Camp Evaluation comments!

Camp Evaluation comments!

Postby h.harb » Wed Jul 21, 2010 1:59 pm

I am posting some comments made by campers during the past season. They are anonymous, but if you read them and they sound familiar, if you like, feel free to identify yourself. There were no negative comments in all the returned evaluations I read. There are suggestions, and we welcome them. We try to implement as many suggestions as we can. We take your suggestions seriously and we act on all your comments, anywhere we can make the camps better for you we will. Every coach gets a copy of every comment, and all are reviewed. You may have seen some of your own suggestions implemented over the years. We thank the responders for filling out the forms.
Harald

Dk Blue, A-Basin, Dec 09

The camp was amazing;   the meticulous attention paid to all the technical details (equipment, alignment, position, performance) and immediate feedback far exceeded my expectations.  The coaches were honest with the corrections yet instilled  a 'can do' attitude that increased my confidence to venture beyond my comfort level and self-imposed limitations.  
 
I've taken group ski instructions in the past, but never have I experienced the passion, professionalism and individualized attention. 


Super Blue, Jan 10

The coaches:
Individualization of each individual's needs right down to the most intricate movements / Followed by: Attempting to put some of the newer or drilled movements into practice through free skiing and then determining whether or not we're getting closer to our particular goals, is excellent.


The best aspect was the knowledge and teaching ability of the instructors.
  Can’t think of any changes except maybe social aspects
  Coaches were excellent
  Would like one additional group dinner
  Thought this would be my last camp, but am now planning on attending all mountain camp if you guys think its advisable

Sol Vista Blue:
I think the coaching is excellent.  Example: One of the people in my recent class had recently taken a "************ camp" (other well known camp was mentioned here, I removed it).  When asked to compare them he said, it was night and day.  Much better structure, skill content, and coach knowledge and ability in the PMTS camp.


What a fabulous class!!!!  I have been to many many ski camps...including "******* ***** camp at Steamboat and several at Mount Hood, Mount Bachelor etc. None come close to the quality of instruction I received last week. You all are wonderful even if the weather was a bit nippy. I shall be back!! Thank you so much.  

Thanks for an excellent week's instruction.
I experienced fantastic support from HSS and my fellow campers. We all had a good week.
As five years earlier, I remain astonished by your multi-tasking skills!


Best Aspect: Good job in putting our group together, as we all had strengths and issues that complemented each other well. This allowed concentration on skills that all persons in our group were lacking/performing improperly.

(I will try to put up more comments, they are really great!) I am proud of our staff, and they get many accolades from all campers, thanks again. HH
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Re: Camp Evaluation comments!

Postby h.harb » Wed Jul 21, 2010 2:27 pm

The most often mentioned suggestion in all of the hundreds of returned comment forms was: " Can we have more social time or events with the participants and the coaches".

So let me address this one because it comes up time and time again. We "the coaches" would love to have a beer or adult beverage after skiing and we do, when we can. We are never adverse, to enjoying a few stories over a beverage after skiing.

However, when the coaches disappear after skiing, they are not on their own free time, they are still working for you.

We have afternoon alignment sessions where our undivided attention is needed. Other coaches are editing video everyday for posting, so campers can go to the internet to view their skiing. We also spend time discussing what is working with our approaches for individuals in the groups, from the day's on snow sessions. So although we would love to spend more time after skiing with our guests, duty calls.

We do encourage campers to plan dinners together with their group members and other groups. Many of the coaches are often swayed (arm twisting) into having a few beverages after skiing on the last day of camp. This is not often possible for campers, as they have to pack up and get moving home. If you can stay after skiing on the last day of camp, we are ready to party.
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Re: Camp Evaluation comments!

Postby arothafel » Fri Jul 23, 2010 5:40 am

Thought I'd throw in my .02 for the record....

I am 56, grew up in NH and learned to ski at Gunstock. I raced in the early days and had a blast. But, at age 12 we moved to Florida. Luckily, I moved back to Vermont at 16 where I continued to do a little racing for the Rutland High School Ski Team. At age 22, I stopped skiing altogether (family, career, etc) until age 48 at which time I took up racing again (Masters) figuring that was the quickest way to learn all the latest techniques for the new shaped skis.

I worked diligently at that god-awful, uncomfortable, wide stance because that's what the racers were doing. Long story short, after a while, I came to the conclusion that most instructors and race coaches don't really understand what's involved with the actual physics and efficient movements of the sport. Oh sure, they can go fast, but both Lindsey Vonn and Bode Miller, in my opinion, are gifted athletes, not necessarily great technicians. So, I wasted a lot of time doing all the wrong stuff.

