ski poles for several reasons, as you'll see, and I don't like to get
any group of ski students without ski poles---it's a ski instructor's
job to teach the whole skier from top to bottom. Before they step
into any bindings, show them that, even with bulky ski boots on,
their feet are still in their control: while leaning on their poles, have
them pick up each foot and rotate it around; reassure them that
they will still have this luxury when the skis get strapped on. (In
recent years, it has become far too commonplace at many ski areas
to start beginners without poles---this is a huge disservice in my
book, and I talk about why extensively in my PROHIBITION Of
Snow-Boarding book. Their argument is that "beginners need to
learn balance," and they rant and rave about the dangers of begin-
ners poking each other's eyes out---Well, my argument is that be-
ginners need to learn to not poke each other's eyes out!) Show
them how to open the heels of the bindings, by pushing down on
the back lever; the main way to close a binding is to click into it---
and, rest assured, you might have to remind them a couple of times
that, if you click out of the toe, the heel binding stays closed and
needs to be reopened in order to get back in. So show them the
benefits of ski poles: leaning on one to bang snow off a boot with
the other so that the bindings will operate properly; or they can
lean on both poles while scraping the bottom of the boot on the toe-
piece. When you need to open a heel before stepping in, you can
open it with your ski boot; but it's nice to balance on two poles
while using that ski boot to step on that heel-lever, otherwise peo-
ple tip over. When FDBs tip over, they can cause a domino effect,
so it's a good idea to have them far enough apart from each other as
to prevent this phenomenon. Trying to operate bindings and get
Who&WhatTurn, When&Where&Why---Not Just How! --- 123
skis on or off without poles . . . are difficult acrobatic tasks and har-
assment in my book. During this orientation, you might have to
send a student back to the rental shop to get a different length of
skis or better-fitting boots or even a pair of ski poles---you've got
time, and you can keep the group busy without getting too far
ahead of a student or two.
I see beginner instructors talking all day about ski design and
carving, but I think it's a little early for that, like telling kinder-
garteners who to vote for for President when they would do better
to think about not getting run over by cars. About the only thing
they need to know at this point, concerning ski-design, . . . is that
the skis want to turn for them somewhat, no matter what kind of
turn; there are plenty of beginner-specific things that they need to
learn first, like not sitting their butt on a hot stove. You can briefly
point out the shape of the ski, wider at the tip and tail than in the
middle, and let them know that this has a lot to do with making the
skis turn easy, even for snowplow and skidded turns; but they
have plenty to learn yet before they'll be able to start exploiting ski
design for carved turns. Right now, the high ski boots are more for
simple support than they are for leveraging the skis around.
If they have both skis on, have them take one off, so they can
start sliding and getting around on one ski---and it won't hurt them
to practice opening a binding one more time with a ski pole. A
beginning skier already knows how to walk with independent-leg
action down the street, . . . so the first thing I do is get them used to
one-ski at a time, pointing out that learning to ski is a lot easier if
you don't skip any steps. (I went to work for a ski-school in New
Mexico one time that was run by a famous Norwegian pro ski
racer---he wouldn't let us do the one-ski thing, claiming it was a
waste of time. I knew better, but he was the boss---and I didn't
stick around on his ski school for too long. "If you want it done
right," I thought, "you can do it yourself.") With poles, this is an
easy task, sliding on one ski; without poles, it is difficult, like trying
to walk a tight-rope without that big long pole for balance. Even
with a large group, it only takes a couple of minutes, but I stand by
this important one-ski drill back-n-forth across the bunny-hill---
they may only need to do it once on each foot. In fact, with the one-
ski task, they learn several things at once: they learn the differences
between walking and sliding; they learn a little bit of balance, that a
downhill-outside ski often offers more support than an uphill-in-
side ski; they learn to be less afraid of falling down, because sub-
consciously they know they can get up with one ski if they fall
124 --- Heinsian DOWNHILL SKIING
down; . . . and they learn to operate their bindings, putting skis on
and off as they switch feet.
