By Amy Post
Oh hey! Mimi here. Actually, my name is Amy, but we thought it would be funny to name our blog after names we've been called that are not our real names. I thought that was funny, and then I couldn't think of a better idea. My boyfriend gets called the wrong name all the time. Pretty must the only name that gets confused with mine is "Mimi," and it's usually when I have congested sinuses and can't enunciate.
When I graduated from college in 2006, I didn't know the first thing about finding a job. Then the economy crashed, and jobs became even more impossible. So, I moved in with my parents for the winter to be a ski bum. Fifteen years later, I've somehow transitioned from ski bum to ski professional, although professional bum might be a better way to describe my career. Then, in the Year of Our Lord 2021, I dusted off that ole English degree and started writing again. So, here we are.
Credentials include:
- PSIA Alpine Level 3
- PSIA Children's Specialist 2
Hats I've worn:
- DCT at PSIA-NI
- Ski instructor
- Staff trainer
- Boss lady
- Boot tester extraordinaire
- Race coach
- Education program developer
Places I've Worked:
- Bogus Basin, Boise, ID
- Bogus Basin Ski Education Foundation, Boise, ID
- Crystal Mountain, WA
- Mt. Ashland, Ashland, OR
- The-place-that-will-not-be-named, UT
Also, I also wrote my Master's thesis on ski area development impacts on plant community composition. To accomplish this, I read a 1,000 page EIS, did botany surveys at a ski area and in the surrounding mountains and taught myself statistics. Here's my recommendation: disturb the soil on your ski slopes as minimally as possible and don't get embroiled in a 25-year-long NEPA process, because in the end, everyone loses.
I like to go adventuring in the woods. Sometimes the best snow on the mountain is in the low-angle bushes. I like to ski fast. I don't like to leave the ground. In my un-scientific assessment, when you get to the upper-levels of this industry, the gender ratio is about 15 dudes to 1 woman. Teaching kids is easier than teaching adults because I don't know how to talk to grown ups. Kids just want to tell you about their favorite things and if I sing "Do You Want To Build a Snowman?" they look at me weird and then they trust me. Snow makes me giddy and my feet are always cold.