industry wide but Orda is not even close to being competitive compared to the pay in VT and the hassles are just too much.  We don't have enough staff so we teach more than I really want to and don't ski enough which is why you do it in the first place.  On Holidays when it is not good to free ski anyway I guess its ok.  Maybe I'm just burned out at almost 30 years.  I've heard MC echo some of the same things about working for Orda.

ORDA is tough to work for, especially if you're low on the totem pole, as line ski instructors are (I'm sure that the higher ups are fine). I just felt as if I was being treated as an easily replaceable commodity, regardless of training and experience. And, I guess it's true. They don't NEED a PSIA Level 3 Alpine/Dev Team Telemark skier to teach lessons. They seemed to do just fine for the last couple years that I haven't been there (not sure about their numbers for the weekend programs that I used to teach, or whether people left because the programs were missing my voice, but I would assume not).

Platty is much more accommodating and I genuinely look forward to my days there (which is something that was getting harder and harder to say at Gore). They don't have as many requirements, they don't have as many responsibilities (at Gore, they sometimes wanted us to put people's boots on in the rental shop or stand at busy intersections for crowd control) , and Platty still has a nice, relaxed schedule (I hated how Gore kept adding lineups until it seemed like I spent all day going to lineup. And they kept making the required days harder and harder to attain).

For me, I just didn't want to put up with the bullshit anymore. I like teaching, but not at ORDA. Although eventually, I'm probably going to stop teaching, too. I don't need the money, and these free summer weekends remind me of how nice it is to not have so many responsibilities (like I do in the winter). I probably have almost exactly 4 years left in me.

Matt - You nailed it.  I would really enjoy a more laid back place like you have at Platty to teach at but there is nothing within reasonable driving distance and I love WF way too much to ski elsewhere.

I assume you need to have a teaching gig until you make examiner.

I do enjoy the teaching but all the BS not at all and we keep losing staff so the need for me to teach is increasing not decreasing.  My ideal set up would be to free ski to 10 teach to noon and have the rest of the day to ski.  

I really enjoyed working the season long kids program but I can't commit to the schedule with my son's race schedule which is now my #1 priority.

mattchuck2 wrote

Although eventually, I'm probably going to stop teaching, too. I don't need the money, and these free summer weekends remind me of how nice it is to not have so many responsibilities (like I do in the winter). I probably have almost exactly 4 years left in me.

Good.  Abby still needs more work on her tele skis.

Coach Z wrote

I'm cool with drinking on the golf course just let the fast sober golfers play thru.  

Interesting --- so a foresome of guys drinking beers shouldn't be let thru by a foresome of goody two shoes???  

The rules of golf used to say this:

The statement "a single player has no standing and should give way to a match of any kind" was removed from the Official Rules of Golf in revisions for the 2004 edition"


That's how I was taught. That said I was also taught proper etiquette was to let faster players thru no matter how many in a group (one player is now considered a "group" by the rules of golf), or what they were drinking.

campgottagopee wrote

The statement "a single player has no standing and should give way to a match of any kind" was removed from the Official Rules of Golf in revisions for the 2004 edition"

I had no idea about this and if true, it's bollox. Unless the course is empty, single players should join other groups.

I had to look up bollox but I agree

Marcski wrote

Good.  Abby still needs more work on her tele skis.

I belong to the LP Club and it's very rarely full unless there is an outing as they have 45 holes of golf.  Members here consider a 3.5 hour round dreadfully slow.  I do avoid the mid morning weekend tee times when the resort guests from down south play.  Playing golf in 5 hours here is another stupid tourist thing.  

campgottagopee wrote

I had to look up bollox but I agree

This is the only reason I'm familiar with the word Bollox. I have been a fan of the word poppycock as of late. :)

Coach Z wrote

I belong to the LP Club and it's very rarely full unless there is an outing as they have 45 holes of golf.  Members here consider a 3.5 hour round dreadfully slow.  I do avoid the mid morning weekend tee times when the resort guests from down south play.  Playing golf in 5 hours here is another stupid tourist thing.

I don't play golf.  But, I assume the round of golf is probably the most physical activity a lot of the guests from "down south" are going to do and in any event they probably want to slow down, enjoy the mountain air and vistas and have no desire to play fast. "They" probably rush during their normal days and perhaps they got away just to enjoy a slow, leisurely round of golf.  To each his own, Coach.  

Pretty much the members all walk and the hotel guest all ride carts since they are included in the price they pay.  The whole point is if they are "making a day of it" they should let faster players play thru.  Most people do but some have no clue that a good player walking can play twice as fast as slow players in carts.

Yesterday my son and I played.  We had a single in a cart behind us and he never got close to playing thru though I watched to make sure we were not slowing him down.  We did play thru on the 10th tee a 4some in carts that started about 30 mins in front of us.  We played in 3:15 walking yesterday so they were on a relaxing 4:30 pace.  They nicely offered at a convenient spot for us to jump thru.  They were very nice about it.  Some poeple are not so aware of what is behind them and there seems to be a bais against letting walkers thru with some poeple.  

Coach Z wrote

  Some poeple are not so aware of what is behind them and ....

that's not an issue on PMD shuttle days with my crew.  the slow ones scatter when they hear the fright train coming!!