Palisades Big Mountain

Ability Level:	Advanced/Expert
Sport:	Freeride Ski
Age Range:	9-18
Offered:	Full Time and Weekends & Holidays with Fridays
Location:	See program notes

Big Mountain Sport

Based at Palisades. The Palisades Big Mountain Sport Team is for kids that want to ski hard & hone their skills in order to ski at their highest level.
This program is available to skiers ages 9 to 18. The Sport Team is for kids that want to ski hard and hone their skills in order to ski at their highest level. This team is for all the kids who love to ski for the pure fun and challenge inherent to our favorite sport and the winter environment. Sport Team athletes have the opportunity to compete in our team’s Big Mountain Palisades Tahoe Cup events.

In addition to being a stand-alone, ski improvement and fun program, the Sport Team is designed to be a development program for athletes interested in moving onto the Palisades Tahoe Competition Team. The Palisades Tahoe Cup is great fun for all the participants but, further, it is a fantastic introduction to competitive big mountain. With a top-three finish in the Palisades Tahoe Cup, an athlete can earn consideration for the Comp Team.

As members of the Palisades Tahoe Big Mountain Ski Teams, all athletes can expect to gain knowledge in many areas including general alpine skiing skills, our legacy and history, equipment care and introduction to tuning, big mountain ski technique and tactics, technical fundamentals, aerial skills, activation and warmup, intro to nutrition, big mountain protocol and etiquette, and all-mountain safety.

Team fees DO NOT include a season pass. Purchase of the Ikon Pass is required.

Questions?
Call 530-452-7270 or email teams@palisadestahoe.com.

All participant families, both new and returning, are expected to review and adhere to all program guidelines.
Click to expand each section below.

Big Mountain Sport Programming

23/24 Big Mountain Sport Programming

Big Mountain Sport	Full-Time	Weekend & Holiday	Midweek	Friday Add-On
Dates	December 9 2023 - April 7 2024	December 9 2023 - April 7 2024	December 13 2023 - March 29 2024	December 13 2023 - March 29 2024
Schedule	See Teams Communication	8:45am-2:15pm	See Teams Communications	See Teams Communications
Offered Training	5 days per week	Weekends & Holidays	Wednesday, Thursday, & Friday	Friday (Available for Weekend & Holiday athletes only)

*All Comp Team Members must purchase Comp Team Upgrade or join Full-time Team.

Program Guidelines

Expectations
Pass	Must purchase Ikon Pass.
Age	Must be 9-18 as of Dec 31, 2023
Skill Prerequisite	Must have completed Mighty Mites as a Blue Star or above Must be fully parallel Must be able to ski all terrain with confidence
Maturity	Must be able to ski & load/ride the chair unaccompanied Must be independent; able to conduct oneself appropriately when unaccompanied Must be able to participate in a full day of training without parent interaction
Equipment	Skis: 1 pair of all-mountain skis regularly tuned Boots: must be properly fit (size/flex) and in excellent working order Protection: Helmet (mandatory) and back protector (highly recommended)
Schedule	Team Calendar linked below for general reference only and may change due to conditions. Final communication will come through DRVN application.
Friday Add On	Requires being registered for Friday Add-On. Only available for Weekend & Holiday Sport Team.
Participation	Sport Team: Athletes are expected to participate in 66% - 75% of the offered training
Annual Training Plan	70-90% coached/directed freeskiing 10-30% coached drills
Pick Up / Drop Off	Communicated by Manager through team platform
Supervision	Athletes 10 & older are NOT supervised for periods of time and may be required to take breaks, eat lunch, to ride and/or load chairs unaccompanied.
Break/Snack	We take quick snack/water breaks
Lunch	Lunch is not provided. Parents are expected to provide the athlete with a healthy snack & nutritious lunch.
Competitions	For Sport Team only Palisades Tahoe Cups.
Parents	Required to attend parent orientation. Required to remain on-site during team. Must actively communicate the needs of athlete including planned absences and injuries. Must register for competitions in a timely manner per team communication. Must complete Team Agreement (Code of Conduct) Must remain actively engaged with Team communication method(s) and check schedule/updates regularly.
Communication	Parent must maintain active account with DRVN; after registration, review the confirmation email for access to DRVN.
Challenging Weather	Our goal is to ski every calendared Team day. Teams are delayed or canceled on occasion due to weather & operations. Team schedule adjustments will be communicated through Team communication platforms as information is readily available.
Team Uniform	Purchase of Team Uniform is required. After registration review the confirmation email for directions to purchase.
Placement	Participants may be required to switch to a more appropriate program, if available, at the discretion of the Team Manager.
Registration	New Athletes must submit an online application. Invitations to enroll will be sent by email to eligible applicants until programs reach capacity.

Download the Palisades Big Mountain Team Calendar

Freeride Competition Team

Based at Palisades Tahoe. Palisades Tahoe Freeride Competition Team
This Competition Team program is available to top-level junior big-mountain skiers ages 12 to 18. This program registration is open to all returning Palisades Tahoe Comp Team members and, with Head Coach approval only, to top level junior skiers who can commit to full attendance, commit to pre-season and in-season training schedule, will train and ski hard, have fun, and plan to compete at the regional or national level.

