Peak Performance

Whether you’re a leisure seeker or a backcountry daredevil, there’s a perfect program to take your skiing or snowboarding to the next level. By Larry Olmsted

Green circles. Blue squares. Black and double-black diamonds. The trail signs say it all: Skiing is a sport notorious for ability levels. While runners or bikers would rarely describe themselves as intermediates or experts, skiers and snowboarders do it all the time. The problem is that they tend to get stuck in these defined levels, and many intermediates remain “blue” skiers forever, while some advanced skiers master basic black terrain but never really become experts, still put off by bumps, trees, or steeps. No amount of ski days lets those stuck at these common plateaus move to the next level.

Every major ski resort has a ski school, but for the vacation skier who takes one or two big trips a year, an occasional private or group lesson has never solved the sport’s plateau problem. In a typical scenario, skiers take a lesson on vacation -- and then, with no follow-up, quickly revert to old habits. During the next trip, often to a different mountain, they try another instructor with a totally different philosophy and another set of tips that do not last.

Fortunately, though, the ski industry has embraced multiday immersion programs, and the best feature truly world-class instructors, including Olympic or World Cup veterans. Students are carefully grouped by skill level and stay with the same instructor, improving and reinforcing every day. State-of-the-art video and computer technology lets students see themselves, and equipment confusion is clarified. Radical improvements in ski and snowboard technology such as shaped skis and boards and integrated bindings can help skiers progress quickly, but these offerings are often bewildering to recreational shoppers. Top immersion ski camps make recommendations and allow participants to switch demo models throughout, with access to the latest high-performance gear. These camps vary by themes and are for every skier type, from all-around leisure seeker to extreme backcountry daredevil. Specialized camps also cater to all ages, sexes, and equipment tastes and are for snowboarders, alpine skiers, and telemark skiers. No matter what your taste or ability level, there’s a perfect camp for you.



Heli-skiing CANADIAN MOUNTAIN HOLIDAYS POWDER PERFORMANCE, THROUGHOUT WESTERN CANADA. For avid skiers, heli-skiing is the sport’s Holy Grail, offering the best imaginable terrain and conditions -- minus crowds or lift lines. Canadian Mountain Holidays (CMH) is the world’s premier heli-ski operator and has 12 wilderness areas with lodges throughout western Canada, each area averaging about 200 times the size of the continent’s largest normal ski resorts while accommodating just one to four dozen skiers. Collectively, these areas are about half the size of Switzerland, but at any given time they have no more than 400 skiers. Imagine having a resort 10 times the size of Vail or Whistler -- for each skier in your group. Every descent can be unbroken powder, and you never have to ski the same run twice in a week. Therein lies the allure, and why many become addicted. But there is something keeping a lot of skiers who would love heli-skiing from trying it: apprehension. Many capable, strong intermediate and advanced skiers are intimidated by the idea. For this reason, CMH offers the Powder Introduction program, special weeks (six to eight days) for would-be heli-skiers. It is for strong intermediate skiers and above, those who can already make aggressive parallel turns. Camps are all led by Roko Koell, a 20-year CMH veteran guide and fully certified Austrian Alpine Ski Team Coach and instructor. Koell also offers another alternative to the sometimes-intimidating heli-ski trip: Powder Masters weeks, aimed at less aggressive or less fit skiers who want to emphasize quality of skiing over quantity. Heli-skiing can attract A-types bent on racking up the most possible runs each day, and basically, Powder Masters is for those who want to stop and smell the roses. This winter, Powder Intro has 13 sessions and Powder Masters nine, both at four CMH lodges, ranging from $5,250 to $10,770 per person, including all meals, lodging, transfers from Calgary, and use of powder skis, poles, and, of course, avalanche transceivers. canadianmountainholidays.com



