CARVING TURNS AND BUILDING LEGACY: THE STORY OF JACK LEMIEUX

Carving the path

Jack, tell us how the adventure began for you; what was your background in skiing?

Originally from the Gaspé area and the fourth child in a family of fourteen, I discovered the activity that would become my main passion at the age of 8.

The adventure began the day I started filling the firewood boxes of the elderly people in my village on my return from school, in order to earn some money. I had a more fortunate aunt on my delivery path, the mother of four boys who lived in Montreal. They had wooden skis with sealskins. I managed to negotiate with my aunt the possibility of trying a pair of skis in exchange for filling her wood box for free.

The deal was done, and I put on my first pair of skis, which measured 2.2 meters. My bootfitting consisted of filling my cousin’s leather boots with newspaper! All set, I launched myself headfirst into a large field of snow dotted with small hills here and there.

The first descent was the trigger. After that, every winter I set off to discover new mountains to practice my favorite sport with very basic equipment. I also explored different ways to have fun skiing (ski joering behind my grandfather’s horse or behind my sled dogs).

While still a teenager, I left the family home to join the army, where I had my first experiences of teaching skiing as part of my training in the Far North of Quebec.

After eight years in the armed forces, I moved to Rimouski and became director and manager of the Val Neigette ski resort. This was the beginning of the more professional side of my career. To develop the ski school, I hired an experienced professional from the French Alps named Bernard Gonnet. He became my first mentor in many respects: skiing, climbing, etc. With Jacques Gagnon and Émilio Brisson, I worked on the development of the Val d’Irène ski center in the Gaspé Peninsula, participating in fundraising campaigns, deforestation and everything that this entails.

In 1985, my work took me to the Sherbrooke area. I worked at Mont Orford as an instructor for 25 years. It was there that I took my Level 1 course again with René Beauchamp. During these years, I obtained the CSIA Level 3 and my coaching certification in 1990. I then became a level 1 Course Conductor and obtained my Level 4 (teaching portion). Unfortunately, a major back injury made the skiing portion of my Level 4 impossible, despite several attempts.

During this period, my two children also reached their CSIA Level 3 at a very young age and taught with me for more than 6 years at Mont Orford. They are still in the field today, my son as an outdoor adventure guide teacher at the CEGEP de Gaspé and my daughter is an avalanche specialist in Western Canada. They are my greatest pride!

The Lessons

Since becoming a member of the CSIA, what are the most valuable lessons you have learned, both in terms of teaching techniques and personal development as an instructor?

During these forty years of teaching, I have learned a lot from my students. They have been my teachers! Each one was a challenge to be met in order to help them achieve their goal. They were and still are my source of motivation to learn more and surpass myself. They taught me that is was best to use positive language when teaching, since the brain does not understand the negative. For example, if you are skiing in the woods, it is better to tell your students to look at the spaces, rather than telling them to avoid the trees!

Over the years, I have been fortunate to have very good coaches such as Jean Marcel Dumontier, John Gillies, Jean-François Beaulieu, Roch Newberry, Fred Lépine, Mario Bourassa, Serge Pilon and Louise Rice, to name but a few. They have all passed on their expertise and their passion to me. I thank them from the bottom of my heart for having brought me to where I am today.

Some advice…

What advice would you give to an aspiring ski instructor starting out at the CSIA?

Learning to ski and how to teach it is a lifelong journey. Skiing is a sport in constant evolution that requires a lot of perseverance, time and humility, and which provides great satisfaction. Improvement is acquired over the years and the passion is constantly growing. I encourage young instructors to stay active and up to date to pass on their knowledge and enthusiasm to other generations.

I advise parents to encourage their children to discover this sport, which can be enjoyed with family and friends. The social aspect of skiing makes it a fun activity for the whole family or in a group. Encourage your children to join a snow school; it is such an enriching and educational experience.

I often say that learning to ski is like learning to play music; the piano, for example… When you master it, you have to keep practicing to learn a new melody!

My greatest achievement is having trained hundreds of instructors all over Quebec and having been able to convey this wonderful passion to them!

Jack

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