It was taken by one of the Vail photographers that were scattered all over the hill.  In bright green jackets; they were everywhere. You couldn’t miss them.

They took the picture for free and with in an hour it was auto-posted to our EpicMix account. I’ve heard some people say it happens instantly. It was pretty frickin’ cool. If my EpicMIx account settings were set to auto-post photo’s to my Facebook Profile or Twitter account, the pictures would have been automatically posted to those accounts.  I’m going to turn those settings on too.

EpicMix was fun last year.  This year Vail Resorts has taken it up a notch. EpicMix Photo, as it’s called, lets guests have a digital photo collage of their entire vacation and share it with their friends and family.  If a guest wants a high-resolution photo for printing they can order it right from their EpicMix account as well.

Epic Mix still tracks your vertical feet skied, tracks the lifts you ride, let’s you connect with friends on the hill and earn digital badges or pins as you explore the mountain, but now you can capture photos too.  Right now you can only get photo’s from their photographes, however I’ve been told you will soon be able to take your own pictures and upload them to your EpicMix account. Combined, all these features make for a great skiing experience.

Vail Resorts is killing it from a social media perspective and EpicMix photo is just another example of this.

I’m looking forward to using this with my Ski School clients.  They are gonna love it.  My girls and I already do.

If you come to any of Vail Resorts properties, EpicMix with Photo is a MUST.

I love technology.

Think snow!!!!

I’ve worn pink ski goggles for over 7 years now.  Why?  I thought the pink was really frickin’ cool.

How many men do you know wear pink ski goggles? Based on my statistically inaccurate poll, taken from the ski lifts every year the answer is;

-Men over 30: zero

-Men (Boys) under 30 a few hundred and the number seems to be increasing year over year.

Every year at least one of my ski school clients asks if they are my wife’s goggles and if I forgot mine at home. –Nope!

I wear them and continue to wear them because I like them.  I think they are fun, cool and different. I don’t feel compelled to wear what everyone expects.

I try to wear pink goggles in other areas of my life as well. I try to wear them when I consult, and when I’m marketing my company. I wore then when I worked for my past employers. Wearing pink goggles is hard, but I try to wear them as often as I can.

When we wear pink goggles we don’t allow ourselves to be influenced by the status-quo.  By wearing pink goggles we are walking our own path, open to the unseen, the possible, the unique, the new, the different and the unproven.  It takes courage to wear pink goggles.  It makes OTHERS uncomfortable. It challenges what they believe to be the expected and the norm.  Pink goggles puts people on their heels. (I still get heat from a lot of my friends, my most conservative friends, surprised?) However, wearing pink goggles also inspires people, it makes them smile, it frees them. When we wear pink goggles we can’t help but affect people and that changes everything.

When I’m not wearing pink goggles, I never seem to be as successful. I don’t achieve as much. When I’m not wearing pink goggles success seems to require more work and more effort. The greatest successes I’ve had have come when I have my pink goggles on.

Do you wear pink goggles?  How often? Do you notice the difference.  I sure do.

Wear pink goggles tomorrow and see if you feel a difference.  I bet you do.

Jonny won gold in the 1998 Olympics for mogul skiing. He pioneered the sport with his heli, iron cross, grab.  Jonny was the best in the world at what he did.

I think about what it takes to achieve greatness often and have posted about it on this blog. Greatness is no accident. Whether it be a great athlete, a great sales person, a great spouse, or a great parent, achieving greatness is hard work.

I am inspired by greatness, not because of what the great have attained, but because it becomes clearer to me everyday, what it takes for them to get there.

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This is is Jonny’s gold medal run in Nagano.  No one had ever done the heli, iron cross in competition before him.  GREATNESS

Day 1 is MA (movement analysis).  We have to break down a skiers skiing and explain to the examiners what the skis are doing, what the body is doing and why. We then have to provide a prescription for change.

Day 2, is the teaching exam.  We watch a video of a guest talking about what they want to get out of their skiing and why.  We then have to create a lesson based on that video and then give the lesson to the examiners, explaining how that lesson will address their skiing and how it will help them achieve their goals as a skier.

Day 3 is the skiing day.  Each candidate has to ski 6 unique manuevers to a precise technical specification in front of an examiner.  Once all 3 days have been passed you’ve earned the Level 2 certification.

It felt good to pass.  It wasn’t easy.  A number of very good skiers didn’t pass all three days and have to return next year and retake the day or days they failed.   I was pretty proud of myself and it reminded me of how important “WINS’ are.

