Lessons for the novice

Press, 6 May 1983, Page 9

Lessons for the novice

Skiing is one of the fastest growing recreations and already the signs which preceded a similar upsurge in the sport in the United States of America 10 years ago are apparent here.

The major impetus to the number of people becoming skiers is the development, or redevelopment of ski areas like Mount Hutt which depend on thousands of people using their facilities during the season. The key to their profitability is not so much in attracting current skiers to the slopes, but rather wouldbe skiers and providing topclass facilities.

Learner packages, with the emphasis on ski instruction are being offered at cut-rate prices on the basis that if a person's introduction to skiing is safe and enjoyable, then that is someone who will be buying a lift ticket for many years to come.

Learing to ski 15 years

ago was an ordeal. The skis wre long, the bindings difficult to get in and out of, and the ski instruction — for those who bothered to take it — geared to producing Olympic-standard skiers and not competent recreational skiers content to ski at their own level of ability. Now, the first-time skier uses short skis designed to turn easily, ski boots specifically designed for a learner and bindings developed to reduce the risk of knee and ankle strains which were common 10 years ago among beginners. The bogey of “it’s too hard to learn to ski” is being firmly put to rest. The European method of teaching to ski with its emphasis on producing extremely skilled and technical skiers through many graduated, lessons was clearly unsuited to enabling the casual weekend skier to progress quickly enough to retain interest in the sport.

The ATM method of ski tuition — American Teaching Method — was therefore developed at a number of American ski resorts, quickly followed by the GLM method —) Graduated Length Method — where the pupil started with extremely short skis and progressed through to the proper length as ability increased.

Today, ski schools such as

those at Mount Hutt teach a combination of the two methods, and such has been the shift away from the European method that it is rare to find a European instructor in the schools. Two lessons are now sufficient for the novice skier to get the feel of skis and the beginnings of the control needed to ski on a slope. The dropout rate when lessons are combined with these first two days on skis is extremely low. Many ski areas in the United States consider it such a waste of time for first time skiers to try skiing without ski lessons, that their learner slopes are available only to ski school classes.

While this has not yet happened at skifields like Mount Hutt, the learner pack offered there gives not only hire of skis, boots and poles, and use of the lower platter lift, but also a 90 minute ski lesson.

Those who are silly enough to throw away the lesson ticket, or who hire gear without a lesson included, find their introduction to skiing very uncomfortable indeed. Most of their time is spent sitting in wet cold snow, untangling skis and bindings and often being shouted at by well-meaning friends who are passing on the same bad habits picked up in the same non-lesson environment.