Next Level Clinics?

My honest opinion is YES. Have ever been no one no. I grew up racing motocross doing everything on my own. making it to a level nobody thought i could on my own. Now im tired of breaking bones and addicted to mountain riding. One of the only things i regret growing up was not going to a riding clinic. Money was always tight tight. but the years of knowledge one can learn in hindsight is worth years of trial and error in both money and time. My opinion YES. GO!! Wish i could find someone to go with or lived within 14 hours cause i would go in a heart beat. JMHO. Put your (in general not saying you have one) aside and learn everything you can.

I have never been to one but I would say go for it. I had to learn all this stuff through trial and error and put a lot of time in. I am actually jealous of all the new people coming into the sport because they have access to all this stuff that I had to accumulate over 20 years of riding.

Wow I should have re read before submitting but u can figure out what I was trying to say. Where ya from freerider?

Which clinic were you thinking of going to? I know a guy who rides with Alpine Assassins and just found out they are doing a riding clinic in eastern Idaho (Island park) jan 25th-26th. Could be fun just sounds like a lot of $$$$. And who knows what the snow will be like.

I have been out with Next Level and Dan in the past... Definately worth the money spent.

Like in any sport a instructor can make you bettter... help you to see things that you don't see in yourself and help you to ride more efficiently so that you are not spending as much energy and riding more safely.

Go in with an open mind and the intent to learn and you will reap the benefits.

Dan's MAIN focus is to make you a more well rounded rider and to help you to "step up" in you OWN game... a real clinic has as it's main purpose finding where you are in your riding and taking that as springboard to make you better.


Do it, you won't be sorry.

I have spoken to people from all over the country who have taken his classes. Everyone has said the Next Level clinics are very good. Nothing but positive feedback. Mike Duffy

I went to the Next Level Clinic, was a great time.

We showed up a day early, I had gotten the dates wrong, so we got to hang out with the crew for a while the day before our class started.

I am a on the heavy side, and truth be told kinda out of shape.
Hindsite being what it is, It would have been to my benefit to have prepared a little before going, like getting some exercise.

It was a challenging 3 day's, and at the end of each day I went back to the hotel and crashed.

You will get out what you put in.

Would I go again? Yes
Would I encourage anyone else to go? Yes

If you have the time, go

I've been to several of Dans clinics. Just went to an advanced clinic before Christmas. I would highly recommend it to anyone. If all you get is the avy info and practice beacon search you will have got your money's worth. As said, you can fumble around on your own for years or get the instruction you need to ride technical terrain quickly and easily. Dan has the skills broken down and he explains what you need to do so you can understand it and actually do it. He will also point out things you are doing or not doing that are helping or hurting your riding that are specific to you.
As ryanjeri says a lot of what you get from the clinic is based on your condition. A clinic is much harder than just riding. In most of the clinics I do there are people who can't participate after just a couple hours they are so worn out. There are also guys who come to clinics and argue with Dan that their technique is superior and won't even try what he's teaching. I would recommend going with an open mind and giving everything he teaches your best effort while at the class. You just might learn something.

Like others have already said, Dan's clinic is top notch and definitely worth attending. I've been riding backcountry for 10 years and consider myself an experienced mountain rider and wanted to attend Dan's clinic to see where I stacked up with the big dogs. Dan and his crew did a great job of breaking down technique and stressing the fundamentals of big mountain riding. I think the best thing I learned at NXT LVL was how to be in complete control of my sled and I now use my brake just as much as I use my throttle.

The thing that really stuck out to me about the clinic was how serious Dan was with avalanche safety. As we all know, Avy safety and preparation often gets over looked in our sport and in many cases is something that is talked about and not practiced. Before we even hit the snow we did an hour long in class avy refresher that discussed terrain traps, avy reports, snow pack, burials, proper shoveling, beacon, probe use etc. We also did a random mock burial that nobody saw coming that forced us to work as a team on the fly. My team was able to find the beacon in just under 10 mins and we could have easily cut that time in half if we would've avoided a couple easy mistakes. It was a big eye opener for myself who has completed two AST courses but hadn't actually practiced my skills in a few seasons.

Overall I thought it was as well rounded clinic a guy/gal could attend and would recommend attending if you're looking to step your game up. My only complaint was that there were four guys in our group that had very limited seat time prior to the clinic and they held the rest of the group up. Be honest when filling out your rider ability form online. After the clinic Dan told us that those dudes marked experienced riders on their form and that was clearly not the case.

Good luck,

JW

Having spent a day with Dan and skinz riding I can tell you he's a great guy, and great teacher. Now I didn't take his "class" but I would vouch for him anyway!