FAQs

Signing Up

  • It is our job to help parents understand the methods we use in our classes. Here is our outlook:

    At Mohan, our goal is to make every student feel safe and confident about their abilities through their successful experiences on the slopes. To do this, our instructors use certain areas of the mountain (primarily Holiday, Gallery, and Reggies) to teach more advanced techniques before transferring the class to more challenging terrain. Once the students can demonstrate a specific technique, the class will progress to more challenging terrain. Please keep in mind that throughout the season, your students may go back to easier terrain multiple times to learn new techniques.

    This method of teaching has been used at Mohan for several years with positive results, enabling us to teach in a safe environment for our students and instructors alike. Therefore, it is important to remember that the area of the mountain where a lesson is taught does not always depict the ability level of the class.

    We believe learning is a lifelong journey that continues long after our lessons are over. Teaching our students how to ski safely, with care for themselves and others, is imperative to our school.

  • Below are some guidelines:

    Ski Levels

    Level 1 - Has never skied before - is new to the sport

    Level 2 - Has some experience skiing. Rides the Magic Carpet lift and can ski down controlling speed and direction with wedge turns.

    Level 3 - Rides the Holiday lift (green slope) and can ski down controlling speed and direction with linked wedge and/or beginning wedge christie turns.

    Level 4 - Rides the Gallery lift (blue slope) and can ski down controlling speed and direction with linked christie turns bringing the skis parallel the last third of the turn.

    Level 5 - Rides the Express chairlift (blue and black slopes) and skis down Alpine controlling speed and direction with linked parallel turns.

    Level 6 - Skis blue and easy black slopes controlling speed and direction with linked parallel turns carving the last half of the turn.

    Level 7 - Skis black slopes controlling speed and direction with a variety of skidded and carved parallel turns varying turn shape as necessary for the conditions.

    Board Levels

    Level 1 - Has never snowboarded before - is new to the sport

    Level 2 - Rides the Magic Carpet lift and can stop, heel slip and toe slip on easy terrain. Rides using mostly one edge.

    Level 3 - Rides the Magic Carpet lift and can turn to a stop with toe and heel side turns.

    Level 4 - Rides Holiday chair (green slope) and can control speed and direction with toe and heel side turns.

    Level 5 - Rides Gallery chair (blue slope) Rider can make controlled linked toe and heel side turns on most blue terrain.

    Level 6 - Rides the Express chairlift (blue and black slopes) Rider can make controlled linked toe and heel side turns on blue and easy black terrain carving the last half of each turn.

    Level 7 - Rides black slopes controlling speed and direction with a variety of skidded and carved linked toe and heel side turns varying turn shape as necessary for the conditions.

  • We are a non-profit organization and we offer the most affordable prices for our services. However, in appreciation for our instructors, we do provide family discounts on lessons for instructors. Come join our team as an instructor!

  • We do! We believe every child should have the opportunity to learn to ski or snowboard, so we offer the Marie Jose Scholarship program. You can find more information on the Marie Jose Scholarship page.

  • Our program runs for 6 weeks and classes are 2 hours long. Saturday/Sunday classes have a makeup day at the end of the season at their regularly scheduled lesson day and time. Friday Snowsports program students are welcome to join us on Saturday or Sunday morning or afternoon classes to make up their missed day. Please note lesson dates when registering as we do not hold Saturday or Sunday classes on President’s Day Weekend.

  • We will notify you via email the week before the lessons begin.

Getting Ready

  • We highly recommend you purchase a season lift ticket as soon as possible online at:  https://www.summitatsnoqualmie.com/season-passes

    The Summit has limited inventory and will likely sell out relatively early. For more details, see our Lift Tickets page.

  • Absolutely! If you know your child won’t be up at the mountain other than the days they have lessons with us it might be more cost effective to purchase day tickets. If you decide to do this, we recommend pre-purchasing them ahead of time (the summit has limited quantities and they do sell out) and your child can pick them up at the mountain.

  • Yes, please. The Summit requires all skiers and boarders to have a season pass or lift ticket, regardless of their location on the mountain. Season passes are priced according to age, making them more affordable for young skiers.

  • We have a list of recommended equipment suppliers on our website equipment guide. If you are planning to rent equipment from the Summit we recommend going up to get fitted on a day before lessons start as fitting can take up to 20 minutes or longer and you don’t want this to interfere with the first day of lessons.

  • Be prepared for a little chaos on the first day, but it’s all part of the fun we promise!

