Hôm nọ, tôi dạy trượt tuyết cho 4 người Việt. Một chị chắc cỡ tuổi tôi hoặc nhỏ hơn. Còn 3 đứa trẻ chắc ở tuổi học trung học. Nghe nói là con của bạn chị ấy chứ không phải con của chị.

Dĩ nhiên mấy đứa trẻ học rất lẹ. Chỉ cần chỉ vài lần là tụi nó trượt được. Còn chị lớn tuổi một chút thì cần chỉ dẫn thêm. Tôi dạy 3 đứa trẻ đi vững và có thể tự lên ghế. Chúng nó chỉ cần học cách cua hình chữ “S” thôi. Còn tôi thì đi với chị lớn để đi kiềm. Chị ấy nói, “Đi học lớp có thầy nói tiếng Việt mà còn chỉ cặn kẽ nữa. Lần sau sẽ tìm đến anh để học tiếp”. Tôi cảm ơn chị.

Đi làm nơi tuyết trắng lạnh lẽo mà nghe được tiếng Việt cũng thật ấm lòng. Những kỷ niệm nho nhỏ tình đồng hương sẽ lắng đọng mãi trong tôi. Thỉnh thoảng cũng thấy người Việt và nghe tiếng Việt trên bãi tuyết. Có lẽ người Việt cũng đang tham gia môn trượt tuyết này.

Tôi làm ở Whitetail mỗi thứ Bảy và Chủ Nhật từ đây cho đến hết mùa đông. Bà con nào muốn học ski hay snowboard, hãy đăng ký lớp học (nhóm hay riêng) trên skiwhitetail.com nhé. Đến lúc lấy lớp thì yêu cầu Donny Trương. Tôi sẽ dạy hết mình.

Last Saturday, my fellow snowboard instructor and I coached 2 brothers. He took the 6-year-old and I took the 8-year-old. Since they signed up for a group lesson, they both could have taken the lesson with either one of us, but we split up because they might be on different levels.

The cost for each kid was $405. Their dad also gave each of us tips at the end of the lesson. He was willing to spend around $850 for us to teach his kids even though he snowboarded himself. I didn’t know if he was wealthy or not, but that was some serious investments.

On the kids’ part, I didn’t know how the 6-year-old did, but the 8-year-old gave all he could. He fell, got up, and rode again. I took him on the chair lift, showed him how to turn. He nailed his heelside, but still had trouble with his toeside. We got back on the lift and worked on it again and again.

We took a 20-minute break half way through the lesson. We gave him chips and water. After he finished them both, he got up, threw his trash in the trash can, went to the bathroom, washed his hands, and wanted to get back on the chair lift again to work on his toeside.

He definitely made good use of his time and the money his parents spent on him. For 2 hours and 40 minutes, he did not complain at all.

Yesterday I went to Liberty for the first time this season. In the morning, I taught a friend how to ski for the first time ever. After lunch, I let him work on his turns at the learning center. I went to the back side to shred on the blue and double black terrains.

I sat on the chair lift with two ski instructors at Liberty. They were nerding out about carving then asked me about my day. I asked them about their day and if they taught a class. One of them said, “We have wonderful snow on the terrains, but no one to teach.” I joked with them, “Why don’t you guys teach me?” They asked me what I was working on. I told them, “Carving.” They started giving carving tips.

As we rode off the lift, they asked me to come along. They introduced themselves as Leo and Dave. They coached me on Dipsy Doodle. I was having a private lesson with two instructors. When we skied to the flat area, Leo gave me a “wrap-up” talk as instructors should do. I thanked them and unzipped my jacket to reveal my inner jacket. They recognized the blue uniform instantly. I confessed to them, “Yes, I am an instructor at Whitetail.” We all laughed. I went on, “I was testing you guys. Not only did you give a great lesson, but you were also willing to coach a random guest. That was very generous of you.” Leo said, “You’re the undercover boss” while Dave pulled out his phone to take a selfie of us.