I often carry an actual horse-wrangler's hoof-pick with me just
in case I need to help a student pick some snow-n-ice off their ski-
boot bottom so that it will go into the binding properly---it helps
break the ice in more ways than one. Also, now is about the time
you find out someone stuck their warm indoor skis in the cold
snow prematurely: this can cause blotches of ice to form on the
bottom of the ski, keeping them from being able to slide---this is
what my old credit-card tucked away in the radio-harness is good
for, instead of a full-on hoof rasp. No, seriously, you can show
them how to get their ski-n-boots clean of snow-n-ice (as seen in the
photos); otherwise, they might try to go their whole life with boots
that won't go in . . . and skis that won't slide. They usually eventu-
ally figure out that they've got to keep the skis scraped clean; but
the boot-bottoms can be a harder-to-reach problem: let them know
that they will have to get rough, one way or another, either by
scraping the boot hard on the toe-piece . . . or by whacking it hard
with the ski pole (again, as seen in the photos).
Now, you won't have any runaways on one-ski, one of the
beauties of the one-ski intro; but a percentage of students may tip-
over ---a perfect time to talk about an emergency stop when they
will have two skis . . . and also a great time to address how to get
up from a fall or sit-down. If no one falls during the one-ski intro,
before you put two skis on, have them all put their one ski across
the hill on the downhill side . . . and sit down on the uphill side.
While you have them sitting down up the hill, before you get up,
point out that this is also their emergency way to stop, a safety-sit,
in case they have a slight runaway in the near future on two skis. --
-Stress the importance of sitting on the butt rather than a knee, and
sitting to one side rather than on the tails of the skis, because
merely sitting on the tails won't make you stop. The butt makes a
pretty good brake pad, but don't dwell on this all day---you don't
want to encourage them to have to do this, because I've seen people
make a bad habit out of it when they could just as well try to stand
up on their skis more.
I don't like to go through the motions of having them do an
actual safety-sit while they are moving on two skis, because most of
them won't ever even need it, and it would be like doing a fire drill
and opening all the emergency exits and emptying all the fire ex-
tinguishers for no apparent reason---in fact, if you officially practice
it while moving on two skis, some will do it a half dozen times
Who&WhatTurn, When&Where&Why---Not Just How! --- 125
when they don't need it, as a cop-out. It's downright efficient to
talk about the safety-sit and getting up, when working with one
easy ski---a couple of them go down naturally, triggering the two
timely topics. At any rate, the simple knowing that they have an
emergency brake and an easy way of getting up . . . will help most
students really relax and be able to perform.
The students who fall down early in the one-ski intro often
learn for themselves that getting up with one ski is easier than get-
ting up with two. If you can't have them all in a row nice-n-neat,
when a skier falls, whether it's with one ski or with two, if there is
any slope at all, they will need to squirm or roll around until their
feet are across the hill on the downhill side---this is so they will
have it easy getting up. For the strong students who don't fall
down, you've already got them sitting down uphill briefly for the
safety-sit, and now they can learn the getting-up part. Remind eve-
ryone that you want the one ski to be on the downhill side across
the hill for easier getting up: point out that, once you get onto your
uphill knee, you're pretty much up. If you have a ski-it-yourselfer
down with two skis on, which should be finagled across the hill on
the downhill side, have them demonstrate for the class . . . that they
can pop off the inside-uphill ski with a ski pole before getting up.
I've seen guys spend ten minutes teaching elaborate methods of
getting up with both skis on---and all that does is teach how diffi-
cult life is. In fact, I saw one guy suffer a hernia because of his ig-
norant hard-core drill instructor who had supervisory powers! For
the record, getting up on flat terrain is the most difficult place, and
beginners are comforted to know that even some old experts get up
this way when down on the flats. The strong students who have
the natural ability to get up with both skis on will find out soon
enough, but don't make everyone else go through the process; and
sometimes it's nice to have these stronger students help demon-
strate and sort of give permission for the weaker ones to be proac-
tive and get the job done the best way they can. On the other hand,
other than in an "adaptive program" catering to handicapped ski-
ers, if you can't get up on you own power, you probably don't have
a lot of business taking up skiing. Oh, by the way, if taking one ski
off isn't enough, you can always take off two---or three or four or as
many as it takes! (About the first page of this manual, we made a
reference to "picking up hippopotamuses," and that is unfortu-
nately another thing that befalls new instructors who aren't given a
plan for helping people get up the easiest way possible, which can
also cause a hernia or a bad back.)
126 --- Heinsian DOWNHILL SKIING
Now, after the one-ski exercise and learning about the safety-
sit and getting up, we need to put that one ski back on, if not both.
