When is the last time you took a ski lesson? Ask that of most skiers and they name a time so long ago they can hardly remember what the lesson was about.
I have to admit that before I took a formal lesson I was a certified professional ski patrolman. When I began patrolling at Lost Valley, I was already director of the weekend patrol at Sunday River. I had certainly skied with a number of instructors, but it was mostly on powder days.
Mid-week at Sunday River, like many areas in the 1970s, wasn’t exactly busy, and when it snowed, only a handful of season pass holders were likely to show up. A single patrolman skiing with two or three instructors, seeing how many trails we could put first tracks in, could certainly not be called a ski lesson. I don’t recall a single mention of technique. We were simply observing the first rule of powder: “Be first.” The first skier off the chair got first tracks.
Then I arrived at Lost Valley. At that area, mid-week was busy. There were morning programs, afternoon programs, and in mid-afternoon buses unloaded a sea of kids and there were classes everywhere. I observed more ski lessons than I had ever seen.
At other times, I joined instructors as they were coached by Bruce Fenn to prepare for certification exams. These were my first exposure to demonstrations and practice of technique. I’m sure my skiing improved as a result, even though these were not anything like your typical ski lesson. One interesting aspect was that Bruce would often have me demonstrate sideslip exercises for the group. Sideslipping and edge control are key components of running rescue sleds, and as such are included in all ski patrol tests, which I had passed and even become an examiner.
In the years since, my writing has taken me to ski weeks at a number of resorts and I have had the opportunity to ski with some of the very best PSIA instructors, such as Dave Merriam, the Bangor native who, skiing out of the Sugarloaf Ski School, became a member of the PSIA Demonstration Team and now directs the Stowe Ski School. This has certainly been good for my skiing, hence the question, “When did you last take a lesson?”
My other reason for asking that question is my experience observing skiers as they work their way down the mountain.
Years ago, it was only the racers and very good skiers who carved turns. The old straight skis didn’t exactly make carving turns easy. But top skiers achieved it. Then came the shaped ski. These skis with deeper sidecuts made carving a lot easier and almost all skiers today are on shaped skis. Yet, I watch skier after skier sliding down the mountain skidding their turns.
One of the last lessons I had was at a clinic run by Dan Egan at Wildcat. You have probably seen Dan ski in films by Warren Miller or some other ski movie-maker. You might have seen one of his videos playing in a ski shop, but Dan and his brother John are two of the best at skiing anything in any conditions.
That day at Wildcat, Dan introduced himself to a group of eight skiers with very different levels of ability. He took us to the top of the mountain and at the top of the Lynx trail, he said, “Ski the same run until you own it.” We spent the day on the Lynx.
Dan coached every skier in the group, focusing most of his time with the lower-level skiers, but still observing and giving the advanced skiers valuable feedback. The trail was a variety of bumps, drop-offs and side hill pitches. It was a trail most lower-level skiers would avoid, sticking instead to the smooth groomers. It called for a variety of skills, and by the end of the outing everyone was comfortable skiing the Lynx. Granted, not everyone skied it with the abandon of our instructor, but the number of skiers who could stay with Dan Egan on any run is extremely limited.
When I contacted him last week, he summed it up: “Taking a lesson is a great way to tune up your skills and it helps to expand your experience on the mountain. When you ski better, you have more fun, adventure and have the confidence to see what is around the next bend or ski the glades and make some turns in the bumps.”
Dan pointed out, “The grooming has improved so skiers skiing on trails can safely skid, slide or turn their way down to the bottom. Off piste, the newer wider skis have allowed skiers to access terrain they couldn’t in the past in all sorts of conditions. So they have forgotten about taking lessons and skiing with professionals, which could only improve their technique.”
Dan runs ski clinics here, and in Europe and South America (www.skiclinics.com), and having known and skied with Dan for years, I can recommend them. But don’t wait for a clinic.
And Dan doesn’t simply recommend his clinics: “Go to your favorite ski resort, walk into the ski school and say, ‘I always wanted to ski … (insert a trail name) … and I want an instructor to help me achieve my goal.”
I will admit that I don’t challenge myself by skiing the toughest runs on the mountains anymore, but I always ski better when I ski with some of the best skiers at the mountain at which I’m skiing that day. We have some really fine instructors here in Maine, and a day or even a few runs with them could help any of us.
See you on the slopes.
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