John Judy winters as Hoodoo ski instructor

John Judy is known to most Camp Sherman residents as one of our most famous fly fishermen, the author of three books on fly fishing. A visit to Amazon.com will find dozens of books on fly fishing either quoting "Slack Line Strategies" or "Seasons of the Metolius."

Judy also wrote for The Nugget for several years, waxing poetic about the feeling nature of fly fishing as well as the skills involved. Those articles were compiled into a small book Judy chose to called simply: "Metolius."

The off season of the fishing year finds Judy at Hoodoo Mountain Resort, knee deep in winter's ski season. While he hasn't written any books on the subject, one wonders what special observations Judy, the ski instructor, has about snow; its texture, skiing, techniques, and how it feels to be racing down a mountain.

Judy began skiing with his dad at age four. The real depth of his skiing began after his stint in the service during the Vietnam War when he moved to Fort Carson, Colorado. He got to know the instructors while working at the local lodge. By 1970 he was teaching.

Certified in downhill (Alpine), cross country, and telemark, for years he has been primarily a telemark skier. This year he is going to join the young crowd and learn snowboarding. Half his school is snowboarders, he says.

"One of the nice things about Hoodoo resort is the many regulars and the family atmosphere. They teach at all levels. The kids have jumps and rails to ride. There are five lifts. There's adaptive skiing and a tubing hill," he said.

As Director of the ski and snowboard school, Judy has 50 instructors. New hires go through a training program, and if successful, become certified. Some instructors are certified in multiple disciplines, some only one.

Judy probably didn't know what a kindred spirit he had found when he hired ski instructor Stacie Johnson.

"John has taught me not just skills, but more about why we do what we do," she said. "I came from a resort with a more corporate background to Hoodoo, which is the family mountain, and meeting people like John who are more family-oriented. It's easier to realize the passion in the work when you're surrounded by people with the same ideals. John is a big part of that inspiration."

Johnson teaches snowboarding and skiing to the children and got her Advanced Children Educator certification last year along with Judy. She'll be giving Judy some snowboarding instruction this year.

"It shows how dedicated he is to the ski school that he wants to gain rapport with his snowboarders, and he's willing to take hard falls to do it," she said.

Local Black Butte School students have a special reason for appreciating John Judy as a ski instructor. For eight weeks of Fridays after the New Year the students who maintain their grades can take ski lessons.

BBS student Dante Hanks skied for the first time last year.

"I learned to bend down and go faster," he said.

Hanks knows the drill: "I have to finish my homework. Five days work done in four. Work caught up, or can't ski."