Legendary ski instructor Mike Porter to be honored in Vail
Vail will host Interski 2027, bringing together top snowsports instructors from more than 40 countries
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Ski instructor Mike Porter, recently inducted into the US Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame, will be honored in Vail on Feb. 4.
Porter was a pioneer of the Professional Ski Instructors of America’s presentation of the Skills Concept, emphasizing the fundamentals of rotary movements, edging, and pressure control in skiing.
The PSIA’s Skills Concept was first presented at the 1975 Interski Congress in Strbske Pleso, Czechoslovakia, and later immortalized in the Nov. 17, 1975, issue of Sports Illustrated.
Porter is a member and head coach of the PSIA Alpine Team (formerly known as the Alpine Demonstration Team) and attended the 2023 Interski Congress in Levi, Finland. The Interski Congress is an event that takes place every four years, dating back to 1951, in which member nations gather to share snowsports methodologies and techniques to benefit snowsports across the globe. Vail has been selected to host the 2027 Interski Congress.
Porter has also served as a PSIA national team selector, international ski instructor and trainer, and managing director of the Vail/Beaver Creek Ski and Snowboard School. He has also enjoyed a multi-decade career as a product and development consultant for PSIA Official Supplier K2. Porter has written many PSIA-AASI training and teaching manuals including “Teaching Concepts,” “Core Concepts for Snowsports Instructors,” and “The Alpine Technical Manual.” In 2002, Porter was honored with the PSIA-AASI Educational Excellence Award.
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The Feb. 4 event will be a fundraiser the U.S. PSIA National Team, to benefit a new initiative called the National Team Project, which has been created to allow PSIA National Team members to travel across the country to snowsports schools promoting education in snowsports.
“The National Team Project will give PSIA-AASI member schools and members more direct access to engaging with National Team members, motivating more snow pros across the country, and increasing the distribution of best practices for learning on snow,” according to PSIA. “This will directly benefit the growth of the snowsports industry by strengthening the guest experience, particularly the first-time skier and rider experience.”
In 2023, Vail Mountain was an official training venue for U.S. national teams headed to Europe for the Interski Congress and will continue to be a training venue in the run-up to the 2027 event.
“Vail Mountain is honored to be selected as the host mountain for Interski 2027,” said Vail Mountain Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Beth Howard. “Vail’s commitment to professional skiing and snowboarding has a long history that we are proud to continue.”
The Logan Academy, a training opportunity created by local philanthropists Kent and Vicki Logan, will prepare instructors for the 2027 event in Vail.
The Logans have been longtime supporters of the Vail Ski and Snowboard School, and the Logan Academy is part of their vision in furthering instructors’ development and education, according to Vail Mountain.
Vail Mountain spokesperson John Plack said the Logans have donated funds to allow PSIA/AASI to have the teams here in Vail for the next four years, as well as allowing Vail Ski and Snowboard School to train with the PSIA and AASI professionals when they’re at Vail.
The Interski Congress has only been held in the U.S. once, in Aspen in 1968, the eighth Interski Congress and the first to be held outside Europe. Since then it has been held in Germany (1971), Czechoslovakia (1975), Japan (1979), Italy (1983), Canada (1987), Austria (1991), Japan (1995), Norway (1999), Switzerland (2003), South Korea (2007), Austria (2011), Argentina (2015), Bulgaria (2019) and Finland (2023).
“We are thrilled to have the opportunity to host this fantastic educational event in cooperation with Vail and look forward to welcoming our colleagues from around the world to an incredible week of learning and sharing,” said PSIA-AASI Chief Executive Officer Peggy Hiller. “We also want to thank AMSI and the beautiful town of Livigno for presenting such a compelling alternative option.”
The Feb. 4 event will take place at the Hythe Hotel in Vail on Feb. 4 from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
This story has been corrected to reflect that Mike Porter will be celebrated for his efforts on behalf of PSIA-AASI and for his naming to the US Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame, not as a purpose of fundraising.