Strong Intermediate Skiing, Snowboarding, or Telemarking STEEP & DEEP SKI CAMPS, JACKSON HOLE, WYOMING. Its nickname is “The Big One,” and Jackson Hole is a giant among mountains, generally considered the continent’s most challenging major ski resort, with double-black-diamond trails even many expert skiers are afraid to try. It was also the first resort to offer lift-served access to the ungroomed backcountry, partnering with adjacent Grand Teton National Park in 1999 to open access gates in its boundary fences. This makes it the perfect setting for what the resort calls Steep & Deep Ski Camps, which are aimed at teaching participants all aspects of handling the steepest terrain and deepest untouched powder, the kind you see in ski movies. The Steep & Deep Ski Camp was Jackson’s original product, and most programs include a session of skiing with the resort’s ambassador, Tommy Moe, the first American skier ever to medal twice in a Winter Olympics, winning both gold and silver. The instructors are the best of Jackson’s highly regarded ski school. None of the camps are for beginners, and most cater only to very strong intermediates and above. For Steep & Deep skiing, level 8 to 9 expert ability is recommended. Like all Jackson Hole camps, it includes four full days on the slopes, and some participants tackle the most famous black and double-black diamonds, along with out-of-bounds skiing through the gates. There are two après-ski events, a farewell dinner, gear giveaways, and a take-home video. “We’re not out to hurt anyone, but we try to take people down runs that are at the limits of their ability,” says Moe. “We take people who are intermediates and experts down the expert chute here, and it’s usually the hardest thing they have ever skied.” The camp’s success over the years has spawned multiple options, including two snowboarding versions: the Steep & Deep Snowboarding Camp and Learn to Ride Powder Camp. Camps are coed, but for ladies who prefer an all-women environment, Jackson Hole offers Women’s Ski and Women’s Snowboard camps, similar but catering to a slightly wider range of abilities, from intermediate to expert. Backcountry camps are open to skiers and snowboarders with a focus on safe out-of-bounds travel for touring and ski mountaineering, including a Level I Avalanche Course. The Steep & Deep camp for telemark skiers is taught by the coach of the Professional Ski Instructors of America (PSIA) National Demonstration Team, Scott McGee. Jackson even offers an adaptive Steep & Deep camp for skiers with various disabilities. Ski camps are held four times from January to March; other camps are held one to two times each season. All cost $1,100 including lift tickets. The resort has numerous hotel and condominium lodging partners in all price ranges. camps@jacksonhole.com, jacksonhole.com



Families STEAMBOAT CHILDREN’S CAMPS, STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, COLORADO. Because both age groups learn differently and have different physical abilities, there are almost no immersion ski camps combining adults and children. But Steamboat Springs has the exception, plus several other answers to this family dilemma. Three-day Billy Kidd Performance Center Camps are open to any experienced skiers, levels 6 to 8 (pure intermediate to expert). Olympic medalist and former World Champion Kidd focuses on carving and racing skills that can be applied to varied terrain and all-mountain skiing, with six hours of daily instruction, video analysis, and a take-home DVD. Camps are open to adults and their children as young as first-graders. The famously family-friendly resort also has one of the only immersion children’s camps, and Steamboat is currently ranked the No. 1 Family Resort in North America by SKI Magazine. Desperados Ski Week is a five-day immersion program just like the best adult versions, for first-graders all the way up to 15-year-olds. Groups are sorted by age and ability, getting the benefit of the same instructor and teammates for the entire week. The program includes lunch daily and a NASTAR (National Standard Race) race against the clock on a real race course. Jackalopes Ski Weeks for kids ages 5 to 6 have a similar format but more non-skiing activities (such as a treasure hunt). It is the very best introduction to the sport a youngster could have, but it’s also demanding, and the resort notes that it is “for ‘eager’ 5- and 6-year-olds who have the desire and stamina to ski five full days.” Both are offered Monday to Friday on the six busiest family weeks of the year, around Christmas, Presidents Day, and spring break. Kidd’s coed camps are offered throughout the season, and for women, another Olympic medalist, Deb Armstrong, offers Three-Day Women’s Camps for levels 5 to 8. Armstrong’s programs cover the gamut, from equipment advice to breakfast, lunch, a cocktail party, and gear gifts and is offered once each month. Kidd Camps $675, Desperados $540, Jackalopes $595, Armstrong Camps $495. steamboat.com Few family bonding experiences can equal that of a ski trip to Europe, and if that is your fancy, the best option is to head to Zermatt, Switzerland. Britain’s top former ski racer, Martin Bell, has developed a very loyal following here by catering his camps exclusively to 11- to 15-year-olds of most abilities, with five-day courses covering all aspects of skiing, including moguls, edging, and offpiste terrain. Around $700. skimartinbell.com



