NEW 25/26 COURSES

Western Leadership Series: Join us for the Western Leadership Series—a dynamic, four-part virtual event designed to explore and inspire leadership within the snowsports industry. Whether you’re aspiring to take on new leadership roles or looking to expand your impact, this series offers a unique opportunity to learn directly from experienced leaders across PSIA-AASI and the broader resort community.

This interactive series will spotlight leadership pathways, challenges, and growth opportunities in snowsports. Each session features two accomplished speakers sharing their personal leadership journeys, lessons learned, and practical advice for those looking to advance in PSIA-AASI or the wider snowsports industry.

New Member Welcome: Welcome to the Western Region of the Professional Ski Instructors of America and the American Association of Snowboard Instructors! We are excited you have chosen to be part of our organization, congratulations on taking this step in your snowsports career. PSIA-AASI offers many amazing educational and credentialing events, access to world-class education materials, great deals on the equipment you need to do your job, and a wonderful community of like-minded snowsports enthusiasts.

The Western Region is the oldest of the eight regions of PSIA-AASI. Approximately 3,600 members strong, we offer more than 300 events a season.  There are a lot of moving parts and many great resources – when you know where to look. To help you maximize the value of your membership, we’re inviting you to join us for a one-hour New Member Welcome Webinar. Western members, here is your chance to connect in a casual environment with the CEO and Deputy Director. Please take this opportunity to learn how to use our websites, register for events, find resources, and participate in our community.  Bring any questions you may have, we look forward to meeting you!

Community Building Series: The PSIA-AASI Western Community Building Series is designed to strengthen connections, foster mentorship, and create supportive networks among our members. We believe that a thriving community enriches everyone’s experience and professional journey. This series offers diverse opportunities to connect, share insights, and build lasting relationships, whether you’re a new member, a seasoned pro, or a parent balancing snowsports with family life. Join us to find your tribe, share your experiences, and contribute to a more vibrant and supportive snowsports community.

Clinics in this series include:

Locker Talk – Mentoring, Guiding, and Supporting: Building and Enhancing Locker Room Communities

Snow Pro Rally – New Member Community Building: Spend the day with your new member network.

Community Family Ski and Ride Day: Connecting with other parents in the industry.

Leveling Up – Finding a Community to Support Your Cert Pathways: Alpine and Snowboard Levels 1-3

Technical Skills Series: Elevate your on-snow performance with the PSIA-AASI Western Technical Skills Series. This comprehensive series offers a deep dive into the fundamental and advanced aspects of skiing and riding, designed to refine your technique and expand your versatility. From mastering edge control to conquering challenging terrain, our expert-led clinics provide focused instruction and personalized feedback to help you achieve your personal performance goals. Whether you’re looking to fine-tune specific movements or explore new dimensions of your chosen discipline, this series will push your technical boundaries.

Clinics in this series include:

Technical Skills: Edging, The Final Frontier

Technical Skills: Off Piste Skiing/Riding

Technical Skills: Bumps for All (Alpine and Snowboard Levels 1-3)

Technical Skills: Bumps – Tactics, Styles, and Techniques

Technical Skills: Under Pressure – Using Pressure to Improve Technique and Tactics

Technical Skills: 101 Drills for Personal Improvement

Technical Skills: Tip, Rip, and Carve

Technical Skills: Alpine Race Tactics and Techniques

Technical Skills: Gear Updates and Equipment Choices

Teaching Skills Series: Enhance your effectiveness as an instructor with the PSIA-AASI Western Teaching Skills Series. This series focuses on innovative approaches and practical strategies to meet the diverse needs of your students. From adapting lessons for varied learning styles and physical abilities to exploring new terrain and integrating multiple disciplines, these clinics will equip you with a robust toolkit to create engaging, effective, and inclusive learning experiences. Discover new ways to inspire, motivate, and empower your students on the snow.