I work in the fitness industry and, as such, have access to world-class trainers, coaches and athletes. As I began to read Harald Harb's books, view his videos and attend his camps, I also began to run his material by several of the more technical athletic training professionals who study bio-mechanics, kinesiology, neuro-muscular activity, etc. And, I've been doing this for the last four years.

As a result, I am totally convinced of HH's approach... from boot fitting to the actual physics of skiing and the bio-mechanics involved and required to produce those physics in the most efficient manner possible. Besides skiing much better, I am not as tired at the end of the day. My back is not screaming at me. My knees are not throbbing. All of this is due to skiing in a more efficient and proficient manner. I enjoy skiing now more than ever.

So, yes, I am a card-carrying, Kool-Aid drinking, cult follower of Harb and PMTS and will attend my 6th camp this Dec. Feel free to PM me for further reference.
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Re: Camp Evaluation comments!

Postby geoffda » Mon Jul 26, 2010 7:04 am

What seperates Harb Ski Systems camps (and instruction) from the rest is that they are focused on skier development. The goal first and foremost is to make you a better skier. And they deliver on that better than anyone else I know. I was (by most people's standards) a good skier before I attended a Harb Super Blue Camp last winter. At the end of the season, my friend (who happens to be a world-class bump skier and knows a thing or two about ski technique) made the comment that "you know, you've gotten ALOT better this year." When I first discovered PMTS the season before last, I spent the last month or so working with one of my friends who had been doing Masters Racing all year, but who was still struggling with technique. When we showed up at a training camp at the end of the season, my friend's coach was shocked and noted that, "I don't even recognize the skier I'm looking at!" That same comment continued the following season from other coaches and skiers who had seen my friend ski B.H. (before Harald). My other favorite was just recently with another coach. He heard my friend's name on the radio, but when he saw the skier coming down he later said he assumed he'd misheard the name because he couldn't believe that he was seeing the same skier he'd worked with the year before. These kind of comments are just par for the course for Harb Ski Systems products. Every time I've skied with the Harb folks in a group setting, there has been at least one person who so radically transforms their skiing that they are no longer recognizable as the skier they were when they started.

IMO, one of the problems with trying to get a recommendation for ski instruction is that most people don't evaluate their experience objectively. I've skied with people who have regularly attended the same other camp year after year and they swear it is the greatest ski camp in existence. What strikes me about this is that despite their enthusiasm, they are still the same mediocre skiers they've been since I've known them. From this I take three things. First, I think people tend to let how much fun they had at a given camp cloud their objectivity. Second, I suspect that people tend to rely too heavily on their own impressions of how much their skiing actually improved rather than seeking feedback from others and watching video. Finally, I think that people generally have low expectations about how much they will be able to improve as result of instruction (possibly because many resort ski schools don't really seem interested in making you a better skier).

To objectively measure the quality of ski instruction, you have to evaluate the impact that it had on a given skier. To know that, you have to have some idea of how they skied before the instruction and some idea of how they are skiing after. Worthwhile instruction *should* have an immediate and recognizable impact on your skiing that will continue to magnify as you keep working. If your friends are telling you how great some camp is, but you never noticed any changes in their skiing, that is pretty good indication that they didn't get quality instruction.

So if you are trying to figure out who is offering the best ski instruction around, apply the "wow, your skiing is so much better I don't even recognize you" test. When people are telling you that they regularly get this feedback from others after attending a given camp, that is a pretty good indication that the instruction they are recommending is the real deal.

I can give my unqualified recommendation to Harb Ski Systems because they pass this test and deliver results for everyone to see. HSS will have several new campers this year because my skiing has changed enough that people noticed and asked about it. If you want to know who the best is, you don't have to look any farther than Harb Ski Systems.
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Re: Camp Evaluation comments!

Postby h.harb » Mon Jul 26, 2010 3:26 pm

Wow! I can't let those two posts go by without expressing my appreciation to you both for taking the time to convey your experiences with Harb Ski Systems.
Thanks!
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Re: Camp Evaluation comments!

Postby JMD » Wed Aug 18, 2010 8:36 am

I am JMD the skier Geoffda is refering to with his post. I really want to Thank him for introducing me to Harald Harb's PMTS System. He encourged me to purchase HH's Great Book 'Essentials of Skiing'. Thanks to the easy to understand manual and Geoffda's patience helping me train using the drills, my skiing has seen a very Noticeable Improvment. I have had the pleasure to witness Geoffda's tremendous improvement over the last two years as he continues to refine his PMTS skills. I am really looking forward to enjoying my first PMTS Blue/Dark Blue Camp this December at Arapahoe Basin. I still have a long way to go to 'Master the Slopes' but thanks to HH's PMTS System I now have a very clear path.
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