Following is one of many acceptable lesson plans that you will see to teach adults. It is the responsibility of each individual instructor to evaluate this plan and others they see to determine what will work for them. The general guide lines that all lesson should follow are:

• Keep the students under conditions where they are safe and feel safe.
• The lesson plan should focus on using the terrain, traversing, to control speed rather than just the brute force, breaking wedge.

LESSON PLAN OVERVIEW:

The goal of the Adult learn to ski lesson is "To get the adult sufficiently comfortable with their skis so that they can comfortable go up and down the beginners lift." The reason for selection of this as the goal is:

• Many students set this as a goal for themselves.
• Students that have reached this goal have gotten to a point where they can get in lots of mileage so that they will see lots of improvement with a reduction in their energy expenditure.

To meet the goal, the student will be taught how to traverse and turn up hill to stop. How too sidestep / sideslip steeper slopes and how to do a star turn to change directions. Once the student is comfortable with these skills the student will be able to go up the chair and get down to where they feel comfortable to develop additional skills without the effort of repeatedly having to climb the hill. Note even side slipping, on one ski, half way down the slope is easier than sidestepping up half the slope.

The progression to meet this goal is six steps:

• Introduction
• Boots only (on a slope)
• One ski only (on a gradual slope - Single ski always on downhill foot.)
• Two skis, on the flat
• Two skis, on a gradual slope
• Riding the chair and coming down.

THE INTRODUCTION:

The introduction is the most important part of the lesson.

• It starts with the introduction of yourself to your students, followed by the learning of their names.
• Follow this with determination of their goals for the lesson. You already have your lesson plan but it will give you and the rest of the students an idea of how aggressive the group is and who to watch for signs of fear.
• Give them an overview of the lesson with an emphasis on the fact that your desire is to make them feel comfortable and safe at all times. If at any time they do not, you want to know, so that the class can be moved to a location where they feel safe. For when a person does not feel safe they will not be able to learn new skills.
  • Let them know that the lesson is going to start up on a steep slope so that they can understand, see and feel the concepts but with no skis on.
  • That the lesson will move down onto a very gradual slope when they first get to feel the slip and slide of just one ski with the security of having the second foot free.
  • From there the lesson will move down onto the flat for their first experience of both skis on. That way they do not have to worry about skiing off out of control and running into something.
• Finish up with a visual check of their equipment and attire, and informing them about altitude sickness.

THE STUDENTS TECHNICAL DEVELOPEMENT:

The second step "Boot only exercises" is optimally done on a steeper portion of the beginner's hill to allow them to know what to expect at the end of the lesson before they get there with two skis on. Make sure the students know that they will be moving down to flatter terrain before they will be putting skis on. It also provides the student visual feedback that matches your verbal explanations of terminology that they will be learning. Such as falline, uphill edge, skis across the falline with their upper body facing down the hill, always turning looking down the falline, etc.

The third step "One ski only exercises" is optimally done on a gradual slope, no more than 30 to 40 feet from the flats. The single ski allows student to experience the slipperiness of the skis with the added security of having one foot free to help with balance or braking. The gradual slope allows the student can get a feeling of the edges digging in and releasing . No more 30 to 40 feet from the flats provides the security on knowing that they are not going to go out of control at 100 miles and hour into the crowd below. The single ski is always on the downhill foot, if on a gradual slope, or on the outside foot if done in a circle on the flats. In either case this does the best job of having them work the inside edge of the ski, which is the most important at this level of skiing.

The forth step "Two skis on the flat" is done on the flat so that the students skis will not go anywhere unless they push themselves. Thus the student can continue to be comfortable.

The fifth step "Two skis on a gradual slope" allows the student to feel gravity pull then down the hill with the security of the flat for run out it they were to loose control.

Steps 2 through 5 of the progression repeatedly use the same four exercises to build and refine the student's skills rather than continually expose them to new ones that they might not see the connection between. The four exercises are:

• Two handed Tug of War
• Side-step / side-slip / traverse
• Star turn
• Rising up and forward to a wedge.

CONCLUDE THE LESSON WITH A BOOST TO THE STUDENT'S EGO:

• How to approach and load the chair.
• How to safely unload a chair
• How to check what kind of runs come down from the chair.
• The safety code.

Optimally you will get to cover all this information with your students, then take them up the chair and down. Do not take students up that you do not feel can do it or ones that feel they are not ready to do it.