Clinics in this series include:

Teaching Skills: Tools and Tips for Diverse and Complicated Lessons

Teaching Skills: Exploring Park, Trees, and Fun Terrain for Kids

Teaching Skills: Exploring and Supporting Physical Strengths and Limitations

Teaching Skills: Mixed Discipline Lessons

Teaching Skills: Bag of Tricks – Drills, Tools, and Adaptations (Alpine and Snowboard)

Lifetime Learning and Development Series: Dive into the science and art of human movement and communication with the PSIA-AASI Western Lifetime Learning Development Series. This series explores how individuals learn and move at different ages and stages of life, providing instructors with a deeper understanding of the “why” behind various movements. Learn to identify and analyze movement patterns, differentiate between ideal and desired outcomes, and tailor your communication to effectively reach learners of all ages, especially younger students. This series is invaluable for any instructor looking to enhance their analytical skills and refine their coaching approach.

Clinics in this series include:

Human Development Series Part 1 – Movement Analysis for All Ages and Stages of Life

Human Development Series Part 2: Real vs Ideal vs Desired Movements

Human Development Series Part 3: Communication to Reach Younger Learners w/Tim Varner

Personal Development Series: Expand your horizons and push your personal boundaries with the PSIA-AASI Western Personal Development Series. This series encourages instructors to explore new facets of snowsports, whether it’s venturing beyond their primary discipline, tackling challenging terrain, or refining their skills in specific areas. From learning a new snowsport to mastering big mountain tactics, these clinics offer unique opportunities for personal growth, exploration, and the sheer joy of pushing your own limits alongside fellow professionals.

Clinics in this series include:

Personal Development: New Frontiers – Learn to Ski or Ride (Learn to Alpine Ski, Learn to Snowboard)

Personal Development: Steeps and Chutes

Personal Development: Introduction to Big Mountain Tactics and Techniques

Personal Development: Bumps and more bumps

Movement Analysis Webinar Series: Deepen your understanding of cause-and-effect relationships in movement with the PSIA-AASI Western Movement Analysis Webinar Series. This dedicated virtual series provides an in-depth exploration of how movements are generated, observed, and influenced. Through engaging discussions and expert insights, you’ll learn to identify key movement patterns, understand their underlying causes, and develop effective strategies for improvement. This series is an essential resource for any instructor looking to enhance their analytical skills, refine their feedback, and guide students more effectively towards their movement goals.

Webinars in this series include:

Movement Analysis: Using the OEP Process

Movement Analysis: Discussing Cause and Effect Relationships

Movement Analysis: From Observation to Prescription – Crafting Effective Feedback

Movement Analysis: Decoding Equipment-Snow Interaction

The Human Journey – 2 Days of Growth, Connection, and Skill

Formerly the Senior Summit: A Clinic for Every Age, Every Phase, Every Coach.

We are thrilled to announce a significant evolution in one of our most beloved events! What was previously known as the Senior Summit has been reimagined and expanded to become The Human Journey – 2 Days of Growth, Connection, and Skill. This rebranding reflects our commitment to creating a truly inclusive and universally applicable event for all PSIA-AASI Western instructors, regardless of age, experience level, or current career stage.

The “Senior Summit” traditionally provided an incredible platform for our seasoned members to connect, learn, and share their vast knowledge. While the wisdom and experience of our long-standing members remain invaluable, we recognize that the principles of growth, connection, and skill development are vital for every instructor throughout their entire professional lifecycle.

“The Human Journey” acknowledges that the path of a snowsports professional is a continuous process of learning, adapting, and evolving. This two-day immersive experience will offer a rich blend of on-snow clinics, insightful discussions, and social opportunities designed to foster personal and professional growth for everyone.

You’ll find topics relevant to:

New instructors looking to build a strong foundation and navigate their early career.

Mid-career professionals seeking to refine their skills, explore new disciplines, or take on leadership roles.

Experienced instructors eager to share their expertise, mentor others, and continue their own learning journey.

All instructors interested in the physical, mental, and emotional aspects of snowsports instruction across different stages of life.

Join us for “The Human Journey” and connect with a diverse community of passionate snowsports educators. This is your opportunity to gain fresh perspectives, enhance your coaching toolkit, forge new connections, and contribute to the collective wisdom of our amazing Western Region. Embrace the continuous journey of growth, connection, and skill with us!

