Dan Nord

Roles

Events

Known For

History

2013

“You hear people around here say, ‘It takes a lodge,’ ” said Dan Nord, whose been visiting the lodge for a decade. “Everybody helps out.” yore

2020

I’m a skier because of Patti. No, that’s not true. I’m a ski INSTRUCTOR because of Patti. Because Patti encouraged me to take responsibility for the pre-and-early teens, the mostly mindless adolescent boys after they graduated from her class, to actually imagine that I might have something to give them. And then later, to connect me with the Olympic Ski School for my first experience with a “standard” ski program, and then with Ski Masters so I could get my Level 1 certification, and then with the bigger world of PSIA-NW that eventually lead me to the Summit Snowsport School, and that’s how I became a ski instructor. And by becoming an instructor, I became a skier, instead of the wannabe who could somehow get down the steep stuff without crashing and burning – too much. Because the best way to learn is to teach. Which I learned from Patti.

Here’s a story about Patti: As a part of my Level 2 clinics this year, we watched a lot of videos of skiers. Not the pros, but of real-life skiers, the kind you might watch while riding the chairlift, to hone our movement analysis skills. (Mostly videos of our fellow clinic-mates.) Movement Analysis is an exercise in critique; it’s goal is to quickly identify both the good and less-than-good aspects of the skier’s technique. Patti has her Level 3, and is an active participant in PSIA-NW’s high-level program for ski school directors and clinicians, with a reputation to maintain. But she got her Level 3 years ago, before off-piste technique was revolutionized by the invention of fat rockered skis, before she became well ensconced somewhere in her seventh decade. Other folks in her situation would be reluctant to have their technique subjected to the analysis by a group of Level 2 candidates whose assignment was to find the “opportunities for improvement”. But not Patti. She proudly gave me a thumb-drive with several videos of her skiing. Videos that were made by friends, mostly for fun, never intended to be used for demonstration purposes. Well done, Patti. I, along with the rest of my class’ students and clinicians, thank you. (And the critique: Great upper/lower body separation, but a bit in the back-seat. Of course, that’s what you had to do back then, to keep those skinny ski tips floating on the powder.)

I don’t have a lot of stories about Dave. But what I think of, when I think of him, is dedication. To Meany. To the cross-country trail system around our lodge, and the endless hours he has spent keeping these trails groomed. To the ski trips that Patti takes to Europe, with Dave providing so much of the day-to-day logistics, freeing Patti to ski with her guests. To the bunnies that he and Patti have rescued and raised. To the Mountaineers, particularly its property division. Dave is there. Where he needs to be.