Jonathan Lawson

Surefoot Lange RX 130 - 2011/12

2011-10-27T03:28:56Z

I was fitted in the Breckenridge Surefoot store for my 2011/12 Surefoot Lange RX 130 boots (100mm last) with the Surefoot X2 liner and Surefoot insole. I thought I would offer a boot review for the RX 130.

I was told that I was the first Professional Ski Instructor in Colorado to get fitted for the X2. I arrived at 10:55am and was out of the shop with new boots, foamed liners and milled footbed by 11:50. Even better I was skiing Loveland Ski Area by 12:40.

Before we go further, it is important to know the best boot is the one which fits you. And the boot manufactures are doing a fine job of innovation. I have skied a number of boots between the 110-130 flex. I have a foot which fit well into Lange, but I have been adaptable.

I have been in the boots for 3 days and have skied hard pack and mushy combo snow, 14" of powder, and moguls. I will giveaway the punchline... These are the best boots I have ever skied.

Two week update>> I have now had 10 days on the hill with them. They are still perfect. The fit is fantastic. They flex is firm but not rock hard stiff. I have played around with tightening down the buckles and it produces even higher performance and control on very hard snow. This is the best boot I have ever skied, and the 100mm width should fit a greater variety of feet when combined with the custom foam liner. Kudos to Lange, and the boot fitters at Surefoot.]]> Now for the details:
Me: 43 yrs, 190lbs, 5'11"
PSIA Level 3 certification, PSIA-RM Trainer Accredited
Last Boots - Lange World Cup 120 with Booster Straps
Prior Boots- Nordica Speedmachine 14, Tecnica ICON Alu Comp, Atomic Race (blue), Lange Purple Haze
Skis - Rossignol Strato 80, 175cm

I was choosing between the RX 120 or the RX 130. I was concerned the RX 130 would be too stiff for teaching and slow speed bumps. My previous '07 Lange WC 120 was a very good boot, but not great. The cuff was about 1/2in higher than the RX, and the last is 97mm instead of 100 (RX).

The RX Pro offers a 97mm last. The tighter last required me to "punch" out the 6th toe and do a variety of grinding to have it fit well. The slightly wider fore foot in the RX allowed me to ski in the boot without any adjustment or grinding.

The height of the cuff on the WC 120 was a little too high, and the flex always seemed less than optimal for me. The boot would feel stiff on the firm snow, but collapse and flex too much in the thicker mush or wind affected powder. The effect on the ski would be too much tip pressure in tricky conditions. In contrast the RX 130 was stiff and didn't overflex. I was able to ski from the center of the ski. The shorter cuff allowed me to be more accurate and flex progressively and articulate my ankles, knees and hips. The entry of the turn feels effortless, as does edging throughout the turn. The RX 130 allowed me to ski accurately, efficiently, and powerfully.

I have skied with Booster Straps for the past 15 years, but I don't feel a need to wear the Boosters with these as the stock power strap is fine.The boot seems more progressively flexing than previous Langes.

I have had foam liners in the past. They have been stiff and the tongues would give my shin abuse if I slammed into the front of them. The X2 liner has an improved 3mm closed cell cushion between the leg an the new closed cell injected foam. It just feels Goooood! There was no initial pain or adjustments that I required. They feel firm and responsive, and absorb shocks very well.

From my first run I felt at home in these boots.

Slow speed skidded turns, high speed arcs, and very quick in bumps.

I expected these to possibly be too stiff in the bumps. Surprisingly they were perfect. If I hit the face of the bump hard they didn't fold over or jet me from the tails. I am very excited to ski long bump runs this season, and the 100mm last doesn't cramp my foot like the narrower last occasionally did. I tried to put these boots through their paces, and I did. I tried everything I could think of to test their versatility. They are a 10 of 10. They ripped.

The Buckles are awesome. I know buckles are usually overlooked. But the new Lange slanted design allows me to loosen buckle without putting too much tearing pressure on my gloves.

Eye Candy - I don't choose a boot because of color, but this one does look awesome on the hill.

I like the removable soles which offer tremendous grip when walking across a once slippery locker room cement floor. Lange says that they are 20% grippier than Vibram soles. In years past I have felt that walking across a parking lot or bathroom floor was more dangerous than skiing. These are soles are great and they should offer some help across slippery surfaces.

They also should come in handy when I have to scramble the Ridge at Loveland or hike at Silverton Mountain.

