What Would You Ask Of A Ski Instructor?

[Erik Timmerman]

If you have the right instructor, then shut up and listen! Of course, there has to be a dialogue and very good instructor will pull information from a student. How to find that person is a whole other issue, especially for the general public buying a single transaction.. I do envy those who ski regularly at a large area with a big instructor pool because recommendations are somewhat easier to get.

You're right, and why would people want to spend part of their lesson standing on the side of the hill arguing with their ski instructor. I had someone the other day that didn't want to try anything I asked him to do. "But I've never done it that way!". No Shit! That's why we're here. Why not just try it and see what happens?

 

[cantunamunch]

You're right, and why would people want to spend part of their lesson standing on the side of the hill arguing with their ski instructor. I had someone the otehr day that didn't want to try anything I asked him to do. "But I've never done it that way!". No Shit! That's why we're here. Why not just try it and see what happens?

I get what you're saying, but notice that they're both taught and expected to do just exactly that with other specialists, most specifically medical care providers.

That's not going to change anytime soon - USAian culture has put judgment of both overall benefit and judgment of value for money on the consumer. Your client is just living up to the 'informed consumer' myth. Or their subjective perception thereof, which, with myths, is much the same thing.

 

[tromano]

I didn't come for an argument - I am here for abuse.

 

[bbinder]

I didn't come for an argument - I am here for abuse.

Then you want to go back to the room you just came from.

 

[Pete in Idaho]

Id like to ask the guy teaching a Perfect Turn lesson why in hell he took my wife ,a green circle novice , thru a patch of ice on a drop off and told her to turn on it ,rather than ski thru it THEN initiate the turn .??

. A real WTF moment she ended up in surgery an hour later with a plate and six screws and it was our first day of an extended out of state anniversary ski trip .i was pissed .

She had skied all morning with me with zero problems , so i bought her this lesson with a pro while i went free skiing .....worst mistake i ever made .

Taking lessons from someone you know nothing about is a gamble. Some people will tell you to take a lesson from a level III instructor. Well that is probably good advice but not always. Have taken lesson clinics from Level 3 guys that were so full of crap that I left the clinic, i.e., "We are going to learn how to go fast, remember Franz Klammer when he races downhill is always in a mini wedge for control...............". That was just prior to showing us how to tuck which was also wrong. That is when I went free skiing.

So if you can get references or personal knowledge when choosingc an instructor bye all means do so.

To me personally, Communications skills are very important. Talking about the lesson and your skiing and goals should always occur first. Tell the instructor why you are there, what you want to do/accomplish and what your immediate and long range goals are. If he/she is a good instructor they will take this an use your comments to mold their lesson to your needs.

 

[Warp Daddy]

Taking lessons from someone you know nothing about is a gamble. Some people will tell you to take a lesson from a level III instructor. Well that is probably good advice but not always. Have taken lesson clinics from Level 3 guys that were so full of crap that I left the clinic, i.e., "We are going to learn how to go fast, remember Franz Klammer when he races downhill is always in a mini wedge for control...............". That was just prior to showing us how to tuck which was also wrong. That is when I went free skiing.

So if you can get references or personal knowledge when choosingc an instructor bye all means do so.

To me personally, Communications skills are very important. Talking about the lesson and your skiing and goals should always occur first. Tell the instructor why you are there, what you want to do/accomplish and what your immediate and long range goals are. If he/she is a good instructor they will take this an use your comments to mold their lesson to your needs.

Totally agree Pete , this was done as a pkg deal at a high end resort . I should have said screw it and taught her myself. She had skied with me quite a bit , took up the sport to humor me and is a strictly blubird day skier .i never forced her to do any of this .

She was and is a decent athlete in her own right, XC , tennis , and a gym rat to this day . But i felt maybe a pro would help her get to the next level ....obviously a silly assumption .

This turkey was a real idiot obviously i should have stayed closeby and observed but i though what the hell go take an hrs worth fast runs then we would meet up for a few runs b4 beer thirty ..

 

[Monique]

This turkey was a real idiot obviously i should have stayed closeby and observed but i though what the hell go take an hrs worth fast runs then we would meet up for a few runs b4 beer thirty ..

Did you give feedback at the ski school?

 

[Warp Daddy]

Did you give feedback at the ski school?[/QUOTE


Absolutely , . Also sent a letter to the resort CEO .

 

[oldschoolskier]

Is your name Bob, Bud (or a few of the other really good instructors here)?

If not, maybe next time.

 

[David Chaus]

I think it is the responsibility of the instructor to initiate by asking what the student wishes to accomplish during the lesson. It should be a dialogue that results in an agreement of a goal or goals for the day.

OK, philosophical approaches aside, if I am taking a lesson, I would want some coaching on skiing bumps in double black terrain, which would reveal to the extent that I have trouble committing to the fall line in these conditions, and probably also reveal my tendency to loose shin pressure with my boots during the cross-under transition. So we'd go to some green slopes to practice perfecting the basics in slow turns to mitigate my tendency to rush the turn. Then we'd go back to progressively steeper slopes and eventually try it again on double black moguls.

 

[oldschoolskier]

On a serious note, I ski well enough to know most of my strengths and weaknesses. For me its its letting a good instructor identify what I've missed when I ski.

Which is why I made the earlier comment (about being a good instructor). A good instructor will let you ski and then let you ask, what should be addressed first for the best result. It is likely not one of the things you already know is a problem.