Top 3 Reasons to Travel for Events: People, Places, and Experiences

Here, PSIA-AASI Education Development Manager Angelo Ross shares his top reasons to travel for educational events. You can search for events by region and read more about specific upcoming events by visiting the Event Calendar page on our website.

Traveling, whether close to home or far and wide, creates opportunities to meet likeminded people and those who might have a very different perspective than your own. In any case, there’s always the opportunity to form new friendships, partnerships, and sometimes even kinships!

From the big skies of the West to the tight and winding trails of the East, exploring unfamiliar places always broadens one’s worldview. In my position, I often hear conversations about people from “feeder mountains” traveling to “destination areas” and of those from the East going West. There’s no doubt that’s a great thing to do, but I would challenge instructors to flip the script: Folks reared on big mountains in the West would do well to go East and check out the heart and soul of some little mom ‘n pop areas. Consider it a cultural exchange program.

If experience is the best teacher, think of all the opportunities that exist among the hundreds of locations throughout the country. In terms of snowsports, altitude, steepness, exposure, snow conditions, and vertical feet are just some of the things that challenge our skill set and teach us lessons. And then there’s cuisine, après, sightseeing, local vernacular, etc., etc., etc.

However far and for however long, there’s really no good reason not to travel. Whether international, within the United States, or to a neighboring resort you’ve never visited, adventure awaits! So, dust off your boot bag, plan your itinerary, and go be a tourist somewhere, even if just for a few hours. There’s no better opportunity for personal and professional development.