The boot with custom set up cost about $125-200 more than if I were to get the boot with stock liner. For me, they are worth it. I thought I was getting the X1 liner, but the X2 had just arrived that morning. Surefoot has an arrangement with Lange and Nordica to just get shells without liners. This is great because the boot is about $200 less without the stock liner, and I can apply the discount to the custom liner.

Lastly, this boot should work well for stronger skiers who have a little extra mass to work them. They are quick and agile, working well in firm snow or powder. Great Lange design and look. Well fitting heal pocket and ample forefoot room. The custom foam liner fills in the gaps beautifully. The slightly wider last is a great improvement for those who feel squeezed previous Lange designs. This is the best boot I have ever skied.

In Breckenridge before Dec 18th? Here's the deal...

2011-08-23T00:42:54Z

They say nothing is free, but this is pretty darn close. If you are able to come to Breckenridge before December 18th. This is the deal. You can stay in a studio unit at the Grand Timber Lodge for No Cost on WEEKDAYS, and No Cost @ Breck Inn on Weekends.

What's the catch? Breckenridge Grand Vacations is showing off their new lodge with a 2 hr tour walk-through Tour of the Grand Lodge on Peak 7 during the stay. If it seems like a fair trade, just print out the certificates below.
And if you mention my name (Jonathan Lawson) as an owner you will also get a Friends of owners "2-Day Pass" for the Grand Lodge on Peak 7 pools and hottubs. 866.476.2315

Here are the certificates, just tell them you heard it here.

GL7 2011 FriendsFamily.PDF

There are requirements: $70K gross household income, own real estate property, and married or have a significant other.

I've been an owner at the GL7 for more than 3 years now, and I couldn't be more pleased.

Daily Juice

2011-05-01T02:24:26Z

I viewed this at my
Prepaid Legal Convention, and it touched me. "Yes, this is what I want." I want this in the way I teach, and the way I run my businesses.

]]> Enjoy the information on this blog. Obviously I have put plenty of time into this MySnowPro Blog. Usually it takes about 15-30 minutes per day. The majority of the blog is designed for my friends, students, and future friends. I hope you find some material here that helps you in some way.

Here are two videos I watch several times per week. Enjoy your morning "Juice":

I am a big believer in the concepts of The Secret (Extended Edition)

I am here sometimes as Brock, and sometimes as the coach:

It's a good movie Facing the Giants (Widescreen)

to your success,
Jon Lawson
My Business, come check it out.

THE CHALLENGE by Jim Rohn
Let others lead small lives, but not you

Let others argue over small things, but not you

Let others cry over small hurts, but not you

Let others leave their future in someone else's hands, but not you

I will put a new video here every now and again:

Prepaid Legal

Simplify your teaching - Improving your skiing by focusing on less

2011-01-23T03:46:48Z

Rules, regulations, laws, and complexity. Since the birth of the constitution there has been no year with fewer laws than the previous year. Simply look at tax law, and realize that there is no one person who knows all the rules. These rules become so complex that it requires a professional to navigate the waters for us.

Today my daughter made up a game around the pool table. There were so many rules to the game that we lost sight of the point of the game. And even though we wanted to play the game, we were lost in the minutiae. We played anyway, and half way through the game she stopped us. Then proceeded to add more rules to the game, as well as adding a new objective. My son lost interest, and I listened and followed along politely.

"Make everything as simple as possible, but no simpler" - Albert Einstein

This a wonderful goal for a teacher, or maker of rules.

Copy, Choose, Create

As a teacher of skiing develops they go through these phases of presenting information to their students. PSIA-RM Document

Copy- New instructors are taught a progression of steps to bring a student from a to b to c. If the instructor runs into a stumbling block they either continue to try to tell the student to try the same thing until the student either succeeds or quits. Or they look around to see what somebody else is doing, then they interpret the movement and share it with the student. And often inefficient movement patterns are created.

Choose- The teacher has a few progressions and quick fixes in their bag of tricks. This level of instructor can teach to several types of learning styles.

Often an instructor will move through one progression and find that the student will be performing well, yet still in need of practice and mileage. The experienced instructor realizes this is a natural part of learning and is willing to offer modest coaching of existing movements. The less experienced instructor desires to add new movements prematurely, or pile on another progression immediately. This is know as "puking on the student" or "downloading" on the student. Everything the instructor knows is given to the student. It rarely is beneficial, yet the student rarely realizes that it is detrimental.

