Thursday, January 7, 1999

Beyond the bunny hill

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Ski instructors lead beginners to brave the steeper slopes

BY JOHN JOHNSTON
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Beginners study the wedging technique demonstrated by Perfect North instructor Anita Schneider. (Glenn Hartong photo) | ZOOM |

        Tracy Giuliani's first skiing experience at Perfect North Slopes was, well, not quite perfect.

        “They made me go on that,” the 15-year-old from Sycamore Township says.

        “They” are a couple of classmates from Ursuline Academy with a tad more skiing experience than Tracy. “That” is Little Bluff, a fairly easy run IF you've skied before.

        “I was stuck there for 20 minutes,” she says.

        She managed to make it down the slope. Then she headed for the beginner area, also known as the bunny hill, where ski school was in session.

        Lessons have been offered at this ski area near Greendale, Ind., since 1981, which is when the Perfect family first opened slopes to the public. Last year Perfect North's 130 instructors taught 31,000 lessons, mostly to first-time skiers, also known as “never-evers.”

        Tracy Giuliani is a never-ever. Ellie Patton is not. But it's been a couple of years since the 15-year-old from Mooresville, Ind., went skiing, and “I sort of forgot how to stop.”

        Ski school is the place for people who don't know how to stop. And for people who don't know how to turn. Turning and stopping are skills worth acquiring.

        It's a fine Wednesday morning on the slopes: clear and cold, with a brilliant sun warming faces, and plenty of man-made snow underfoot.

        “OK, everyone, try not to step on each other,” Anita Schneider is saying. She wears a bright blue instructor's outfit, trimmed in yellow, red and black. “In a straight line, follow me.”

        The Colerain Township mother of two has been skiing for 21 years, and has been an instructor for three. At 11 a.m., she leads a group of 10 teens and preteens onto the bunny hill for a one-hour group lesson, the first of three she'll teach today.

        Besides Tracy Giuliani and Ellie Patton, the group includes Jessica Young, a 14-year-old from Geist, Ind. She's a never-ever who struggles a bit just to move up the slight rise that leads to the bunny hill.

        Michael Downs, an 11-year-old from Indianapolis, also is a never-ever. He's here with his brother, Chris, who has skied once before, and friend Nick Hartman, 15, another never-ever.

        “The first thing we're going to learn is balance,” Mrs. Schneider says. Balance, she notes, is achieved with knees bent, ankles flexed, rear end positioned over boots, hands in front of body, poles pointing behind.

        Everyone is ready to make a straight run down an ever-so-gentle slope when, out of nowhere, Jesse Schulze of Florence glides past, making it look easy.

        “Yahooo!” he says.

        Jesse is 4 years old.

        Every instructor has success stories.

        Mrs. Schneider once had a 70-year-old woman in a class. “I'm too old to do this,” the woman said. “I don't know why I'm even here.”

        An hour later, she had conquered her fears.

        June Compton, a 70-year-old instructor from Middletown, recently asked a 40ish woman if she liked to ski.

        “I hate it,” the woman said.

        But after an hour the woman was eager for another lesson.

        “The failures are very rare,” says Jim Richey, 69, an instructor from Carrollton, Ky. “There is no right way to ski. There are better ways to ski. The whole purpose is to get out here and enjoy it.”

        Mrs. Schneider's 11 a.m. class is doing just that.

        “I want to take a lesson all day,” 15-year-old Nick declares.

        “The lifts are really nice, once you get to that point,” Mrs. Schneider says.

        Nick says he likes having a “girl instructor” because “it makes you want to learn more. I mean, it's easier to pay attention.”

        His friends, Michael and Chris, are giving him grief for that.

        Before long, their class has learned to do the gliding wedge, and from that position they make their first turns.

        Eleven-year-old Michael turns right, then left, then lands on his rump.

        “OK,” Mrs. Schneider says, “now we get to learn how to get up.”

        This season, 48 people applied to be ski instructors at Perfect North Slopes, but only 11 were hired. The evaluation process includes a weekend tryout, 60 hours of classroom and on-hill instruction, and a final test. Pay varies by experience and level of certification; training is ongoing.

        Instructors are chosen as much for their ability to communicate as for their ability to ski, says Mike Mettler, Perfect North's director of skiing.

        Mrs. Schneider is on target on both counts. Her smile puts never-evers at ease. She's quick with compliments. But she makes sure her students know which skills need more work.

        Some of her students are athletic and can't wait to get on skis. Others, are not-so-athletic and ultra-cautious.

        On this day, her 12:30 session is a mix of children and adults, from 7-year-olds to middle-aged folks. It includes the Muellers, a Houston family visiting relatives in the area. Father Steve and daughters Kelsey, 7, and Nicole, 10, and son Ryan, 11 — all never-evers — have come for lessons.

        After 25 minutes with Mrs. Schneider, they're ready for the towrope. One by one, they grab the moving line, which pulls them up the bunny hill. It's the skier's version of an escalator.

        Ski school, they discover, is about making those first tentative turns. It's about learning to stop. It's about falling down — as Mr. Mueller does — and getting back up.

        And it's about enduring a few minor indignities, such as when Nicole Mueller shouts: “Dad, you've got a big chunk of ice on your butt!”

        At the end of a one-hour lesson, “We hope they're to the point where they feel comfortable on the skis, and they're not afraid anymore,” says Tom Scally, who is the head instructor this day.

        Mrs. Schneider's last duty is to inform the class about the skier's code of responsibility: Don't ski out of control.

        Then she dismisses them; another group will soon be on the hill, ready for a one-hour lesson.

        “That's the bad part,” she says. “You don't really see people afterwards.”

        Unless you are a reporter and can track them down a couple of hours later.

        Michael Downs is staring up at Center Stage, one of the most difficult runs. He hasn't attempted it, but he's made about 15 trips down less steep slopes.

        “After I took my lesson, it got real easy,” he says.

        Over at chair lift No. 2, the Muellers are waiting for a ride. “Dad,” Nicole says, “I'll show you how I can do it now.”

        “They're doing great,” Mr. Mueller says. “Whizzing down like they've been doing it their whole lives.”

        Tracy Giuliani is here, too, after coming off a run called the Far Side. “The first time, I fell twice,” she says. “The second time, I didn't fall at all.”

        In other words, it was darn near perfect.

IF YOU GO
        • What: Perfect North Slopes.

        • Where: Just north of Greendale on Indiana 1.

        • Getting there: Interstate 275 to the Lawrenceburg exit and follow the signs.

        • Open: Seven days a week. A variety of session times and prices is available.

        • Ski school lessons: Group ($8), semi-private ($15) and private ($30) lessons. One-hour group lessons also available as part of a package deal that includes lift and ski rental.

        • Information: www.perfectnorth.com or (812) 537-3754 or 381-7517 (local call in Cincinnati).

       

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