When putting on both skis on a bit of a slope, three things: bindings
open, skis across the hill, poles at-the-ready; then they need to put
the downhill ski on first. If they put on the uphill ski before you
have a chance to correct them, you could let them struggle a little
bit trying for that inaccessible downhill ski: these beginners will
either need to take off that uphill ski and start over, or they could
turn around and make it the downhill ski.
Invariably, most students will eventually take a spill where
they release out of the toe-piece, and most won't understand that
the heel-piece is still closed and needs to be reopened before they
can get back in business, even if they do know how to get all the
snow off the boot-bottom. The minute the first student does this, I
try to let them all in on the secret: there are skeletons up on the
mountain of people who forgot that, if you click out of the toe, the
heel is still closed and needs to be reopened. I had a 14-year-old
advanced girl one time who didn't have sense to reopen her bind-
ing heel one time after a fall: the instructors she'd had many times
before must have always done it for her, because she was cute or
spoiled or worth a lot of business or whatever, and that's pathetic---
someone wasn't doing their job teaching the most basic necessary
things in skiing. There's nothing worse than a skier trying to step
into a binding that's not even open, especially after the first day or
two, let alone after a number of ski trips! With young people,
sometimes we will find an adult in this predicament, and I might
instruct the young student to go help that person---both students, . .
. my young one . . . and the old stranger alike, will never forget the
importance and convenience of knowing how to open a closed heel
binding. (This is great stuff; and, before I got into the writing and
rewriting of this manual, I didn't realize how great it would be.)
So, at this point in the lesson, the minute someone comes out of a
toe, and needs to reopen the heel before stepping in, let the whole
class in on the task at foot---and remind them about the skeletons
up on the mountain who missed this important tidbit,---otherwise
you end up having to teach the same lesson over and over again to
each student Sometimes, when you get that occasional older stu-
dent, even some seasoned low-intermediates, who still haven't
learned the lesson of having to reopen their heel after a toe-release:
you might consider just waiting and waiting . . . and tapping your
pole in the snow . . . and yawning . . . until they finally figure out
what they need to do in order to get themselves skiing again---it's
Who&WhatTurn, When&Where&Why---Not Just How! --- 127
cruel to be kind sometimes.
By the way, some of this interesting binding business and
what-not . . . may not present itself until a bit later, if you have a
strong class that's not falling down at your convenience; but, keep
in mind, the strong students can use the same considerate assign-
ments as the weaker ones, otherwise they might get caught with
their underwear on the outside of their pants later. Realize, in a
real FDB lesson, the more the instructor knows and is prepared, the
more the lesson will go click, click, click, without any problems.
What takes me ten or twenty minutes to explain here in the last
book on the subject . . . may only take five minutes or less out on
the mountain, as these innocent students don't need to know all the
gory details unless they insist. Even if you explain things in great
detail, you can keep most of the class busy moving with the key
tasks as you do so.
Now, because we don't know enough to get on any lifts yet, we
need to have the students get their skis across the hill and side-
step up a little ways, so they have some pitch to work with. Some
students you'll have to show how to angle their downhill knee up-
the-hill a bit in order to get some edge to grip the snow with. Some
students may have trouble getting the "across-the-hill" concept
right away, but they'll learn: if they're sliding forwards, their skis
are pointed downhill too much; if they are sliding backwards, their
skis are pointed uphill too much. You don't want to go any steeper
than necessary: but the one or two measly degrees in steepness will
take a few students a few more minutes to figure out where down-
hill is . . . and where "across-the-hill" is; but going a couple of de-
grees too steep means runaways galore, and corpses and body
parts strewn all over the place.
Show them how to face the other way by forming a V up the
hill and inching it around in a V-turn, poles out so the snow so they
don't trip on them---this will give them confidence that they can
control themselves from sliding down the hill before they want to.
With the ski tips longer than the tails, it is easier to face up the hill
with a V than to make an immediate wedged A facing down the
hill; plus, psychologically, it's a lot easier to look up the hill than
down. The instructor might have to correct some bowleggedness,
so they have the natural amount of edge in their V-turn; knock-
knees shouldn't be a problem---if anything, they usually don't have
a wide-enough spread between the ski-tips at the top of the V.
With weaker students, I'll gently put my fist on their tail-bone to
hold them as they figure it out. The strong and natural ski students
128 --- Heinsian DOWNHILL SKIING
are easy, and they might start herringboning up the hill with that
V without even telling them, and that's fine, but don't bank on it
with every student. The strong students can climb higher and
steeper if they want to, but be sure that the pitch isn't so steep as to
scare half the class---this is a common mistake.