Create- This is a first level of mastery in an instructor. It is the ability to draw upon progressions, "tricks", terrain, lesson timing, movement pools, psychological understandings, etc to customize the experience to the student or class.

The lesson may or may not follow an order ever shared by the instructor, or it may be a plain "vanilla" progression. The Mastery of this Creation is in the simplicity it is delivered and understood. When a student says, "Wow, nobody has ever told me it that way before." you can be quite certain you created a special lesson.

The expert instructor has a desire to create, and build simplicity into the lesson. The first few times you create may get messy, it may cause you to backtrack or restate things during your lesson, that is ok. This is part of the process. To accelerate the process, talk with an experienced pro about your ideas, this can help you through your learning process. Most pros are happy to talk shop.

Simplify, simplify, simplify, but no simpler. There are only a few things worse than teaching "dead-end" simple moves to an eager student. Do the creations translate to movement patterns shared by an expert skier? They should. Even a wedge turn has movements an expert uses.

Jonathan Lawson is an instructor and staff trainer at Loveland Ski Area in Colorado. He has been teaching skiing since 1991, and teaching in Colorado since 1993, and a PSIA-Rocky Mountain Trainer since 1999. He continually works at making skiing easier to understand so that students can ski more.

Images and elements of "Good" Skiing

2010-11-27T19:02:56Z

When I was training for my PSIA Full Certification (Level 3) in 1993, and Trainer Accreditation (1999) I would watch good skiers for about 15 minutes every morning. Of course back then it was on VHS video tape. Now you can just bookmark this post and watch away. Some of the videos resembled what I used to watch.

Medium Radius Carved Turns

Short Radius Performance Turns

Performance Mogul Skiing

Skiing Variable Terrain

Great job Jonathan Ballou (Aspen) and PSIA-RM for putting these images together. To get this type of performance from your instructor, REQUEST a FULLY CERTIFIED PSIA/AASI professional for your next lesson.

The Perfume

2010-11-27T17:49:41Z

Sometimes a story resonates with you. Gaining an understanding that things are not always what they appear, and accepting others at more than face value.

Here is a email forward that I just received, and I believe that is worth the minute or two it takes to read. Enjoy...

THE PERFUME

As she stood in front of her primary 5 class on the very first day of school, she told the children an untruth.

Like most teachers, she looked at her pupils and said that she loved them all the same.

However, that was impossible, because there in the front row, slumped in

his seat, was a little boy named Koko Bassey.

Mrs.Thompson had watched Koko the year before and noticed that he did not

play well with the other children, that his clothes were messy and that he

constantly needed a bath. In addition, Koko BASSEY could be unpleasant.

It got to the point where Mrs. Thompson would actually take delight

in marking his papers with a broad red pen, making bold X's and

then putting a big "F" at the top of his papers.

At the school where Mrs. Thompson taught, she was required to review each

child's past records and she put Koko's off until last. However, when she reviewed

his file, she was in for a surprise.

Koko's primary 1 teacher wrote, "Koko is a bright child with a ready laugh.

He does his work neatly and has good manners... he is a joy to be around."

His primary 2 teacher wrote, "Koko is an excellent pupil, well liked by his

classmates, but he is troubled because his mother has a terminal illness

and life at home must be a struggle."

His primary 3 teacher wrote, "His mother's death has been hard on

him. He tries to do his best, but his father doesn't show much

interest and his home life will soon affect him if some steps aren't taken."

Koko's primary 4 teacher wrote, "Koko is withdrawn and doesn't show much

interest in school. He doesn't have many friends and he sometimes sleeps in class."

By now, Mrs. Thompson realized the problem and she was ashamed of herself.

She felt even worse when her pupils brought her Christmas presents, wrapped in

beautiful ribbons and bright paper, except for Koko's.

His present was clumsily wrapped in the heavy, brown paper that he got from

a grocery bag. Mrs. Thompson took pains to open it in the middle of the other presents.

Some of the children started to laugh when she found a rhinestone bracelet with

some of the stones missing, and a bottle that was one-quarter full of perfume. But

she stifled the children's laughter when she exclaimed how pretty the bracelet

was putting it on, and dabbing some of the perfume on her wrist.

Koko Bassey stayed after school that day just long enough to say,

"Mrs. Thompson, today you smelled just like my Mom used to."

After the children left, she cried for at least an hour. On that very day,

she quit teaching reading, writing and arithmetic. Instead, she began to teach

children. Mrs. Thompson paid particular attention to Koko. As she worked

with him, his mind seemed to come alive. The more she encouraged him, the faster he

responded.

