Who is your instructor?

[Phil]

There is an instructor search on Bomber, so I am not looking for a list of instructors here.

I am looking for those of you who return to the same hardboot instructor time after time, or are planning to return to the same instructor to tell me who your instructor is.

I would like to hear whatever else you have to say about them as well.

I would prefer to keep this thread to professional instructors only please - I am not looking for the guy at mountain X who you can hook up with to learn a lot. Not that there is anything wrong with that, it is just not what I am looking for.

It would also be great to hear what level and/or style of riding you employ and how your instructor has helped you with that.

[stevo]

I took my first hardboot lesson from Erik Beckman two years ago at the beginning of my first full year in hardboots. I would be back every week if he was closer. He believes that 85% of correct riding comes down to proper boot/binding set-up and he has a keen eye on how your technique can improve with subtle set-up changes. Once you are more comfortable on the board some bad techniques disappear and then he can help eliminate the rest! He is very accessible through email and we have had interesting discussions since then.

If you go see him bring a big tip and a lot of questions...he's been around a long time and will have all the answers.

beckmannag at yahoo.com

[Jack M]

the guru. I haven't taken a lesson in years, and may never again, but he trained me when I was an instructor at Sugarloaf in college.

[bobdea]

I've not ever sought out a lesson for alpine alpine but I'd have to reccomend Eric Brammer (PSR on this and other forums) because I've watched the guy with people and he's good at what he does

John Gilmour could teach anybody as well, I have sought out him for setup advice and it was certainly worth it so if he's does his "dialed in" clinic it's totally worth going to. On snow the guy is sick to watch as well as he is always willing to help you out.

[LeeW]

Wow,I have not seen PSR in a very long time.

Lowell Hart of Vail. -hands down-

[pogokoenig]

Hmm, who is able to teach a grandmaster. Please let me know. I'll go and talk to him. Must be a really wise man somewhere in Tibet.

[tex1230]

careful with that grandmaster stuff...your ego will get too heavy for your boards...

the best instructor is the guy just a little better than you who lets you follow him around.

barring that, I just follow whoever has the most posts on a message board, 'cause the internet is the future of carving.

[willywhit]

careful with that grandmaster stuff...your ego will get too heavy for your boards...

the best instructor is the guy just a little better than you who lets you follow him around.

barring that, I just follow whoever has the most posts on a message board, 'cause the internet is the future of carving.

"virtual carving" ! who needs the real thing ? it's too cold to go outside, I'll be just fine with my XBox and a big bag o' chips

[tpalka]

Lowell Hart of Vail. -hands down-

I second that. Riding with Lowell opened so many possibilities for me. Some of his qualities that I appreciated the most: striving to explain some movements or concepts in terms of my other sports/hobbies, listening to my questions and extrapolating them to something larger that I didn't even know to ask about. And his excellent video recording, which blends smoothly into the lesson, allowing us to see what I was really doing, good and bad.

It's been 2-3 years since my first lesson with him and I every time I ride I still find ways to apply and expand what he taught me.

tom.

[Sinecure]

Some of the best instruction I've gotten has come from these folks. I've gone back repeatedly to some.

Mark Harris

Lisa Kosglow

Tyler Jewell

Sean Cassidy

Doug Dryer

Generally I'd rank them in the order I put there. Mark can teach anything. Lisa and Tyler are awesome race coaches. Sean is a great freeride instructor and very good with newer carvers. Doug is fun to hang with and good at teaching pure carving/arcing technique. Plus I'd go to Doug if I wanted a long board lesson.

I should mention that the times I've had Mark as a coach (and Sean and Lisa for that matter) was with a Snowperformance camp. Gavin can always be counted on to assemble a good crew of coaches. And he actually seems to gear his selection of coaches to the level of the attendees (I suspect this is more luck than planning, or just that the coaches he gets are good at adjusting their style/advice to a variety of students).

Also done coaching with Anton Pogue. He's a blast to ride with, but I probably wouldn't put him at the top of the coach/instructor list because his style is kind of unique. He' probably make a good/fun race coach.

[Steve Prokopiw]

for Lowell Hart. We have shared a passion for hardbooting for along time as well as a locker room in Vail Village where he is still based.I can say that he is the most detail oriented,customer driven and willing to think outside the box hardboot instructor I know.Doesn't just toe the aasi line like some I've known in the past. By the way Lowell,if you read this,sorry about not getting back to you about when I'd be coming down.Still working on it and will definitely want to ride with you when I make it.

[kjl]

Patrick Forshay. Used to teach at Squaw but went east. I think he's at Okemo now but I'm not sure.

[kinpa]

I'd vote for Lowell too! Although I haven't had a chance to ride with him since he was an examiner in the east coast! He definately challenges you to think for your self and solve your own problems as much as possible.