 

NEW 24/25 COURSES

New Pro Rallies: We want to welcome our newest members to PSIA-AASI! New Pro Rallies are free, one-day clinics offered to all new members welcoming them to the industry.  New members will get the opportunity to meet local and traveling examiners, connect with other new members, learn the basics of professional skills and decision making, and discover the professional development pathways PSIA-AASI supports.  New members must be first time registered members with no certifications.  (Credit to Dave Sutherland)

Ambassador Clinics: The Ambassador clinics are geared towards our highly experienced, veteran Level 2 Instructors who know our home resorts better than anyone.  Join us for a day of exploration, learn about the secret corners and prime teaching terrain, while experimenting with the best applications of the learning connection model. Collaborate with veteran peers and examiners to build and develop your bag of tricks, adding to your already deep quiver for engaging different learners, terrain, situations, and topics. Get access to process and alignment updates from our Western Examiners who will facilitate a day of professional and personal technical development tailored especially for you. (Credit to Western Examiner Dan Ray)

Resort Trainer Assessment Camps:  New for 24/25 one day boot camps on exam process and outlines for trainers at our Western Member Schools.

Western National Team Clinics: New for 24/25, one- and two-day clinics brought you to by Josh Smith, PSIA-AASI National Snowboard Team, Western Region Examiner, and Snowboard Task Force Chair.  Description coming soon.

Silver Socials: This event is designed to help our senior instructors connect with other seniors, creating opportunities to support and engage a growing community. Come join us for a day of on-snow skiing and socializing.  (Credit to Western Examiner Randy Bell)

Chain of Mastery:  Working title, full description coming soon, these will be holistic technical skills clinics geared towards our critical stakeholder groups.  (Credit to Western Examiner Bryan Schilling)

 

NEW 23/24 COURSES

Master Series: Master Series is designed for Level 3 Certified instructors and above. Led by our most experienced and accomplished examiners, the series explores excellence in technical, teaching, and people skills.  The first in the alpine series will focus on Technical Skills. Masters Series: Technical Expertise is geared to expertly calibrate technical fundamentals, fine tuning racing and off-piste techniques for precision application across varying terrain.  Unleash the performance of modern gear while exploring the limits of momentum, energy transfer, force, and gravity.  Refine your skills and rule the mountain in our Masters Series.  The first Snowboard Master Series is Big Mountain Challenge.  Spend a day in Kirkwood’s legendary terrain pushing the limits of your big mountain riding. This event is pure riding improvement to foster technical skill development. Every rider can expect individual attention, and personalized feedback, guaranteed to improve your riding in this exceptional terrain. This Snowboard Master event is open to members with at least a level three ride certification. (Credit to Western Examiner Blair McLeod).

Family + Kids Clinics: We are thrilled to introduce our new Family + Kids Clinics this year. We know juggling life and kids can get complicated so this program is designed to work around those hectic schedules. Flexible learning goals ensure we best meet the needs of the whole group. The later start time of 10 am should allow additional time to get kids to school or through your morning routine, before heading to the hill. And the earlier wrap up at 1 pm leaves you enough time in the afternoon to get back to your other responsibilities without disruption. Those of you with kids at home during the day can bring them along! Mount Rose and Diamond Peak have generously partnered with us to provide discounted kids lessons during these clinics to make sure no one gets left out. If you have found it hard to juggle life and continuing education credits, we are confident this can help!

Member Forum: Quarterly online member meeting to connect our regional stakeholders. This is a chance for the membership to connect with regional leadership on topics that affect individual members and the industry. Get updates on regional initiatives, Senior programs, by-law changes, national and regional task forces, and national alignment.

Advanced Trainer: Formerly Alpine Divisional Trainer, and Snowboard DTA, Advanced Trainer is a multidiscipline leadership and professional development program for those ready for the next step in their careers.  The PSIA-AASI West Advanced Trainer course is a training and evaluation process that refines the theories and practices of a successful trainer in the Western Region. This course is for any fully certified instructor who has extensive experience training and wants to be recognized and endorsed as a competent and effective trainer in the Western Region.