By the end of the year, Koko had become one of the smartest children in

the class and, despite her lie that she would love all the children the same,

Koko became one of her "teacher's pets."

A year later, she found a note under her door, from Koko, telling her that she was

still the best teacher he ever had in his whole life.

Six years went by before she got another note from Koko. He then wrote that he had

finished secondary school, third in his class,and she was still the best teacher

he ever had in his whole life.

Four years after that, she got another letter, saying that while things had been tough at times,

he'd stayed in school, had stuck with it, and would soon graduate from the university with the

highest of honors. He assured Mrs. Thompson that she was still the best and favorite teacher

he had ever had in his whole life.

Then four more years passed and yet another letter came. This time he

explained that after he got his bachelor's degree, he decided to go a little further.

The letter explained that she was still the best and favorite teacher he ever

had. But now his name was a little longer....The letter was signed, Koko A. Bassey, MD.

The story does not end there. You see, there was yet another letter that spring.

Koko said he had met this girl and was going to be married. He explained that his father

had died a couple of years ago and he was wondering if Mrs. Thompson might agree to sit at the

wedding in the place that was usually reserved for the mother of the groom.

Of course, Mrs. Thompson did. And guess what? She wore that bracelet, the one with several rhinestones missing.

Moreover, she made sure she was wearing the perfume that Koko remembered his mother wearing

on their last Christmas together.They hugged each other, and Dr. Bassey whispered in Mrs. Thompson's ear,

"Thank you, Mrs. Thompson for believing in me Thank you so much for making me feel important and

showing me that I could make a difference."

Mrs. Thompson, with tears in her eyes, whispered back. She said, "Koko, you have it all wrong.

You were the one who taught me that I could make a difference.

I didn't know how to teach until I met you."

Warm someone's heart today. . . pass this along. Just try to make a difference in someone's life today or tomorrow. Just "do it". Random acts of kindness, I think they call it.

Find time to laugh... but not at the weaknesses of others!

Yesterday is History, Tomorrow is a Mystery, Today is the present, so let's call it a Gift!!!

And if you have another few minutes, listen to the Shia Story...

Thank you A.I.

2010-11-05T15:01:46Z

Genius comes into this world in many forms. So often we think of genius in terms of an IQ test, although this is genius in its narrowest measure. Watching Tiger Woods playing his "A-game", Hermann Maier or Bode Miller on Super G course, or Benjamin Reich on a slalom coarse. The way Martin Luther King Jr., Ghandi, or The Dalai Lama live their faith. And to watch a genius like Andy Irons in the water can make us all richer. The power of doing what you love, and sharing your joy is truly special.

A person doesn't have to be perfect at all times to be admired as a genius. A person's legacy should not be written about what they didn't do, but what they did and how they affected others. Andy won 3 World Surfing Titles (2002-04), 3 Quiksilver Pro France titles (2003-05), and 2 Rip Curl Pro Search Titles (200-6-07). He admittedly lost passion for competitive surfing at times, but continued to explore his passion for riding waves. Genius lay within most of us, but so few have the opportunity to let it shine, Andy did. Judging from the outpour of emotion and tributes throughout the world, he has affects tens of thousands of people. May we all be so fortunate.

Andy Irons died on November 2, 2010. He had reportedly been battling Dengue Fever. His wife was 7 months pregnant with their first child. Andy Irons was 32 years old.

Andy Irons Tribute from Brian Bielmann from M. Scott Mortensen on Vimeo.

"Curiosity" in contrast to the fundamentalists

2010-10-10T15:56:26Z

I am happy to have escaped from the oppression of Vail Resorts as an employer. I will be working with another fine ski area in the county build their training program. I will be teaching on a part-time request only basis this season. And you may contact me directly.

As I enjoyed my Sunday morning walk-and-read, I enjoyed Seth Godin's 2008 book, TRIBES.

In this post I will speak to a few elements with regard to Curiosity (p.63) by Mr. Godin. I will include some personal interpretations as well.

"A fundamentalist is a person who considers whether a fact is acceptable to his 'religion' before he explores it. As opposed to a curious person who explores first and then considers whether or not he wants to accept the ramifications."

I still remember my 4th grade class with Sister Lillian and one of our Priests were explaining how, "All but the Catholics were damned" because they did not believe our teachings. I raised my hand and asked, "What about the monks and Buddhists who spend their whole lives praying in an effort to do good in this world? Are they going to hell too?" "Yes, I am afraid so." said the priest.

