Great skiing starts before the skis ever move.
Before the edges bite, before the drills line up, before the season really begins—there’s always a moment where everything quietly clicks. For me, as a ski instructor and Course Conductor with the CSIA, that moment often comes not from a checklist or a slide deck, but from a shared experience. A conversation. A story. Standing at the start of another season, listening to Canada’s top trainers, I’m reminded that our job isn’t just to sharpen technique—it’s to give it meaning. And sometimes, the most important lesson of the year doesn’t happen on snow at all… it happens halfway up the mountain, riding the chair, when someone tells a story that sticks.
If you were gearing up for the 2025–26 season, the latest Canadian Ski Instructors’ Alliance (CSIA) technical update—delivered by Jean-François Beaulieu (“JF”)—felt perfectly timed. Before we hit the slopes as eager ski instructors, we received a detailed technical update online, which served as the ideal preamble to the season kickoff. And nothing quite set the tone like starting the seaon off at wintery Mont Tremblant, Quebec.
As the skiing world continued to shift and adapt, skiers were arriving more informed and increasingly performance-focused. In response, ski instructors were expected to blend technical knowledge with tactical intelligence more fluidly than ever before. Amid all the biomechanics, terrain strategies, and skill-blending methodologies, one moment stood out above everything else—and, funnily enough, it didn’t happen during an on-snow session. It happened on the chairlift.
During a chair ride with JF Beaulieu, he shared a teaching moment from years earlier, one he still remembered vividly.
The student?
JF Beaulieu himself.
The instructor?
Michel Beaulieu, a seasoned coach with a remarkable ability to turn technical concepts into unforgettable experiences.
JF explained how Michel had delivered an already strong skiing lesson—solid drills, sound tactics, and smart terrain choices.
But then Michel did something that didn’t just make the session good… it made it great.
He wrapped the technical focus in a story.
Not a lecture.
Not a mechanical explanation.
A narrative.
It was a short, powerful story that illustrated the tactical point in a way that truly stuck with JF.
It wasn’t simply, “Here’s how you should approach this movement.”
It was, “Here’s the scenario, here’s the emotion, here’s the imagery… now ski it.”
According to JF, that story was the reason the lesson’s tactics became permanently ingrained in his skiing.
The takeaway?
Memorable teaching was emotional, relatable, and meaningful—not just technical.
His particular story gave the movement context.
– Context made it tactical.
– Tactics made it sticky.
– And the emotional resonance made it memorable for life.
In other words, skiers didn’t always remember the drill.
But they remembered the story—and that story helped them remember the movement.
This was exactly what the 2025–26 update called for:
- Clarity
- Connection
- Tactics
- Emotion
- Integration
- Context
That chairlift moment with JF proved that even for elite athletes and educators, a good story outlived a great drill.
“Get out there, share your passion for skiing. Make it memorable, tell the story”
AUTHOR: Andrew Elsdon (CSIA Member since 1984) ( #3118)