Dave said, “You should join our team.” I told him that I actually applied at Liberty first, but I was rejected. I applied to Whitetail and they hired me immediately. They took me to the Ski and Ride School to introduce me to the director, but he was not there. Dave gave me his card and told me to contact him so he can put me in touch with the director to see if he could transfer me over.

I was not looking to make the transfer. Liberty is about 15 minutes closer to my house, but I am loving Whitetail, especially the Ski and Ride School. I am glad to be part of it and the extra 15-minute commute is definitely worth it.

Today was our last day in Vermont. Our family, along with my wife’s sister’s and her brother’s family, gathered for a week skiing and snowboarding at Mount Snow. With 8 boys between the age of 7 and 16, there was never a quiet moment. We couldn’t get out of the rental house earlier than noon to head to the terrains. With the holiday crowds, we could only get a few runs in a day.

We arrived in Vermont on Friday around noon and headed straight to Mount Snow resort. We went to the slopes again on Saturday around noon. On Sunday, I taught my friend’s kid how to ski. On Monday, we stayed at the rental house all day due to freezing rain. On Tuesday, the winds were too strong. I was the only one who went to the resort. I spent 6 days on the terrains.

I was planning to teach Đạo and his cousin snowboarding, but they seemed to be wanting to stick with skiing. Nothing wrong with that. They are very good skiers. I was happy to see Vương getting back on his skis. I worried that his fracture would get worse; therefore, I gave him four rules. First, he couldn’t use poles, which kids seemed to prefer anyway. Second, he could only stay on green terrains. Third, he couldn’t do any jumps. Fourth, he couldn’t go into the trees. He complied with the first two rules. The third and fourth, not so much. He was doing fine and had a great time with his brothers and cousins.

The rental house was about 20 minutes away from the resort. Yet, we couldn’t get our minivan out of the driveway because of the freezing rain. Luckily, my wife’s sister had a Revian with winter tires. Or else we would have been stuck in the rental house for a week.

This trip gives me a few things to think about. If we are going to take winter trips to go skiing, we will need to get a car with all-wheel drive and winter tires. Last November, my wife and I started to look for a new car. We decided on a 2026 Toyota Sienna Woodland, but the final price made me back out. Now, we need to reconsider. Our 2011 Sienna is almost 220,000 miles. Our 2018 Sienna is almost 100,000 miles. If we want to continue to travel Vermont every winter, we need to get a new car.

On Tuesday, I took the jacket test to be able to teach skiing for Vail Resorts. I went through the entire level-one lesson according to the course progression I had learned. I passed the test.

I am now among a few instructors who can teach both skiing and snowboarding. Teaching skiing is easier than teaching snowboarding. Learning skiing is also more pleasurable than learning snowboarding.

If you are going to spend three days or less on the slopes, learn skiing. If you can spend over seven days, learn snowboarding. If you return to the slopes season after season, learn both. I am definitely glad that I did both. The Epic Pass had allowed me the time and the affordability to learn.

On Monday, I taught three teenagers snowboarding. While we were on the chair lift together, they informed me that they wished they had learned snowboarding when they were younger. I assured them it was never too late to learn. I only learned to snowboard three years ago at the age of 44. I learned to ski, figure skate, and rollerblade when I turned 40. In recent months, I dabbled in skateboarding too.

Even though these sports have some similarities—they required balance—each one needs tremendous amount of time to advance. As a result, I only carved out what I wanted to learn. Yes, my goal is to carve and to enjoy my time during the winter season.

I was planning on taking all the required clinics and taking the test so I can teach skiing, but no trainer came to work today. I was assigned to teach a four-year-old boy snowboarding. He gave me a great workout for three hours. I was surprised that he could last that long. Apparently, his parents had been watching us from afar. His father gave me a generous tip afterward. Last season, I did not get any tip at all; therefore, today was a great start.

I thought I was off the hook in the afternoon, but I was assigned to teach three teenagers who had never snowboard before. One girl skied when she was young. A boy and a girl can do RipStik. As a result, they picked up snowboard really fast. I also had two new instructors shadowing me. We had three students and three instructors. We were able to take the guests to Sidewinder. It was a fun lesson.

