The glorification of the French ski instructor!

When I was a ski instructor in my native France, everything was low key, we loved the sport and were eager to teach what we knew. 

Everything was new and pump and circumstance was absent from the professional culture. We just were happy to ski and to share our passion with our students. 

Now things have changed and the French ski instructor community has delivered close to 20,000 fully-certified pin (mine is stamped with the relatively low number 3457). 

This past week was the French ski instructor national convention in Nice, right on the French Riviera to celebrate 375 newly minted ski instructors that received their iconic red sweater and their numbered pin. 

In fact, the Ecole de Ski Francais (ESF) represents 17,000 instructors spread in 250 ski resorts and generating close to $300 millions in revenue, which controls about 85% of the market in France. 

These last certified instructors were all were part of the class of 2022 and were celebrated as if they were semi-gods on their way to full-fledged divinity. 

In reading the account, I suddenly felt my arthritic wings, reminding me of my past, lofty status.