When we were kids, “win” opportunities were everywhere.  When we made the football team, or the field hockey team it was a win.  When we made honor roll, or got an A on a difficult exam, it was a win.  When the hot girl or guy would go out with us, it was a win.  When we were accepted to our college of choice, it was a win.   When we graduated from H.S. or college or grad school, it was a win.  There were so many opportunities for wins when we were younger.

As we get older, wins seem harder to come by.  They come in the form of a promotion, or a new job offer, but that seems to be about it.  If you’re in sales, there are a few more.  Exceeding quota and making Presidents Club are always nice wins.  But, the feeling of accomplishment seems to be elusive as we get older and I think that is too bad.

We need more wins.  Wins build self confidence.  Wins grow self worth.  Wins make us feel capable.  Wins expand our capabilities, as we succeed at something small, we then look to the next thing.  This process naturally expands our capabilities, and successes.  I’m already thinking about going for my level 3 certification.  (there are only 3 levels)

I think we should all be more active in looking for wins.  We should all look for more ways to achieve things that stretch us, that make us better, that expand our knowledge, that improve our expertise and help us grow.  Wins make us feel good about ourselves and that’s a good thing.

When was your last win?

Image via Wikipedia

I spent yesterday on the snow taking a mock exam for my PSIA Level 2 Certification.  I failed it.  The exam is made up of 8 maneuvers.  You have to pass bump skiing and the basic parallel alone, and then have to have an average score of at least a 4 for the other 6.

This is how I did:

Linked Railroad Track Turns: 4  passed

Wedge Cristie: 2 FAIL

Linked Hockey Slides/Stops: 2 FAIL

Medium Radius Turns on Smooth Terrain: 4 passed

Variable Terrain and Snow Conditions 4 passed

Switch Basic Parallel: 2 Failed

Basic Parallel: 3 Failed

Linked Short Turns in Bumps: No Score (the examinar said he laughed, he said ripping the bumps like Johnny Mosely in a bump competition is cool, but he needs to see some turn shape, he said to mix it up, a little zipper line with some actual turns and I’ll get a 5 or 6, I can do it, so I’ll give myself a 5)

My exam is April 13-15th.   Yesterday was only the second time I had tried many of these maneuvers.   It was awesome to have had the chance to get out there and fail early.   I now know where I’m weak and what to work on to make sure I pass.  These maneuvers are very, very technical.  Who can’t do a wedge right?  Clearly me.   PSIA is looking for very specific movements, executed properly.  They take practice.  Failing early was big for me yesterday. It showed me where I stood and what I need to do to pass.  At the end of they day I quickly called a friend of mine who is a PSIA examiner and told him I failed.  We’re building a plan to fix it.

Failing early is huge.  It gives you a chance to make things better.  It allows you to pivot, correct, and realign with little damage or impact.   Failing is an awesome tool if you use it right.   There is a time for failing and it’s the earlier the better.

My exam is in a month.  I have 35 days to fail some more, then the failing has to stop.

Fail when it’s OK, not when it’s not.

You can expect “gone skiing” here often this year. But, don’t fret, I will be back tomorrow, unless I go skiing again.

Being older has given me a few advantages in learning to throw big air.  1) I’m no longer stupid enough to try to learn to throw a misty, or 360 grab, on the hard packed snow.  I’m smart enough to know, that HURTS!   2) I now have the resources to pay someone to teach me.

So, yesterday I spent 4 hours at Woodward at Copper, an indoor foam pit.

This was one of the best times I’ve ever had on skis.  I am additcted.  You bet I will be going back a bunch before the snow comes down.  Anyone want to join me?

“AIR” has changed a lot since I was a kid.  We’d try to build kickers in out of the way places and ski patrol would always find them and knock them down.  Now, resorts build 50 ft kickers with giant table tops in designated terrain parks.  Boy has the worm turned.

I’ve hit these big kickers before, but it’s been 7 years and it wasn’t pretty.  I figure a lesson can’t hurt.  Wiping out at 42 hurts a whole lot more than than at 22.

My goal; some sick air this year.  Can’t wait!

I remember watching his first big movie; Greg Stumps, Blizzard of Ahhs! It was in stark contrast to the mainstream, conventional ski videos by Warren Miller. They pushed the limits. They were rough, no frills, extreme skiing movies, that got to the raw essence of what its like to strap two wooden boards to your feet and ski the ungroomed, untamed, natural terrain provided by mother nature.

The Glen Plakes of the world force us to remember what it is we do and why we do it. They don’t allow the conventional to anchor us in the mundane. They push the envelope and challenge what we accept as the norm. They remind us that it’s the dishwashers; not those in the big offices that make our world run and in many cases they know a lot more about our business than we do.

Is there a Glen Plake in the world of business? I can think of a few, but I think there need to be more. They keep us honest and this is exactly the kind of leadership we need.

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