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Question: Lessons, season programs and tipping

SkiRunYoga

Certified Ski Diva
Wow I'm glad I read this thread, because I honestly had no idea that tipping was customary for private lessons!!! :noidea: I took a snowboarding lesson a couple of year ago, thanked the guy at the end and went on my merry way (wasn't exactly the most helpful lesson mind you....). Now I feel a bit stupid... At least I know for the future!
 

snoWYmonkey

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Tipping is still just that: an OPTIONAL sign of appreciation

I am sad to read people feeling foolish for not knowing they had to tip. It is not restaurant work, and we do make some money. We also know that it is optional, unlike many other types of tips.

Heard a great story - no idea of how true it is - of a guy skiing for over a decade with the same well off gentleman who would book him for at least three full weeks every year. He never tipped. The instructor gave him the same great lesson every single day.

The student invited him to his NYC place for a big event, and the event was the instructor being gifted an apartment in the city as a thank you for not once saying or even hinting at being disappointed for not being tipped.

The attitude of this instructor is what is noteworthy even if 99% of us will never see such appreciation.

My favorite student, and now one of my dearest friends, did not tip me for the first five or six years, but her smiles, appreciation, and generosity in other ways, so makes up for those missed tips.
 

NewEnglandSkier

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Yeah, I had the same response/question as apski (re the adults and private lessons).
I always take private lessons,as I just haven't had the greatest experience with groups. It seemed funny to me too that instructors would assume someone in a private lesson just wanted a guide/baby sitter/companion and didn't really want to improve. For me, my primary goal in a lesson is to have the attention of the instructor 100% of the time so we can focus on the skills I need to improve. Since I ski alone all the time the fact that it's someone to ski with is an added bonus of course, but if I didn't want to improve I wouldn't shell out the money that I do over the course of the season for lessons.
I guess it really does depend on what mountain you ski, as I can see how Jackson Hole might be a place people would want more a guide type experience.
 

SkiNana

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I guess it really does depend on what mountain you ski, as I can see how Jackson Hole might be a place people would want more a guide type experience.

Big Sky offers both ski lessons and a guide service for about the same price/hour. Perhaps this is why our instructors seem clear on that fact that people taking private lessons want to learn.
 

snoWYmonkey

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Big Sky offers both ski lessons and a guide service for about the same price/hour. Perhaps this is why our instructors seem clear on that fact that people taking private lessons want to learn.

That is a great idea! Though I find that most people as long as I ask very clearly will let me know what their goals are, and I keep checking in to make sure I am on the right path at least a few times a day.

For us the guides are really only for backcountry skiing. By that point the guest usually has a fairly solid set of ski skills, though the guides often end up having to teach to get people through some cruxes. Good thing most of them used to instruct. Within the ski boundary the instructors can act as both. Most people want a bit of both, and usually need a bit of both.
 

lisamamot

Angel Diva
I am resurfacing this thread - I skimmed through it and don’t see my particular seasonal program situation covered. I took part in a seasonal program Sat/Sun 9:30-12:30); there are 7 instructors and you choose the group you go with based on what you want to do that day. The program was $750.

I skied with all but one instructor at some point, and a couple of them only once. Do you tip all instructors, only the ones you skied with, give more to the ones you skied with more often? Gah!
 

lisamamot

Angel Diva
I was in a program like that years ago. They collected a pot for everyone. You gave what you thought was good.
Unfortunately next week is the last weekend and no one did a collection; last night was a finale gathering. I saw individuals had started handing out at class yesterday, so it seems that is the way we are going.

I decided to tip all instructors; took a little over 20% and divvied it based on how much I skied with them.
 

Abbi

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Unfortunately next week is the last weekend and no one did a collection; last night was a finale gathering. I saw individuals had started handing out at class yesterday, so it seems that is the way we are going.

I decided to tip all instructors; took a little over 20% and divvied it based on how much I skied with them.
Not that it helps you now, my seasonal group did pool a tip. That is those of us who are there for most of the season. A lot of the people were repeat customers so they organized it. I understand some people didn’t tip and some people tipped less as they were there less time. Since the writing was pretty much on the wall about season conditions we had our group lunch last Thursday. Our main instructor, who we gave 70% of the pool, had lunch with us. We are supposed to be going until March 31 but that seems highly unlikely! The way it’s looking now I may not last the week up here. Or play a little and pack a little.
 

snoWYmonkey

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
If one coach is the main organizer it is common at my resort to give the pooled tip to that coach who then divides it further. In some local programs where i filled in i was given the tip directly by the group in an envelope at the end. Other groups tip the day of the season lesson and only those who attend tip. Which can suck as as mininum is five people but sometimes only 2 show up. We show up no matter what on the assumption of it being a group of 5 or more. Seasonal adult local groups are what I hope to coach 2 to 3 times a week once I retire.
 