These top athletes possess elite skiing skills, must exhibit an aptitude towards Big Mountain skiing, an understanding of the big mountain environment and the ability to assess and discuss ski lines, hazards, and other factors related to safely skiing in extreme, challenging terrain. Comp Team athletes will compete regionally in the Tahoe Jr. Freeride series and nationally in the IFSA Series.

New for this 2021-2022 season and beyond, we be training and competing as one team: The Palisades Tahoe Big Mountain Team. We will be one unified team with the goal of providing top-level, individualized coaching for our all our athletes. Athletes can expect to train regularly at both mountains. Each mountain offers unique terrain and challenges that, together, provide a true world-class training experience.

The Full-Time Team, in addition to all weekends and holidays as defined in the schedule, will train in-season on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons and all day on Fridays. The Weekend/Holiday Part-Time Team will train all weekends and holidays as defined in the schedule and also have the benefit to ski all Fridays (optional).

All Comp Team members will have the benefit of pre-season dryland training, Woodward training, other training opportunities like goal-setting workshops and mental training workshops, and additional days of inspection/skiing on days preceding scheduled competitions throughout the season

Team fees DO NOT include a season pass. Purchase of the Ikon Pass is required.

As members of the Palisades Tahoe Big Mountain Ski Teams, athletes can expect to gain knowledge in many areas including general alpine skiing skills, our legacy and history, equipment care and introduction to tuning, big mountain ski technique and tactics, technical fundamentals, aerial skills, activation and warmup, intro to nutrition, big mountain protocol and etiquette, and all-mountain safety.

Questions?
Call 530-452-7270 or email teams@palisadestahoe.com.

All participant families, both new and returning, are expected to review and adhere to all program guidelines.
Click to expand each section below.

Programming

23/24 Programming

Palisades Tahoe Freeride Comp*	Full-Time	Part Time Weekend & Holiday	Friday Add-On
Dates	November 29, 2023 - April 14, 2024	December 2, 2023 - April 14, 2023	December 8, 2023 - March 29, 2024
Schedule	See Teams Communication	8:45am-2:15pm	See Teams Communications
Offered Training	5 days per week	Weekends & Holidays	Friday

*All Comp Team Members must purchase Comp Team Upgrade or join Full-time Team.

Program Guidelines

Expectations
Pass	Must purchase Ikon Pass.
Age	Must be 12 as of Dec 31, 2023
Skill Prerequisite	New athletes must have head coach approval Must be able to ski all terrain with confidence Must possess elite skiing skills for age group
Maturity	Must be able to ski & load/ride the chair unaccompanied Must be independent; able to conduct oneself appropriately when unaccompanied Must be able to participate in a full day of training without parent interaction
Equipment	Skis: 1 pair of all-mountain skis regularly tuned Boots: must be properly fit (size/flex) and in excellent working order Protection: Helmet (mandatory) and back protector (highly recommended)
Schedule	Team calendar linked below for general reference only and may change due to conditions. Final communication will come through DRIVN application.
Friday Training	Requires being registered for Friday Add-On. Only available for Weekend & Holiday Sport Team.
Participation	Comp Team Athletes are expected to participate in 90% - 100% of the offered in-season and pre-season training. Must compete at the Regional or National level
Annual Training Plan	70-90% coached/directed freeskiing 10-30% coached drills
Pick Up / Drop Off	Communicated by Manager through team platform
Supervision	Athletes 10 & older are NOT supervised for periods of time and may be required to take breaks, eat lunch, to ride and/or load chairs unaccompanied.
Break/Snack	We take quick snack/water breaks
Lunch	Lunch is not provided. Parents are expected to provide the athlete with a healthy snack & nutritious lunch.
Licenses/Dues	For Competition Team, must have current Competitor membership to Tahoe Freeride and if competing nationally, with IFSA.
Competitions	For Competition Team, regionally with Tahoe Junior Freeride Series & nationally on the IFSA National Series.
Parents	Required to attend parent orientation. Required to remain on-site during team. Must actively communicate the needs of athlete including planned absences and injuries. Must register for competitions in a timely manner per team communication. Must complete Team Agreement (Code of Conduct) Must remain actively engaged with Team communication method(s) and check schedule/updates regularly.
Communication	DRIVN subscription required for Training and Communication, please contact your Team Manager or the Team Administrative office for access.
Challenging Weather	Our goal is to ski every calendared Team day. Teams are delayed or canceled on occasion due to weather & operations. Team schedule adjustments will be communicated through Team communication platforms as information is readily available.
Team Uniform	Purchase of Team Uniform is optional. After registration review the confirmation email for directions to purchase.
Program Placement	Participants may be required to switch to a more appropriate program, if available, at the discretion of the Team Manager.
Registration	New athletes must submit an online application. Invitations to enroll will be sent by email to eligible applicants until programs reach capacity.

Download the Palisades Tahoe Freeride Comp Team Calendar

A girl enjoys snowtubing at Palisades Tahoe

Ikon Pass Benefits

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