I just got back from a really cool ski trip to British Columbia.
We went Cat skiing for 4 days and skied at Whitewater a few other days.
When we were Cat skiing we had a crew of 12 skiers with a lead guide and another guide skiing behind the group.
The lead guide determines where you go. They are looking for the best, deep snow, but are mostly concerned about the safest great route down. We did Avalanche training and wore beacons to help find each other if we got buried in the snow or lost.
The lead guide also chose whether we needed to ski in pairs, single or in a group.
Trent and I have been skiing together in the trees out west for many years and are very compatible skiers. We often will ski 500 vertical feet at a clip. We know when to stop and look for each other and give each other the freedom to discover our own lines and terrain. You get to know your partner over time.
While we were skiing at Baldface I was sitting next to a member of our group and he started asking about what it was like working as a dentist. He asked how important it was to be on the same page as your assistant.
Yep, like skiing in the backcountry, a dentist-assistant relationship needs to be honed into a great working relationship. I find that the times that we have it down the best we hardly ever talk to each other during the procedure. Even if things go terribly during a procedure and one of you poor patients has decay that goes all of the way into the pulp and we suddenly find ourselves having to do a Root Canal instead of a filling, a well-trained assistant won’t need to be told to do anything. They will hear me explain to the patient what we just discovered and will immediately set up the million things needed to start a root canal.
We both just keep plowing forward and check in with each other every once and a while to see where we each are, just like skiing.
I hope you’ve had a great Winter and a lovely Spring is awaiting us all.
Now, I’m back from being a British Columbian shredder to being a Bryn Mawr dentist, so if you need me I’m here and healthy. 610-525-5497, if you dare to ask me more about my incredible trip!
