Does Ski instruction hurt the skiing industry?

[Nick]

An interesting article, http://www.slopefillers.com/business-of-ski-school/

The crux of the article:

“The variety of techniques really confused ski pupils. They might take a lesson at a Arapahoe, then go to Aspen, where a modified Arlberg technique was taught, then to Stein Erickson’s Norwegian ski school over at the Highlands, and then lessons at Sun Valley with a French ski instructor. Something had to be done. The formation of a universal ski-teaching technique was necessary, at least in the U.S.”

This has to do with the formation of the PSIA and an attempt to standardize ski instruction. The author goes on to basically say that instruction has to be more open and available (via online, etc.). I would probaby argue that places like AZ and YouTube can give a ton of great information but there is no way to replace time-on-the-slopes.

An interesting read, anyway, for your Wednesday afternoon

 

[snowmonster]

Just my two cents' reactions to the proposals:

Turn ski instruction into a series of free, professional quality videos and make these videos available through a well-managed YouTube channel, mobile app, and DVD

Who's going to do it for free? Ski instruction is a revenue stream for ski areas. I can't see anybody giving this away. Besides, don't underestimate the value of individual feedback given by a live person standing next to you. Different people learn differently because of differences in body stucture, athleticism, etc.

Moreover, for a modest cost, you can already buy films and books that can teach you to ski. I actually took 2 ski lessons and worked on technique by learning from books. Still, it does not remove the need for a paid ski lesson at the outset.

Give every skier on the mountain the basic ski instruction skill set so when they take their friends to the top of the lift, they’ve tripled the chances their friend will get down with a smile on their face.

Let me get this straight: you give me basic ski instruction so that I can teach my friends how to get down the hill. This is so wrong-headed. This is an accident waiting to happen.

At this point, I have more than basic skiing skills and, because I am a reasonable person, I won't even try to get my newbie friends down a hill. Why? Because I am taking their lives in my hands. It's very hard to translate concepts that I have in my mind or explain things that I do which are based on athleicism, balance and muscle memory. We're all pretty good skiers here, right? Ever tried to talk a really frightened newbie down a slope (say a newbie skier who accidentally strayed into the double blacks)? Did the newbie have fun? Did you have fun talking the said newbie to make THAT turn? I rest my case.

Or, when they see a newb trying to learn solo, they can have a reason to stop and give them a few pointers.

So, we have to stop everytime we're on the mountain to give lessons to newbs. Congratulations, we've just made ourselves into a bunch of annoying know-it-alls. Ever been THAT newbie? Remember how annoying it was when skiers would whizz by you? Even if they were being helpful, it sure was annoying to keep hearing "keep you feet together," "keep your weight forward," "absorb the bumps with your knees," or " you shouldn't be on this slope!"

Besides, wouldn't that be a ginormous waste of a ski day? No friends on a powder day yet you want me to stop to give pointers to someone I don't know? What?

When people pay for lessons, teach them how to teach others – one of the most powerful tools in pedagogy is the idea of learning by teaching

As an educator, I agree with the last part of the statement. However, as for the first part, isn't that why PSIA has a teaching course? While a lot of people would like to teach, not everyone can teach. This is the reason why we actually send our teachers to school so that they can learn how to teach. Ever have that math teacher in high school who graduated BS Mathematics cum laude but could not explain simple concepts because it was hard to explain something so simple?

Besides, when I take a lesson, all I want is to learn how to ski. Does this mean that I have to hang around the ski corral for another hour or so that I can learn how to teach?

This idea has been around for as long as people have skied: teach skiing for free, give them free passes to ride the mountain, get them hooked on the sport then start charging them. If they're into the sport, they will pay any price to ski. It's the drug dealer strategy. The fact that nobody has done it just shows that, while the idea may be great in theory, it does not work in reality.

 

[SIKSKIER]

I think your helping a friend comments are a little harsh.I do however understand your point.I never took a lesson in my life but learned from my friends by skiing with them.