SquidWeaselYay

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Big Sky offers both ski lessons and a guide service for about the same price/hour. Perhaps this is why our instructors seem clear on that fact that people taking private lessons want to learn.
No kidding?! I'm heading out to Big Sky next week, that sounds amazing. Do you happen to know if you need a backcountry setup, or is it inbounds?
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
No kidding?! I'm heading out to Big Sky next week, that sounds amazing. Do you happen to know if you need a backcountry setup, or is it inbounds?
The post you read was from 2012. Check the Big Sky website to get an idea of what is happening in 2022. Fair to say that a lot has changed in the ski industry in the last decade. For Big Sky, there have been significant changes in the last 2-3 years, with more to come in buy 2030.

For relatively inexpensive lessons or a Ridge Guide for expert terrain, check out what Bridger has to offer. It's about a 90 min drive from Big Sky. Can be worth a day trip.
 

Wolfie

Certified Ski Diva
Wow.
I wish my 17 year old ski instructor daughter was getting tips like that. Or tips at all!
 

SquidWeaselYay

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
The post you read was from 2012. Check the Big Sky website to get an idea of what is happening in 2022. Fair to say that a lot has changed in the ski industry in the last decade. For Big Sky, there have been significant changes in the last 2-3 years, with more to come in buy 2030.

For relatively inexpensive lessons or a Ridge Guide for expert terrain, check out what Bridger has to offer. It's about a 90 min drive from Big Sky. Can be worth a day trip.
SMH omg....lol thanks for the heads up. Reminder to self to check dates.

Thanks for the tip about Bridger. Been meaning to check it out, maybe this will be the year. We've been going to Big Sky for 4 years now. We thought about buying a condo there back at the beginning, but with all the development happening, prices shot through the roof quickly, and I assume will only continue to do so once that mega-gondola and the new tram go in.
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
Darn, Bridger's guide service is only for experts. :( I ~can~ do expert terrain, but I'm NOT an expert skier.
What terrain do you do off Lone Peak? If you aren't doing any of the expert chutes there, then the Ridge at Bridger may not be the best fit.

The Guides at Bridger take people up to the Ridge. Either the short, steep hike in the middle or riding up the Schlasman's chair lift at the far end. When you are at Bridger, it's pretty easy to see all the terrain off the Ridge from one place or another. Avy gear is required to ride Schlasman's. Bridger rents beacons.


If you do a lesson at Bridger, there is plenty of challenging terrain reached by going out a gate after riding up the Bridger lift. My ski buddy and I had quite an adventure with Ric Blevins the last time we were at Bridger. He started by asking questions to make sure we could handle traverses that are narrow, not straight, not necessarily flat, and go down and then up, meaning you have to go fast. Definitely not somewhere I would've been happy the first couple seasons I did lessons with Ric about ten years ago.
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
Wow.
I wish my 17 year old ski instructor daughter was getting tips like that. Or tips at all!
Tipping is more common at destination resorts. A friend who taught at Deer Valley for a season (very experience Level 3) got some pretty large tips for semi-private full day lessons.

At my home mountain in the southeast, few people are aware that tipping a ski or snowboard instructor is something they should consider. Even those taking private lessons. The parents who were putting their kids in the children's program very rarely tipped.
 

SquidWeaselYay

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
What terrain do you do off Lone Peak? If you aren't doing any of the expert chutes there, then the Ridge at Bridger may not be the best fit.

The Guides at Bridger take people up to the Ridge. Either the short, steep hike in the middle or riding up the Schlasman's chair lift at the far end. When you are at Bridger, it's pretty easy to see all the terrain off the Ridge from one place or another. Avy gear is required to ride Schlasman's. Bridger rents beacons.


If you do a lesson at Bridger, there is plenty of challenging terrain reached by going out a gate after riding up the Bridger lift. My ski buddy and I had quite an adventure with Ric Blevins the last time we were at Bridger. He started by asking questions to make sure we could handle traverses that are narrow, not straight, not necessarily flat, and go down and then up, meaning you have to go fast. Definitely not somewhere I would've been happy the first couple seasons I did lessons with Ric about ten years ago.
LOL Yeah no. I'm not doing expert chutes ANYWHERE. I used to be advanced, but I think I have backslid into an intermediate over the years. Maybe even low intermediate. I do blacks and double blacks, but not smoothly.
 

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