Skipping a simple step can set a student back and make the
lesson take that much longer. It's like doing a first-saddling on a
young horse that's never seen a saddle before: you do it wrong, by
missing one important little detail, and spill the saddle in the dirt,
you might never get another saddle near that horse the rest of his
life; or you might get the saddle on every time, but you taught the
horse to be "cinchy," flipping over backwards every time he's sad-
dled---and it can mean death for the horse by being sent to the dog-
food factory, if not the rodeo bucking-horse circuit. Beginning ski
students can be just as sensitive, and everything matters here.
When you've climbed up a few yards and have some mountain
to work with, have them do some straight-running down now,
preferably down to some flat terrain. If you have a sort of little
valley- or crater-shaped area, there won't be any danger of any
runaways down into the parking lot, but this luxurious beginner
terrain shaped just right is unlikely. Ideally, they'll have enough
flat run-out they can stop with straight skis without trying. If the
pitch is a hair steeper than ideal, you can have them use their poles
as a parking-brake before they get started on their straight-run:
with the hands on top of the poles instead of around the grips, stiff
arms with the poles stuck in the snow and angled in line with the
arms is all it takes to make a parking brake---and you'd be sur-
prised how well the students can get their hands around the grips
once they start straight-running without even thinking about it or
being told to do it. . . . Sometimes you have to make-do with the
terrain you've got, but nothing should be any more difficult than
they can handle. Straight-running is very similar to mounting an
unridden horse for the first time: you don't expect them to know
how to stop or even go slow just yet, but you have an environment
where they can let loose without getting out of control---for a horse,
it is a forty-five to sixty-foot round pen, so they won't become a
runaway into the parking lot. Beginning skiers straight-running,
without any brakes or skills to turn yet, will feel like they are lop-
ing or galloping, but that is okay as long as the environment is safe
and they are barely capable of going faster than walking speed;
when the flat terrain in a few yards slows them down to a crawl,
they breath a sigh of relief and realize how silly it is to panic, much
Who&WhatTurn, When&Where&Why---Not Just How! --- 129
like a young horse that first realizes you're not trying to kill him.
Now, if I have a student or two who are tripping themselves
by poking the snow too much with their ski poles, I'll try to con-
vince them to just carry they darn things in one hand half-way
down the shaft like a baton. If they insist on not simply carrying
their poles and continue to not focus on what to do with their feet, I
will confiscate their poles so that they have to start relying on their
feet. But, again, I don't believe in calling all beginners guilty before
giving them a chance to be innocent with ski poles. The uncoordi-
nated or unfocused student who needs their poles taken away is
almost spoiled in some way, like they've gone too often in their life
not learning to use their own feet. Taking away their poles is al-
most a punishment to them, and they will do all they can to get
their poles back---namely start using their feet. Consciously or
subconsciously, they will notice they've lost a luxury, their ski
poles, something they can use for many different purposes. By
now, even after a short fifteen minutes, they might even feel naked
without their poles---I would. (I like what one outlaw tells another
in Winchester '73, when they had to leave town hastily without their
firearms: "I'm tired o' goin' around naked.") Subliminally, the fear
of falling may be greater without poles, and they will try harder not
to fall; and, if they do fall, they will quickly notice they could sure
use a ski pole to take that uphill ski off to make getting up easier. I
won't make them flounder on the ground, so I may let them borrow
my ski pole to take a ski off if they need to. When they are up try-
ing to get a ski back on, they will notice how tricky it is without
using poles, snow caked on their boot, balancing on the one ski
without a crutch, and all. So, usually, in just twenty more minutes
or so, they will get focused on using their feet, notice missing a few
benefits of having ski poles, and be glad to take them back without
abusing the privilege. ---They may not know it yet, but I don't see
ski poles as a privilege, I see them as a right; so, it takes a pretty
tough customer, in my book, to lose their ski poles: they are not just
losing a privilege, they are losing a right---almost like a cat losing
his claws, or a convicted felon losing his rights.
This is neat stuff about ski poles that even most thirty-five-year
instructors have never stopped to consider, and they may not have
even gained the experience like I have about it all. I swear, we treat
horses better than our we treat our ski students, not that everyone
has the horses figured out; but we ought to treat our ski students as
well as our best horses. In fact, when a