Summer Skiing SKI PORTILLO SPECIALTY WEEKS, CHILE. Skiing is a winter sport, but winter is a relative thing. In the dog days of summer in the Northern Hemisphere, it is the height of winter in South America, when more than 20 feet of snow buries Ski Portillo, the world’s top “summer” ski resort. Portillo is unique among destination ski resorts: There is just one grand hotel, and it is operated cruise-ship-style, with weeklong stays including meals and entertainment, plus vast terrain (800 acres, 12 lifts, and 2,664 feet of vertical), all for just 450 or so guests. This is as close as most skiers will come to a private mountain, and Portillo offers more than three distinct weeklong specialty camps each season. Summer Dream Skiing with NASTC (North American Ski Training Center) is a pure plateau breakthrough week aimed at intermediate to expert skiers. Taught by a staff that includes members of the PSIA National Demonstration Team, it focuses on technique, equipment, and fitness to help students ski “all conditions, all terrain.” Ski with the Superstars Week is equal parts immersion instruction and fantasy camp and is taught by legends Chris Davenport, a two-time World Freeskiing Champion; Chris Anthony of Beaver Creek’s Technique Weeks; Wendy Fischer, a three-time World Extreme Skiing Champion and U.S. Ski Team racer; and Ingrid Backstrom, winner of the U.S. and Canadian National Freeskiing Championships. Along with parties, gear, and instruction, the groups of strong intermediates and above are immortalized by a professional photographer and videographer. The Aspen Method Portillo Camp for Adults visits annually from Colorado and is run by founder Jon Clendenin, two-time World Freestyle Champ. Given his background, it has an emphasis on mogul skiing, but this translates to the entire mountain. Clendenin’s “method” is great for baby boomers and mature skiers who want the fundamental techniques that will give them optimum control in bumps, groomed, and off-piste terrain. Each camp is offered once per season, in August or September. Approximately $4,000 to $5,000 per person, all inclusive. skiportillo.com

All-Around Plateau Busting TECHNIQUE WEEKS, PARK HYATT BEAVER CREEK RESORT AND SPA, COLORADO. This is the best program for intermediate and advanced adult skiers looking to take it up a level -- or two. It is also one of the most luxurious, a unique partnership between the slopeside Park Hyatt, one of the finest ski resort hotels in North America, and the Beaver Creek Ski & Snowboard School. A rare camp that includes lodging, it also offers most meals and endless après-ski parties, ensuring a lot of camaraderie, plus photos, a DVD, and pricey ski-gear gifts to take home. Beaver Creek is widely known for having one of the world’s top ski schools, and this program uses instructors who are the best of the best, including former national team and World Cup skiers from the U.S., Australia, Argentina, and elsewhere. Camps are held early in the season, and one benefit is the chance to apply the lessons for the rest of the winter. Fortunately, Beaver Creek has some of the most reliable early snow anywhere, which is why many national teams come here for early training. Technique Weeks are run by former extreme skiing champion Chris Anthony, a veteran of more than 20 ski films who has raced at the highest levels in the freestyle, downhill, and extreme disciplines. The five-night program allows for a warm-up day and final day on your own, with three full days of on-slope instruction utilizing video analysis, plus seminars on ski nutrition and fitness. Technique Weeks is a pioneer of the immersion ski camp, and this is the program’s 13th year. Thanks to the quality of lodging, dining, and -- most of all -- instruction, it has enjoyed an extremely high repeat rate, with as many as 75 percent of customers returning the following winter. Participants routinely see a one- to two-point jump on the nine-point scale used to measure skier ability. Technique Weeks are December 9 to 13, 13 to 18, and January 6 to 10. $2,299 to $2,899 per person or $3,899 to $4,699 double occupancy. Contact Federica Goldberg, federica.goldberg@hyatt.com, parkhyattbeavercreek.com



Snowboarders CORE SNOWBOARD CAMPS, WHISTLER, BRITISH COLUMBIA. With the highest vertical drop of any resort in North America, the ski resort -- which includes the twin mountains of Whistler and Blackcomb, now connected by a new gondola -- is consistently rated the continent’s number one ski resort by both SKI and Skiing magazines. But the resort is even more famous for snowboarding and is a top dream destination among riders. It will also host all the ski events for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in February. Because of this popularity, Core Camps is able to offer five-day sessions every week of the season, which is very unusual in the immersion-instruction business. This also allows attendees to link weeks and create camps up to five months long. While 20 weeks of lessons has limited appeal, the two-week camp is Core’s most popular offering. Because Whistler is home to so many of the world’s best snowboarders, Core’s coaching staff includes top pros, such as the frequently filmed Etienne Gilbert, PSA (Pro Snowboard Asia) Snowboard Pro Tour half-pipe champion Ryan Rausch, and Dane Kaechele, who is also coach of British Columbia’s Snowboard Development Team. Since Whistler is such a huge resort, much of the best terrain is not visible from the lifts or easily found on trail maps, but all Core coaches are longtime locals who know the place like the backs of their hands and can find the best secret powder stashes and perfect terrain for that day’s instruction. While many snowboard camps focus on a particular skill, such as terrain park or pipe tricks, and often attract a young audience, Core teaches everything and routinely receives riders from ages 17 to 40. “Not everyone wants to be in the pipe all day, so we try to cover a broader range,” says head coach Turner Montgomery, who has been running the program for five years. Core also has a private terrain park just for its campers and a guest-to-instructor average ratio of 4:1 and a max of 5:1, as low as any camp in the industry. While best known for snowboarding, Core offers similar camps for skiing. One-week snowboarding camps are $755, or two- to four-week sessions run $695 per week, and are offered Monday through Friday all season long. corecamps.com