    Check our website to ensure that we are operating before you leave the house and opt-in for text messages while registering. You can also call our office for a voice recording.

    Know the class color and number (ie. Red 17 or Blue 2) that you have been assigned to so that our greeting staff can direct you.

    Our location: We are located at Summit Central (exit 53 off the I-90), if you are standing in the central plaza with the ticket offices and fire pit on your left and the statue of the bears in front of you, look up the hill and you will see the small hut with our logo on it. Our meeting area is just outside below the hut.

    Check the roads.  Winter weather can be very unpredictable and changes hour to hour. We recommend checking the WSDOT website or opt-in for text message alerts to see what’s happening on the I-90. Text “Start” to 85107.

    Be prepared. Pack the car the night before. Many people arrive at class only to find they’ve forgotten their skis/board/boots/coat/goggles, etc. It’s a good idea to pack extra water, snacks, and blankets in case the pass closes while traveling to or from the ski hill.

    If you have a question, ASK! We have supervisors everywhere who are willing to help you in any way they can. If we don’t know the answer, we will find someone who does.

  • The best way to prepare your child/children is to be organized. We recommend getting fitted for rental equipment a few weeks before classes start. Go to Summit Central before lessons begin so that you know how to get there and where we are located.

During the Season

  • Please check to confirm we are operating before you set out to the mountain as winter weather can change hourly. Look at road conditions and check to ensure that the pass is open. There are three different ways to find out if we are operating:

    1. Text "Start" to 85107 to receive text alerts from the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT).

    2. Opt-in for text message while registering so that we can push critical information to you.

    3. Check the homepage of our website which displays our current operating status.

    4. Call our office (425) 868-3820 and listen to the recorded message regarding our operating status. If you are part of one of our school programs we will notify your program coordinator, who will reach out to you.

  • If we need to postpone a lesson during the season, we will automatically reschedule it for the week following the last week of classes. We will repeat this process until all the lessons have been completed. Please note that the decision to postpone a lesson is not made lightly; we take into consideration several factors, including weather conditions on the mountain and road conditions traveling to and from the Summit. The safety of our students is our number one priority, and this includes travel time as well. We will not cancel a class unless we really think it is necessary.

  • If you are unable to attend a lesson, please let the office know by emailing: office@skimohan.com. Whenever possible Saturday and Sunday classes offer one makeup class at the end of the season.

  • Mohan operates the following lateness policy:

    If you are 15 or more minutes late to your lesson, Mohan reserves the right to refuse entry to your class for that day. Absences that result in missing your class 2 or more consecutive weeks will result in you forfeiting the remaining classes without a refund. If you are late by less than 15 minutes, we will attempt to locate your class and take the student to their lesson.

    We ask all our customers to appreciate that the area where we teach our classes is vast, consisting of several different ski chairs and slopes. Locating a class is time-consuming and interrupts the lesson for the other students who have arrived on time.

  • We do not recommend that you watch your child’s class. In our experience, it can be very distracting for your child and disrupt the lesson, which is unfair to the other students in the class. If the lesson is taking place on the slopes, such as Holiday or Gallery, you are not allowed to be "on foot" on these slopes as per the Summit's rules, as it is also very dangerous for you. If you are seen in these areas, the Ski Patrol or Summit staff will request that you leave.

  • All of our instructors are equipped with walkie-talkies and will radio a supervisor for assistance if a student becomes ill or injured during the lesson. Staff also have emergency contact information for each student and will make contact if necessary. It is essential that you provide the phone number you are most likely to have with you on the mountain when providing emergency contact information during registration. 

  • Prior to 3 pm on November 28th of the current season, participants may request, in writing, a refund for their lessons and/or transportation. Each refund will incur a $25 processing fee. After 3 pm on November 28th, all lessons and transportation are non-refundable, as financial commitments for insurance, staffing, administration, operations, and busing have been made.

    If the program is not completed by April 30, a prorated credit will be applied towards the following season.

    “In the case of a force majeure (act of unforeseen circumstances) hindering Mohan Skiing & Boarding from completing the current season, NO refunds or credits will be owed. Funds will be used to pay our bills to keep us around for the following season, and remaining funds will be used for scholarships the following season.”

  • The first step is to speak to your child’s instructor and let them know your son/daughter is not feeling challenged enough in class. They will then perform an assessment at the beginning of the next class to see if your child should be moved to the next level. The same procedure applies if your child is struggling to keep up. If you have further concerns, please email the office at: office@skimohan.com.