"A curious person embraces the tension between his religion and something new, wrestles with it and through it, and then decides whether to embrace the new idea or reject it."

Curiosity is a key concept as it has nothing to do with income, education, or organized religion. "It has to do with a desire to understand, a desire to try, a desire to push whatever envelope is interesting."

I remember starting my first web-based business SkiPros.com (Instructor directory, now defunct) in 1995 and talking with a number of the top western ski areas about how the internet can connect their instructors with students. It could create loyalty. It would also foster the ability for prospective students to better match themselves with instructors. They didn't see the ROI potential and passed off the internet as a fad. Some also believe accepting this change would disrupt their system of having a student blindly put down money and hope for a qualified instructor. This would lessen the ability for the resort to put a less experienced (lower paid) instructor with the client and allow the resort to reap a higher profit on the lesson. This is a practice which is financially incentivised by my previous employer. If you are taking a private lesson, always ask for a Full Certified professional instructor, and accept nothing less.

The non-curious "masses in the middle have brainwashed themselves into thinking it's safe to do nothing, which the curious can't abide". However, "It's easy to underestimate how difficult it is for someone to become curious. For seven, ten, or fifteen years of school, you are required to not be come curious. Over and over again, the curious are punished."

To me this punishment can lead to freedom. I am more eager to get to work when I am moving beyond set limits. I love to challenge the status quo and push something forward. Something I believe in. Ski Pass Defender is a driving force when I wake up at 6 or go to bed at 11. The thought of helping create culture at the new ski area I will be working with is also incredibly appealing.

It is not as though something magically happens and you become curious. A person must reprogram themselves. It is a multi-year process where you start finding your voice, and finally you begin to realize that the safest thing you can do feels risky. The riskiest thing you can do is to play safe. The "safest" place in a prison is called, "Maximum Security" for a reason. Yet we are "sheepwalked" into believing this is what we want. A few books worth reading to reprogram your power to the person belongs include The Slight Edge, Think and Grow Rich, Atlas Shrugged or Fountainhead, and The Four Agreements.

Mr Godin concludes, "Once recognized, the quiet yet persistent voice of curiosity doesn't go away. EVER. And perhaps it's such curiosity that will lead us to distinguish our own greatness from mediocrity that stares us in the face."

If this post resonates with you, I would enjoy reading your comment and/or skiing with you this winter.

EpicMix - GeoTagging, Geolocation, and Facebook updates live from the slopes

2010-09-03T04:10:44Z

Vail Resort just announced EpicMix for the 2010-11 season. Reliving your ski or snowboarding day into the evening. Bejeweled has nothing on this. The connection with Social Media should be fun for a number of uses. I am excited to see how this is used by the skiers and riders. It is a very compelling and free product. However, having a pass with RF technology will allow VR to collect your daily usage data. For some people that is no problem. For others, we feel we don't need to give this data if we choose not to do so.

]]> SkiPassDefender This product costs less than a lunch on the mountain, and it protects my RFID-encrypted information safe from tech savvy thieves and from corporate data mining and marketing efforts. The Ski Pass Defender also effectively allows the skier or rider to "Opt-out" of being tracked around the mountain, and allows the pass to be easily scanned by the ticket scanner at the lift line. I think every frequent skier or rider who has an RFID pass should have this as part of their gear. So, let's see what the future brings to the mountains.

Update: Due to my company's bring this product to market, Vail Resort has chosen to not bring me back on staff. The offered me the opportunity to sell my business, sign code of conduct paperwork, and have my job back. Or keep my business and not be employed at Breckenridge this year. I chose to keep my business and my freedom. The story was written about in the Summit Daily News

Breckenridge Parking during ski season

2010-08-24T16:12:41Z

1.6 million skier/rider days make Breckenridge one of the most popular destinations in the world. Parking in Breckenridge can be at a premium. If you are staying in Breckenridge, you probably have a parking spot and use the excellent bus system to get from your home to the Gondola.

But if you are like many who visit Breckenridge for some skiing, here is a quick primer on parking. When you are arriving from the North, I-70 and Frisco, you will first see the FREE parking on Coyne Valley Rd (stoplight) make a right turn and you will be guided to the Airport Rd parking lot. There are many buses which can take you from Airport Rd to the Gondola (1mi).