Becoming a trainer is not simply a case of sitting one more exam after passing the Level III Certification. While training has many components of teaching and relies on strong teaching abilities, there are significant differences between teaching students and training instructors which this course highlights.

This course will help guide participants in understanding and applying the difference between skill sets for teaching a lesson as an instructor, leading a clinic as a trainer, and preparing candidates for certification. This course can also act as a stepping-stone for people who want to grow their clinician and presentation skills for their own career development pathway.

Choosing to Lead Webinar Series:

Now that you’ve made the decision to step up to leadership, this clinic is built specifically for YOU!

You’ll take away tactics and tangible tools.  Learn how to get real engagement with staff and communication skills that facilitate behavior-based high performance!  You’ll learn how to manage anyone at any level.  This clinic is offered over 3, 2.5-hour virtual sessions and is cross-regional.  You’ll learn leadership tools that work on snow and off, all of which support your life as an effective, conscious leader.  The communication tools offered apply to coaching, feedback, hiring, clinic leading, and decision-making. Special focus is given to develop habits to sustain your energy across the intense winter season.

Register HERE

The Why and How of Leadership:

This course is all about maximizing your abilities and takes your skills as a manager and leader further! The tools and opportunities you’ll learn are presented in two, 2.5 hour sessions. Both are offered in-person, in a zoom/virtual format. Our format is experiential and builds on all you’ve learned to date. Together we’ll explore your questions as well as the why and how-to of choiceful facilitation! Facilitated by Rudy Miick.

Register HERE

Final updates to the Resort Trainer and all-new Advanced Trainer (formerly Divisional Trainer) are coming soon!

We are excited to roll out Introduction to PSIA-AASI Snowsports Courses.

Intro to Snowsports Part 1:

Welcome to snowsports instruction! This clinic is intended for those interested in becoming a snowsports instructor, especially those that have not yet joined a snowsports school. Developed by working instructors and PSIA-AASI Ed Staff, gain access to the basic competencies of good snowsports instruction. Participants will be introduced to the learning connection model, exploring the people skills, teaching skills, and technical skills that make up the foundation of great snowsports instruction. This course is a prerequisite for any member who is not working for a snowsports school and must be completed prior to registering for a Level 1 Exam.

Intro to Snowsports Part 2:

This course is designed to supplement training for people with limited or no access to resort training at their home resort or practice time on the hill.

Please complete Introduction to PSIA-AASI Snowsports prior to registering for Part 2. Part 2 will build on the materials and experiences covered in the Introduction to PSIA-AASI Snowsports.

This course will focus on addressing all three areas of the learning connection model and have you presenting, demonstrating, and sharing with the entire group. Throughout the two days, you will receive real-time and accurate feedback on your strengths and ways to develop. This course will go through some of the assessment activities in the exam but will also explore other activities designed to broaden and deepen your knowledge, understanding and application of the Learning Connection Model.

If, after this course, you want additional feedback and support outlining your training pathway, we encourage you to join us in Intro to Snowsports Part 3 with Volunteer Teaching.

Intro to Snowsports Part 3 with Volunteer Teaching:

The third part of the Intro to Snowsports series is designed to provide real-world, on-hill experience for any member with limited to no prior professional teaching experience. The course builds on Introduction to PSIA-AASI Snowsports Course Part 1 and 2 . Part 3 will pair you with a PSIA-AASI Ed Staff member who will focus on your performance specific to the assessment activities and certification standards of the Level 1 Assessment. To best complement the 3-part series, we strongly encourage you to take advantage of the volunteer opportunities at these resorts. The resorts we are working with are Sky Tavern, Achieve Tahoe, United States Adaptive Recreation Center, and Disabled Sports Eastern Sierra.

As part of the program, we will provide a letter of introduction to the resort’s hiring manager and training manager. We will also be available to provide guidance and have conversations with your training manager and trainer to add clarity and connections to your training pathway.

Please note that participation in this course does not guarantee volunteer or employment opportunities at any of our affiliated resorts. You will be responsible for fulfilling their terms and conditions independent of this course.