The lift is short enough that you could take those students that are ready, up the chair and down it once, with those not ready watching from below. Be sure to ask those students not going up if it is all right to take those up that are ready.

Properly planning your first run down from the chair is critical to building your students confidence.

• Pick your starting point so the first traverse is a long one.
• If a turn is required to get the first traverse started in the right direction. Do it on the flat, at the top, back from the edge before the student gets on the slope.
• Side-slip or side-step down if needed to prevent the student from having to traverse or worse yet stop and turn on a steep part.
• At the first sign of fear have a student take off one ski to allow them to get down to something that they are comfortable on.
• The first turn on the slope should be planned for a gradual slope location.
• Set the decent rate so that the student's speed is controlled, that may mean that they are pushing a lot with their poles.
• Once at the bottom congratulate them on there accomplishment. Have then look back up at the hill they just came down.

Time allowing, additional runs can be made up and down the chair. Focus on your weaker students, have your better students continue to traverse the hill and turn up hill to stop, as they become more comfortable, they can start each traverse with there skis pointing a little more down the slope. With no additional direction after a few successful runs they will start to turn down and across the fall line on there own.

Close the class with a congratulation on their accomplishments, and invite them back for another lesson the next time they come up.

EXERCISE DESCRIPTIONS:

TWO HANDED TUG-OF-WAR

This exercise:

• Starts with and explanation of the term falline.
• The students are then paired up with one standing up the falline from the other.
• The uphill student is the skier.
• The down hill student is there to act as gravity.
• The student acting as gravity, never has any skis on.

The skier stands:

• With both their feet pointing in the same direction across the falline.
  • Tell the students that if their feet are pointing this direction it will be the easiest to control their speed, whether standing still or moving.
• Upper foot slightly ahead.
  • The upper foots main purpose is balance.
  • More weight should be on their down hill foot
  • That weight on the downhill foot more towards the toes.
  • The weight on the uphill foot should be more toward the heel.
• Feet about 6 inches apart (To further improve balance)
• Holds both hands of gravity, whom is student directly down the falline from the skier.
  • Gravity is keeping the skier's body facing down the hill. This allows the skier's body to form the angles required to control their skis.
• Relax their ankles allowing the shin of the down hill leg to rest on the front of the boot.
  • This makes it easier to roll the knees and hips into the hill while keeping the head and shoulder over the skis to make the down hill ski's uphill edge dig in. The skier can also stand tall and roll the knees down the hill to release the edge. The knee are the skiers fine control.
• The skier should now sink down moving their butt into the hill, while keeping their head out over their skis. They should feel the pressure build on the downhill foot as the uphill edge of the downhill ski digs in as they pull against gravity.
• Next the students stand tall and roll their down hill knee down the hill. This flattens the ski onto the snow and allowing it to slide sideways.

Point out to the students that this control of the uphill edge of the downhill skis combined with pressuring specific parts of the ski and some rotary movements ski will give then control of their skis.

Focus for boots only:

• It is best to be on a slope at this time so they can understand the concepts of:
  • Skis across the falline
  • Uphill foot forward
  • Feet 6 inch apart.
  • Uphill edge digging in prevents sliding.
  • Flattening out the ski by rolling the knee down the hill will allow ski to slide side-ways Focus on downhill foot sliding and uphill foot being used for balance.

Focus for one ski only:

• Emphasis skis across hill to keep it from taking off.
• Emphasis relaxing the ankle to allow the shin to rest on the front of the boot.
• Have then feel how the ski wants to stay put as they sink in the uphill edge of the ski if their weight is on the tip but how it wants to squirt out if there weight is back.
• Have them stand tall to allow the edges to release.
  • If their weight is centered the ski will slide sideways.
  • If their weight is forward the tips will break free first.
  • If their weight is back the tails will break free first.

• Emphasis that even on a flat they have to pick an uphill side and keep that foot slightly ahead.
• Emphasis that even on a flat that they have to keep their weight over that down hill foot.

• Focus on skis across the falline keeping the upper body facing down the hill.
• Review overall proper body position.

SIDE-STEP / SIDE-SLIP / TRAVERSE

The key to all three of these movements is:

• Understanding that skis will not slide forward or backward it they are kept across the falline.
• The skis will not slide sideways if the uphill edge is dug in
• The easiest way to keep the skis across the fall line is to keep the upper body facing down the falline.