Parking for the 2010-11 season will be the same as last year. $5 Monday-Thursday, and $10 Friday-Sunday with $5 discount if there are 4 or more people in the vehicle! That's right FREE parking during the week if you have 4 or more in the vehicle. You may also buy a season's parking pass for $159.

If you come into Breckenridge (which I would suggest). You have convenient options. The map to the right shows you 3 of the main lots. When you pass the Breckenridge Recreation Center, make a right BEFORE you get to the roundabout, this will keep you on HWY 9. You will pass the City Market on your left. Make your first left on North French St, and this will take you to the NORTH GONDOLA Lot. This lot is paved, so during a wet spring it is a good option.

However there are two more options if these fill. Go to the next street and make left on Watson Rd, then a right into the SOUTH GONDOLA lot. This is an unpaved lot, but still very convenient. The Gold Rush and Postal Lot (possibly returning) are overflow lots. These will both be charged at the rate of the Gondola lots.

BONUS: Insider Tip

During busy days Weekends or Holidays, instead of making the right before the roundabout go THROUGH the roundabout. Drive down Main St, then make a RIGHT on Watson Rd. You will see Ski Country Sports (Yellow Building). You will access the South Gondola lot and save yourself 5-10 minutes.

The Gondola will take you to the bases of Peak 7 and Peak 8 (Main Facilities base). You can pick up lift passes at the base of the Gondola.

First Snow hits the High Country, Colorado

2010-08-20T14:20:38Z

We have been enjoying our summer riding, rafting, parades and golf. However, we can't help but think towards the autumn season and golf. And this morning Park County, CO highest peaks saw a little snow.

: The first snow in Ski Country falls outside of Breckenridge

I had a pleasant surprise when we woke this morning. Although skiing and snowboarding came to mind initially, I started thinking about the great events and weekends in Breckenridge coming in the fall. The Labor Day Weekend offers cool mountain air and sunshine. There are art festivals right behind Ski County Sports. Then one of the great events of the autumn, Breckenridge Oktoberfest on Sept 17th weekend.

The golf courses, mountain bike trails, fishing, and hiking are all in prime condition this time of the year. There is no reason to have to endure city traffic and 90+ temps when Breckenridge and Summit County is so easy to visit.

Dynamic Warmup for Skiing - Elsbeth Vaino

2010-08-07T14:23:03Z

This is a repost of Elsbeth Vaino's MySnowPro.com Blog. This is an excellent pre-ski day routine. Visit Elsbeth's blog regularly. You may follow it via an RSS feed, by selecting "subscribe to the feed" in the right hand column of her blog page. Thanks Elsbeth.

If you've ever wondered whether you should do some sort of warmup before a day of skiing, I can provide a simple answer for you: Yes. What you should do is a bit more of a challenge. To help with this, I have created a video that shows a set of 9 activation exercises and dynamic stretches that will help to prepare your body for the ski day ahead.

Each exercise can be done on snow, in your boots, and the only equipment you need is your poles. The warm-up includes:

- Pectoral stretch

- Lower trapezius activation

- Thoracic spine rotational stretch

- Fore-aft leg swings

- Rotational leg swings

- Psoas activation

- Glute medius activation

- Lunge stretch with lateral reach

- Lateral squat with hip rotation

Do 5 reps of each exercise on each side with a 2-3 second hold for each. Then follow it up with an easy run to get a feel for the skis and the conditions. Move a lot during that first run - think 1000 steps and exagerated and repeated flexions/extensions (small/tall). Try a few hockey stops and a few roller blade turns. Then you'll be ready to enjoy the fact that you're spending the day doing he best activity on earth.

When you're back at home or in the hotel room, think about foam rolling: your body will thank you tomorrow if you do. If you're not familiar with foam rolling, check out this blog article about it, as well as this set of how-to videos.

Blogging for your business - A few blogging tips

2010-06-27T15:43:14Z

Does blogging for your business feel like taking the leap into the unknown? Here are few blogging tips and strategies for you to try The purpose of this post is to offer you, the business/brand related blogger beginning and intermediate strategy for the blogging component of your digital presence.

As a company, brand, or individual "Why blog?"

A quick search for "Breckenridge" queries 1770 results in the past 7 days. Your visitors and guests are already reading about your industry, location, or product category. Where are you? A blog tends to have the voice of a peer or expert rather than sales copy and advertising, or at least it should. If you are a ski or ride instructor we provide it here: http://www.mysnowpro.com/signup/ If you are not, you can get a free blog to practice your craft at Wordpress

Here are a few more reasons:

It's Free
Generate Positive Content
Build brand recognition and loyalty
Build Credibility with customers
Use for crisis managment
Customer Service
Provide timely and relevant content
Easily target industry trends and search terms

When our company designs a corporate website strategy, there are a few musts and a blog is a must.

