Dave Murray Camp Reports

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What a camp! After all the storms, the clouds cracked open and the sun came out, for a couple of days, anyway. On the third day of the camp another quick storm rolled in and dusted us with a bit of fresh powder. Until this camp, I skied very few groomers, mostly to get to some tasty powder stash. But with all the sunshine and great grooming, we finally lit it up on Dave Murray Downhill and Franz's. It was good to feel some speed. The summer grooming on Franz's is awesome and this could be my favorite cruiser now. Check it out if you are up here.

The Camp was fairly small, with only four groups, but was it ever a ton of fun. Dave Traynor had a pack of true locals. These folks have been skiing here since before time and have taken numerous camps before, some of them when Dave was still alive. This is their annual tune up. They are like my old 4x4 truck – I spend a bit of money on it every year to keep it running, but there is no point of redoing the chrome. I look after the essentials and it will never let me down. These guys are the same – fix a thing or two, maintain their existing form and they will be skiing for ever. And that is the object of the game!

Kimmy had a mixture of gate bashers and just 'normal' people. I know that they spent a bit more time in the gates than we did, but they were having a blast. Some of these guys' skiing really shot up to the next level. I saw one of her skiers coming down the GS course on the third day and I thought it was one of the coaches, he was skiing so well. I also saw Kim's group taking out some mid fat Atomic demo skis, so undoubtedly, Kim showed her group some of her favorite lines on the Peak and Harmony. After the Après, Kim carried on in the bar with some of her group, as she usually does, but there are no reports of too much damage caused to her campers. Fun was had by all.

Leslie had a cozy group of three ladies who started the camp rather timidly, as those in the transition stage of skiing would do. What I saw on the third day was anything but timid. These ladies were charging down the race course as if possessed by the speed demon. Knowing Leslie, she was, most likely challenging these ladies on the Peak or the Harmony. Leslie comes across as this sweet, caring coach (which she, of course, is), she gains your trust where you think that you would follow her to the edge of the world and next thing you know, you are leaping off the edge of the world. And loving it!

Warning: The next paragraph contains implied coarse language and may cause permanent damage to an innocent mind. Reader's discretion is advised! I know what you are thinking – now I have to read this for sure!

My group consisted of three people, one innocent girl (who was not as innocent at the end of the camp) and two of the most energetic and funny women I have ever had the pleasure to ski with. We had a great time skiing and everyone improved, but it was the subjects discussed (not related to skiing), and some of the methods used to reach these new heights of skiing ability that really made the three days special. The non-ski related subjects cannot be mentioned (the above warning would have to be beefed up), but teaching methods can.

I have experienced many teaching/coaching methods in my skiing life. Anything from the French coach swinging a hefty bamboo pole at head height wanting us to move down at a certain part of the turn (noncompliance was painful in the days before helmets), to the certain teaching course examiner whose methods would bore a cattle-herding dog to sleep. The Frenchman's methods were effective and memorable, if a bit extreme. To teach someone anything, you need to connect with your student and you need to elevate or stoop to their level of thinking. So, given the subjects already discussed, I was ready to stoop and pull some of my best coaching material out of the dark depths of my coaching mind.

We were watching the video, analyzing a turn where I was showing my unsuspecting pupils how they should be relaxed at the start of a turn. The term "relaxed" was met with mostly blank, unenthusiastic stares. Here is where I dug deep and said "at the top of the turn, I'm so relaxed that I'm just f***ing the dog". Well, the lights go on, smiles appear and heads start nodding. They got it and next run, without exaggeration, they all skied more relaxed. After that we were just laughing our heads off. I'd ask "how was that run?" and they would reply "great Pro, I was f***ing the dog all the way down. Well, what can I say, "Mission Accomplished", everyone improved and had fun doing it.

The snow is supposed to start coming down tomorrow and next week should be stellar.

Join us at a Dave Murray Ski Camp and become 'experienced'!

Happy New Year.

Tom Pro