Last year, I hoped to get my PSIA level 1 for cross country ski instruction, but it didn’t happen. This year I have signed up to take one of the classes and the level 1 exam. I expect to be competent on classic skiing and general ski knowledge. I need to read the instruction books to brush up on detailed terminology and teaching technique. The biggest issue is that you are required to know how to skate and teach skating. Well, being a backcountry skier, I don’t skate. So I signed myself up for a two night intro to skate skiing class down in Weston MA where they make snow.

The first night was this past Thursday. As we went through the class, I learned that, as expected, I already had all the fundamental skills needed for skating. The learning progression is the same as classic: start without skis or poles and do various exercises, then just skis, and finally poles. When we added the poles, I got a bit mixed up. In retrospect, I think I straightened out which makes it harder to hold an edge — a crucial component of skating. I also tried to pay attention to how the instructor taught skating. Given the size group he had, he did not do much individual fine tuning, but rather worked through a sequence of exercises. Afterwards I wrote down the sequence in my notes, so at least I have that for reference. The class came with a three week rental package for skate skis. Unfortunately, there is no way I can make it down to Weston outside of class to take advantage of the rentals.

Read the report from my PSIA Level 1 class.