Who in the company should blog?

It doesn't have to be the CEO or CMO, although it could be. It could even be shared between a few different people within the organization. Ideally the blogger should be familiar with different aspects of the organization, as well as having comfort navigating the internet and finding information.

They should also read blogs themselves and may have some basic knowledge of SEO and keywording. Here is a primer.

The blogger should NOT be micromanaged, yet operate within the policies established by the company. This said, the CMO or company owner should be able to read the blog and offer feedback.

Blogging Suggestions:

Be a "true voice" and offer relevant information rather than simply a PR pumping machine. Link to other articles where appropriate.

Host the blog on your server. Don't rely on blogger or another 3rd party hosting site! If your blog and all of your content disappears, then you have no recourse. And if this happens, your passion for blogging will diminish.

It is best to maintain an honest, and informative blog which is useful to the visitor and the industry while benefiting the company.

Have guidelines for the blogger to follow. If something is potentially "edgy" or the timing is around earnings speak with the CMO or communications director for their input.
Content is Relevant and interesting. Some companies, Industries or locations are interesting enough to write an article a day, although many do not. So, where can we find content? I follow a number of industry specific Facebook feeds, Google Reader, Google Insights or Trends. For the ski industry, Oct-December regularly sees major spikes in global search interest . This is the information people are looking to find, create it for them.
Use images on your posts. Bring additional interest to the text.
Keep up with local event calendars. For Breckenridge events, I follow GoBreck.com
Use the holiday or start of a season as a catalyst to create content.

Frequency

Advice here varies, once a day, once a week, twice a week. My recommendation - Make it regular! If you start off once a day, and then move to once a month your readers will wonder what has happened, and stop following. I would rather see a blog start off at once a week, and then build it's frequency and quality rather than reduce frequency.

Don't just use it as a marketing tool

Mention your company, but keep it brief unless it is about company specific news. Having company specials is fine as long as you keep them to once a week or so, as it offer an incentive to read the blog but won't be overbearing.

Allow readers to comment and communicate with you. Many business owners shy away from Social Media as they are concerned with negative comments and having a "bad press" on their website. Here is a newsflash... People in the world are already saying these things, however now you are able to address these concerns promptly and the communication you offer will add credibility for your company.

Create links and Publicize

Link to relevant posts and websites which are relevant to your posts.
Host the blog on your server. Don't rely on blogger or another 3rd party hosting site!
Your blog link should appear on every page of your website if possible, have an RSS feed prominently located so that people can easily follow your writing.

Enjoy your writing. Blog what is relevant. Blog what you enjoy, and do so regularly.

As a professional ski instructor and digital media proponent, Jonathan Lawson began posting daily photos and a few words a day on his www.MySnowPro.com/jonthanlawson blog (2006). Within a few weeks of daily posts, he began picking up significant readership, he was oblivious to Google Trends or Google Insights. Jonathan didn't know how to optimize his blog posts. However, through trial and error, and more than 1000 individual posts and 100s of hours study he has become a student of blogging best practices. In the past 4 years, he has consulted with business regarding the structure, frequency, & blog and social media integration with their current digital presence.

Blogging - Anticipating demand and using Google for keyword ideas

2010-06-16T13:16:06Z

I started blogging in 2006, prior to that time I would put my thoughts in my journals. It is often said, "The weakest ink remembers more than the strongest mind". I didn't know that I could make money blogging, nor did I know that I could use google keywords to get more readership.

I just wrote about ideas, about the lessons I had with my students, and about other passions of mine such as trading. Prior to blogging my journals contained my ideas and muses. I still go back to them for inspiration for new ideas, and memories of previously comprehended ones. I have also found that certain situations spawn similar seeds of thoughts.

For the past 3 years of "managing" a blogging website I have noticed trends, but until recently I have not been able to quantify them. I would write timely information based on "my time" and experiences. Indeed this is one of the powers of the blogging platform, however as a business I have found a few more structured ways to blog. What if you ran a Recreation and Sports website and wanted to get the most readership on a given topic? When would you start blogging about skiing, tennis, golf, yoga, weight lifting, physical therapy, etc? And what terms are people ACTUALLY searching.