Today I had one-on-one training with Mr. Tim Schlaile, an experienced ski instructor who had been teaching for 25 years. He walked me through the entire progression of teaching a level-one skiing lesson. Even after a quarter of century, Mr. Schlaile was still filled with passion in his teaching. I learned so much from him. I am now confident that I can teach first-time-ever guests with proper techniques. I am going to take the test to teach skiing as soon as I can.

At the end of our training, I thanked him for showing me the rope. His reply made my day: “It’s rare to have someone who can teach both [snowboard and ski]. You’re a good asset to our school.”

As a note taker, I asked Mr. Schlaile if I could pull out my phone to write down all the steps and he was cool with it. Here are the steps:

1. Introduce yourself (learn guests’ names)
2. Check boots, helmet, and mittens
3. Explain parts of the ski
4. Talk about the poles
5. Demo athlete stand (goalie position)
6. Skate with one foot or both feet
7. Side step uphill
8. Glide straight down bunny hill
9. Glide wedge (brake emergencies)
10. Make a left turn (put right hand on right knee)
11. Make a right turn
12. Explain the lift (2 people per chair)
13. Explain how to get off the lift (lean forward and go straight down)
14. Traverse across the hill with braking wedge
15. Make J turn
16. Make C turn
17. Make S turn

Today kicked off my second season as an instructor for the ski and ride school at Whitetail. We welcomed many new snowboarding instructors. As a result, the trainers needed to train the new instructors first. I asked our lead instructor if I could take skiing clinics instead and he approved.

I switched out my boots and my snowboard fellows sarcastically shook their heads in disapproval. Ski vs. snowboard battle never ended. I loved them both and I wanted to coach in both. As I joined the ski crew, I talked to another skier instructor who had taught skiing at Whitetail for a decade. He told me he lives in Vienna, which made me remember the conversation we had five years ago. I recognized his face and his voice. Five years ago, I took my first ski ever with David Mendelowitz right at Whitetail. That first lesson, which my wife signed me up without my consent, changed my wife.

I told Mr. Mendelowitz that he took me on the First Class Magic Carpet at the end of our lesson. I zoomed straight down without stopping or crashing into anyone else while he was yelling, “Pizza, pizza, pizza.” He laughed and joked, “I guess I didn’t do a bad job.” Since I was standing next to him this afternoon as a fellow instructor, he had done a phenomenal job. I finally had a chance to thank him.

In hindsight, Whitetail and I are meant for each other. On January 20, 2020, I took my first ever skiing lesson at Whitetail with Mr. Mendelowitz. On February 21, 2024, I took a skiing lesson with Ms. Mary Poscover and she encouraged me to become an instructor. When I applied for the ski and ride instructor position, I chose Liberty because it was 10 minutes closer to our house. Liberty rejected my application. I applied for Whitetail and was hired.

In retrospect, I had only been skiing for four seasons and snowboarding for three. We skipped 2020-2021 because of Covid. It seems as if I had been skiing and snowboarding for a while. I hope to continue for many years to come.

Last season, I documented each day I spent on the terrains. I spent 57 days teaching, skiing, and riding with my family. It was a great way to track my progress. This season, I want to try something different. I only write when I make notable progress.

The first two days back went horrible. I was so excited to be back that I forgot to take it easy. I even forgot to stretch. On the first day back, I hopped on my skis and went straight to the blue and double-black terrains. By 1:00 pm, I was wiped out. The second day, I switched to snowboarding and I did the same thing. Once again, my legs and feet got burned out so badly that I had to wrap up before 2:00 pm.

My body couldn’t handle these winter sports anymore. I either am getting old or was drinking too much during off season that it put a toll on my body. Or that I needed some liquor to keep me going. After I had two sample bourbon shots on Tuesday, I hadn’t had a drink since I started to ski and snowboard.

On the third day, I took it easy. I stretched and started off skiing on the green terrains in the morning. In the afternoon, I went on more challenging trails. Still, I wrapped up around 2:00 pm again. My legs gave out.