[trailertrash]

i have gotten a formal lesson from bordy, sean cassidy (group format) and beckman (group format).

i have gotten plenty of informal lessons from jack, geoff, ~tb, bschurman, bob jenney and jeff day.

id like to continue the informal lessons and possibly hit beckman up this year.

bordy actually slowed down enough (to a crawl) to stay with me for a run at the last eces to give some follow up pointers.

i think it is amazing how seasoned instructors notice what you are doing wrong when you dont even think they are looking.

[zoom]

Don Richter/noschoolrider

I was lucky to trap Don for a couple of lessons at Bachelor last season. He put a ton of thought into each lesson, gearing each to my (lack of) technique and learning style. He's great at balancing technique drills with guided freeriding while I put it all together. Amazingly tolerant of my toeside technique amnesia. From what I hear, he's just as helpful for better carvers.

Of course, you do have to put aside some ego when you're being seriously outcarved by a guy riding fakie on an Alp. ;)

[FTA2R]

I've enjoyed learning from you, Phil, and Neil. Sean from snowperf was great too, and a joker. =)

[Mike T]

Most of my coaching has been at SnowPeformance camps or from Sean and his crew at other events. Big thumbs up there! I've been coached by both Lisa Kosglow and Mark Harris and would recommend them to anyone. Just fantastic.

I've never taken a formal lesson from Don a.k.a. NoSchoolRider but we ride together fairly often and he's given me some informal tips, and from what I've seen he's the real deal. He's listed under the Instructor Search portion of this site. Oregonians, look him up.

[Fat Old Bastard]

And best of all Petra Mussig. If only I could have absorbed half of what she taught us.

Honourable mention also to Anthony Crute of Pro-Ride at Whistler. He rules in softboot technique.

[jtslalom]

I saw Petra Mussig ride in a 1990 Nitro video. She looked pretty good. I however have never been trained by any professional but definately by a few guys who can rip turns. My good friend Dennis Connor taught me how to turn a board in 1988. He was carving soft decks back then. Other guys named Jay Westerveld (now a professional snowboard trainer and coach) and Sean Orechio showed me a few things about riding a hard deck. I really don't ride much with these two guys any more but I do with Dennis. A rider that I like to riding behind is Eric J. We like to take turns following one another but generally any other carver will do. I find that I learn things from any one who can carve.

[ncermak]

just to throw out a generalization, I think most guys who are qualified to teach hardbooting wind up in the coaching ranks...

[Steve Prokopiw]

just to throw out a generalization, I think most guys who are qualified to teach hardbooting wind up in the coaching ranks...

I definitely agree with this.I have taught while wearing hardboots the vast majority of my career( my softbooters have never had anything negative to say about that after a few demos...),but have considered it a rare treat to be able to convert a regular client to hardboots.So, I can see that one thing that draws hardbooters to coaching besides the obvious desire to be involved in competition,is the opportunity to be involved with alot of like minded and similarly equipped riders.That said, the main thing that has discouraged me from going ahead with all the coaching certification is the considerable expense and the low monetary return on the investment as I have always had to balance doing what I love with supporting my family.I know that it is a 'labor of love' (same with instruction)like anything else where money is not the priority,but reality dictates...Where I live now coaching costs much more than it pays ,especially with gas approaching 4.00/gal and instruction,although not lucrative up here,at least allows me to operate in the black while still making the occasional convert to hardbooting.

[D.T.]

No "formal" instruction

just to throw out a generalization, I think most guys who are qualified to teach hardbooting wind up in the coaching ranks...

Exactly, one gentleman I ride with raced and coached on the national level (ink, were you a member of the national team?). Every time we ride together (almost every weekend) he is teaching and offering advice/pointers. He would probably still be coaching if it wasn't for an incident with a tree while training for the Nagano qualifiers and the birth of his first child several years later.

i think it is amazing how seasoned instructors notice what you are doing wrong when you dont even think they are looking.

Agreed! And the way that they can spot the finest details and point out the differences between two consecutive toe or heel side turns and why one was smoother than the other is simply amazing!

[Mark Brown]

Erik Beckman: both group lessons and a couple of private ones - "Mr. Componentry" gave me some real nice setup advice.

A guy at Ski Roundtop who's really good -- and now he has the nerve to move to Bear Creek and increase my drive time by over 2 hours...

[abakker]

Another vote for Eric Brammer (PSR). he taught my first ever group lesson back at stratton. i never truly appreciated just how good he was at his craft until i finally made the switch to hardboots, but he is a wealth on information of everything to do with snowboarding.

[Guest shrederjen]

I've had a bit of instruction in the last few years, as I am fairly new to the sport of 'hard boots'. I have had the pleasure of being coached by Sean Cassidy (Sean Numero Uno), Scotty Angfang (see ya in 2 weeks!), Spring time at the Basin always gives me a run or two with Mr L. Hart...(fun runs), but the most profound coaching ever, came from Mr. Jacoby. "MORE AGGRESSION" and Don't ride like a GIRL!, is forever emblazened in my mind. If you ever have the opportunity, Mike is the one that gave me the biggest breakthroughs.