Before I go further, I am sure there are some blogging purists seeing this going in the way of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) or SEM (Search Engine Marketing), or populist marketing. Indeed you are seeing that!

I may write about a number of things, and for my "skiing business" I would like as many people who are interested in my subjects of expertise read these articles. That is one of the main reasons I write and publish them.

So, how might you structure blogging with the Recreation and Sports...

Using Google Insights you could input a few of what you consider to be relevant topics. Let's say, Golf, Tennis, Skiing, Yoga, Sports. Each of these terms have seasonality (which is why I initially picked them). You may anticipate Skiing would see winter demand, and you would be right. It peaks in December, and has since 2004. My question is, "When does it start seeing a ramp in activity? Reasonably simple to assume, but Insights let's us see a bottom in June, ramping in Sept and spiking in Nov/Dec. And what specific search term is chosen? As I write this in June, the strong terms are "ski" and "cross country skiing".

A person could assume we would see summer spikes in Golf and Tennis, and we would be right again. The term sports remains relatively high year-around, not seeing significant seasonality. Golf troughs in November and begins to rise in February and peaks in July often around major events. Although, over the past 6yrs we have been seeing lower lows and lower highs. And the current top searches for Golf are "Golf" and "Golf Course" (but not "golf courses"). With the top countries of origin being:

Ireland
US
Canada
UK

A final observation I will make in this post is regarding aggregate demand is that we can see trends over time, and relative interest. Here is a list of 5 from high to low and their relative score out of 100 (taken on June 1st, 2010):

Golf - 58
Sports - 53
Tennis - 21
Yoga - 11
Skiing - 3

In short, If I were going to write an article on skiing I would most likely write something regarding summer sports which can benefit my skiing, or summer activities which can be enjoyed at ski resort, etc.

To reminisce in an entire blog post about the great powder day we enjoyed in March may fall upon deaf ears, blind eyes and wither like a snowflake in June.

Stay relevant, and know what the audience is looking to read. This relevance in blog posts can significantly impact your overall Organic ranking for your web presence in search.

Summit County Spring -- busy

2010-06-01T02:25:53Z

I am glad to be back blogging at MySnowPro. For many instructors there is stress involved in dealing with the shoulder season as a ski instructor.

Work, weather, living and family schedule arrangements, and ski/ride withdrawal. I have been going through all of the above. The photo to the right is unfortunately what I PLAN to be doing at some point this summer.

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First there is work:

This was the first year in many years I didn't have my summer work lined up. Since '99 I was either a Golf Pro or Future and options trader (Bell Trading or my own acct). This year it was different. I currently work with the Grand Lodge at Peak 7. It is a great company, and I am happy to work with the company. The only problem, is I like having leverage to my efforts rather than working "time for money".

However, my work on the internet and work "social media" since '95 has been bearing fruit. Leslie Stafford (founder of Colorado.net) and I have founded NanoPlanet, LLC I attached the Facebook page, and the website should be up by week's end.We specialize SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and SEM (Search Engine Marketing) in obtaining and deciphering internet market intelligence, and creating and executing strategies to help a business connect with customers. We are a creative group, have solid systems, and we can execute them quickly. I am very excited and have been putting in long days to prepare our systems for strong demand.

Weather and fitness-

Late April and early to mid-May were wet and cold. I wanted to get out on my bike and ride, but no luck with the cold and snowy weather. However, I did manage to ski for a day with our new business partner Tami B at A-Basin. There was 8" of fresh snow, and sunny weather to enjoy the morning. Mid May and on has been great. I have managed to run or ride 6 days a week which is helping me get through my ski/exercise withdrawals. I have even managed to get in a few days of practice now that the Breckenridge and Keystone golf courses have opened.

I have also been helping Sadie with her new business. I love the product, and believe everyone whom I care about would use this. It is also a great business.

Lifestyle and work schedule adjustments-

Let's just say I am not working 9-5 these days, and Sadie and my schedules require some compromise and flexibility. I am happy to be working out of the house most of the time, but that pesky work with GL7 'harshes my mellow". As we get liftoff with NanoPlanet, I will be able to work less with GL7 and work more helping business develop and grow their brand through online channels. The kids are great, and Christian's baseball team requires a schedule of its own, but we have great parents to help with the carpools.

I will be keeping weekly blog here. There is certainly much going on with the family, some of which is good and much of which is extremely challenging. Although here is a good piece of music to keep me going.