This morning I woke up with a migraine. I just wanted to stay in bed and read, but I knew in my heart I had to go. The mountains were calling. I took my time to stretch out in my dorm room. I popped a pill of Aleve, ate breakfast, and managed to catch the shuttle to Stowe around 8:20 am. I needed the Aleve to clear my head.

I told myself that it was going to be an easy snowboarding day. I just needed to ride down the slopes making nice “S” turns. I was not going to work on carving with my body low to the ground. I was not going to touch the snow with my hands. I laid low on the green and blue terrains on the learning side (Spruce Peak). Yet, the blue trail was icy.

After lunch, I headed over to Mansfield to take the Gondola, which opened for the first time today, to the top. I missed riding the Gondola. The blue trails were so nice. They weren’t icy and they weren’t too steep that I couldn’t carve. Unintentionally, my left hand touched the snow on my toe side as I dip low. I didn’t have to try too hard and I didn’t fall down. I tried with my right hand on my heel side and I had a bit of trouble. I fell on my butt a couple of times. I was determined to keep working on it. I hopped on the Gondola once again. I fell a few more times on my heel side before I got a hang of it.

I hopped back on the Gondola two more times before the lift was closed at 3:30 pm. I wanted to do more. For the next two days, I will focus on snowboarding. I had wanted to work on this technique in the last two seasons. I was about to give up this time because I thought my weak, aged body couldn’t handle it. All of the sudden, it clicked and unlocked my riding. I couldn’t believe that I could begin to reach my goal this early on. I still have lots to learn, but I am happy with my progress.

I had been fighting a lot on this trip. I fought against the cold. I fought against my body. I fought against my mind. I fought against my emotions. I fought against my loneliness. I fought against my conscience. Even with my wife’s blessings, I felt guilty for taking this solo trip. I miss her and my kids dearly. Then again, I also needed a bit of time to myself to clear my mind. When I skied or snowboarded downhill, I didn’t zoom down fast like the kids. I just took my time strolling down the hills looking for quiet spots near the trees where I can sit safely to reflect on my life and all the recent events that had happened to me and my loved ones.

In those freezing moments, I looked up at the sky and I could feel deep in my soul that my mother had been watching me from above. I could still hear it in her voice that she told me I had gone crazy. Just a year before she passed away, I started skiing. When I called her on the phone to tell her about my new adventure, she would say, “Mày bị khùng rồi.” I wish she was still here to see my ski and ride. I still love her and miss her every single day.

My first day back on the slopes and I couldn’t ask for better conditions at Stowe. It started to snow right before I hopped on the 8:00 am-opening chair. In the past, I would kick off the season with snowboarding, but I chose skiing instead. I should have taken it easy, but I dived right in. I skied all over the mountains. By 10:30 am, I was exhausted. My legs gave out after trying to carve.

I took a lunch break and relaxed a bit. I went back out and couldn’t ski anymore at 1:00 pm. I was done for the day. Either I am getting old or I was drinking too much alcohol during the off season, but I felt the pain. Or it could just be how the first day went. If I remember correctly, I got frustrated and disappointed on the first day back. It will get better once my body gets back into the groove.

It wasn’t bad, but I should have known better. I thought that practicing off season should have prepared me for the season, but that was not the case. I hope tomorrow will be better.

On a different note. When I arrived at Stowe yesterday, I went straight to guest services to check on my pass. It was already activated. I also wanted to activate everyone in my family, including Vương, even though he might not be able to ski at all these seasons. The process took a while as the experienced staff trained the three new staff members on how to do dependent passes for employees.

As she handed over our activated passes, the experienced staff told the new staff members: “See! Working here saves you thousands of dollars.” I smiled and replied, “That’s why we’re here.”

I love the network of employees. Any Vail-owned resort I went to, the employees were just so wonderful. We believe in the skiing culture. We work here because we are passionate about the winter sports. I can’t wait to kick off the season at Whitetail soon.