Last winter, Namrata Yocom-Jan would ride the chairlift each day and notice a group of skiers training below her. They skied together regularly, meeting during the week and working on their technique run after run. While she logged well over 100 days on skis last year, Yocom-Jan still felt somet hing was missing from her first season in Park City. Each time she crossed paths with the group, she found herself slowing down, watching, trying to understand what they were doing differently. “They just looked so good,” Yocom-Jan said. “Everybody looked so dialed.” The skiers she watched were part of Park City Mountain’s Masters Ski Program, now in its 35th season. Open to adults 18 and older, the program is designed for skiers who want to improve their technique and, for some, take part in organized racing. It runs four days a week from early December through late March and combines focused ski improvement work with gate training. Most participants are lifelong skiers, many retired or semi-retired, who have the time to commit to weekday training. Others fit the program in around work and family schedules, attending half days or dropping in when they can. Dave Evans, 85, has been part of the program since 2007, and plans to ski with the group at least three days a week this season. Evans also competes in some races, getting the chance to travel to other resorts like Sun Valley or Big Sky.  While the program includes gate training and racing opportunities, it is not built around competition alone. Some skiers chase town series and regional races. Others never put on a bib. Jeff Felton, now in his fourth season of the Masters Program, said some people race a lot. Some don’t race a lot. “This can be whatever you make of it,” Felton said. Felton was surprised by how much he didn’t know during his first season. He had skied for years and considered himself a strong, experienced skier. Once he started training consistently, he realized how much of his skiing was built on habit rather than technique. Don Sears, director of Park City Mountain’s Masters Ski Program, works with first-year participant Namrata Yocom-Jan during a ski improvement session on her first day of training. Credit: Photo courtesy of Park City Mountain by Bailey Quinn Don Sears, the program’s director and a ski instructor of more than 30 years, said that realization is common. For many skiers who learned decades ago, he explained, technique was shaped by long, straight skis and narrow stances — practices that linger even as equipment and instruction have changed. “That’s a habit a lot of people have to unlearn,” Sears said. The program’s second week kicked off in mid December with nearly 20 skiers gathered at the base of the Red Pine Gondola for ski improvement training. Sears, along with instructors TJ Lanning and Bruce Thompson, split them into smaller groups based on ability and experience. Some skiers paired naturally with their friends and rivals, and others grouped by ability or skills they needed to work on. Sears said the goal is to keep groups small enough for direct feedback while letting everyone ski at a pace that makes sense. On a typical day, there will be five to seven skiers with each coach.  The group spent the morning working on drills focused on stance and balance. One required skiers to place their hands on their knees to force proper forward pressure into the front of the boot. Another asked skiers to take just two large, connected turns, keeping their skis slightly farther apart and perfectly parallel through the arc. It may sound simple, but for many skiers, putting it to snow was harder than expected. Masters Ski Program participants split into small groups to work on drills focused on stance and balance. The practice focuses on repetition, with instructors guiding skiers through short sections of terrain and providing feedback between runs. Credit: Klara Meyer/Park Record For Rick Tarrel, a third-year Masters Program skier, that challenge is part of the appeal. During a 25-year hiatus from the sport, Tarrel spent years as a skydiver and skydiving instructor.  “Skydiving is actually not that challenging compared to skiing,” Tarrel said. “The environment never really changes. With skiing, every turn is different. You’re always adjusting.” Tarrel said he values the chance to keep learning and trying new things, particularly in this setting of a supportive program with like-minded compatriots. “I call skiing the perpetual pursuit of perfection,” he said. “I’ll never get great, and that’s kind of the point.” Kathy Blomquist, who has skied with the program for nearly a decade on and off, said the instruction changed how she understood skiing. “I thought I could carve,” she said. “Turns out I couldn’t.” Running gates, skiing on slalom and GS skis, and returning to the same drills day after day revealed how much room there was to improve. “You’re not going to get that anywhere else,” she said. “You can take a lesson and forget it. This is about coming back and trying again. It’s not even a one-year thing. You can come back for 10 years and still learn something new.” Many skiers in Park City Mountain’s Masters Ski Program say they are there to keep learning and get better, not to chase results or race outcomes. Namrata Yocom-Jan said, “By the end of the season, I just hope I’ll be a better skier.” Credit: Photo courtesy of Park City Mountain by Bailey Quinn Scott Cameron Sharp joined the program after moving to Park City 11 years ago, initially drawn to its affordability and flexibility. He said one-off lessons never worked for him. “You can’t break bad habits in one or two days,” Sharp said. “It’s repetition.” While the drills and repetition are central to the program, many skiers say the sense of community is what keeps them showing up week after week. Jean Traub, now in her third season with the program, said it brings together skiers with different backgrounds and goals, without separating them by experience or competitiveness. “There are a bunch of us (who) just want to get out and we want to learn to be a little bit better,” she said. With everyone there to support each other on their journey towards becoming better skiers, the program becomes a place to meet new friends. If someone messes up, somebody will say they’ll get it next time, Traub explained. And if a skier does something great, their hard work is acknowledged. Felton said the consistency of skiing with the same people multiple days a week naturally builds relationships beyond the structured sessions. “For the most part, you’re skiing with the same group four days a week,” Felton said. “A lot of times on the weekends you get together with the group you’ve grown close with and go out and freeski and just have fun.” For many skiers, the hardest part of the program was deciding to try it in the first place. Several participants said they hesitated to sign up, unsure whether they would fit in or keep up. Traub said she almost didn’t join because she assumed it would be too intense and too race-focused. What ultimately convinced her was the program’s flexible structure, which allows skiers to come when they can and still feel part of the group without needing to be there all four days a week.  Traub said people either don’t know about the Masters Program or are afraid of it. But she said they shouldn’t be — there are a lot of people “who are not particularly good skiers,” but they’re learning. Felton said, “It’s so welcoming and fun here once you just decide to do it.” The post The Masters Ski Program at Park City Mountain continues with its 35th season appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less