Focus for boots only:
Sidestep up the hill:

• Keeping the skis across the fall line and the upper body facing down the falline.
• Digging in the up hill edge of the down hill edge when side-stepping.
• Emphasis hand / pole / upper body position.

• Keeping the skis across the fall line and the upper body facing down the falline.
• Pressure on down hill ski.
• Rising and allowing the ski to flatten to slide.
• Keeping hands apart to keep from running into your poles.

• Keeping the skis across the fall line and the upper body facing down the falline.
• Pressure on down hill ski.
• Rising and allowing the ski to flatten to slide / settling to get edge to set.
• Keeping up hill foot ahead.

Focus for one ski only:
Side-step up the hill:

• Keeping the skis across the fall line and the upper body facing down the falline.
• Digging in the up hill edge of the down hill edge when side-stepping.
• Emphasis hand / pole / upper body position.

• Keeping the skis across the fall line and the upper body facing down the falline.
• Pressure on down hill ski.
• Rising and allowing the ski to flatten to slide.
• Keeping hands apart to keep from running into your poles.

• In this exercise make sure that the students are traversing down and across the hill at a sufficient angle so that they have to break with there free foot, not push. Note what happens to body position when they push with their free foot.
• Pressure on tip down hill ski.
• Rising and allowing the ski to flatten to slide / settling to get edge to set.

Focus for two skis on the flat:
Side-step up the hill:

• Keeping the skis across the fall line and the upper body facing down the falline.
• Digging in the up hill edge of the down hill edge when side-stepping.
• Emphasis hand / pole / upper body position.

• Keeping the skis across the fall line and the upper body facing down the falline.
• Pressure on down hill ski.
• Rising and allowing the ski to flatten to slide.
• Keeping hands apart to keep from running into your poles.

• Keeping the skis across the fall line and the upper body facing down the falline.
• Pressure on down hill ski.
• Rising and allowing the ski to flatten to slide / settling to get edge to set.
• Keeping up hill foot ahead.
• Focus on majority on weight on big toe of down foot. Uphill foot is mainly for balance.

Focus for two skis on a gradual slope:
Side-step up the hill:

• Keeping the skis across the fall line and the upper body facing down the falline.
• Digging in the up hill edge of the down hill edge when sidestepping.
• Emphasis hand / pole / upper body position.

• Keeping the skis across the fall line and the upper body facing down the falline.
• Pressure on down hill ski.
• Rising and allowing the ski to flatten to slide.
• Keeping hands apart to keep from running into your poles.

• Keeping the skis across the fall line and the upper body facing down the falline.
• Pressure on down hill ski.
• Rising and allowing the ski to flatten to slide / settling to get edge to set.
• Keeping up hill foot ahead.
• Focus on majority on weight on big toe of down foot. Uphill foot is mainly for balance.

STAR TURN

Focus for boots only:

• Poles planted straight down hill at least shoulder width apart.
• Palms of hands on top of pole
• Elbows locked
• Poles and arms are aligned to minimize muscle strength required.

Focus for one ski only:

• Have the student stop when single ski is pointing straight down the hill and see if they can hold themselves in place.

Focus for two skis on the flat:

• Going from little wedges to big wedges
• Keeping tips between poles when pointed down hill.

Focus for two skis on a gradual slope:

• Focus on the straight arms
• Keeping tips between poles when pointed down hill.

RISING UP AND FORWARD TO A WEDGE

Focus for boots only:

• Do this exercise with your students facing down the hill so that both feet will respond similarly if possible.
• Have students rock up onto the toes of their boots and move the heals apart, note how easy it is to do.
• See if your students can balance on there toes without the use of there poles.
• Have students rock back onto their heels and then try to move their heels apart. Not easy
• Have students stand flat-footed and try to move there heels apart without their toes coming closer together.

Focus for one ski only:

• Start with ski across falline.
• Have them rise up and forward and move feet into wedge.
• Have them do it with lots of edge
• Have then do it with little edge.

Focus for two skis on the flat:

• Add motion to the action by starting in a straight run and then rising up and forward to a wedge then stop.
• Have them experiment with it both going across the falline and down the falline.
• Have them try to pressure on ski tip more than the other to get the skis to turn.

Focus for two skis on a gradual slope:

Depending on the confidence level of your students you can:

• Vary this from learning to do a wedge from a traverse.
• To learning to do a wedge straight down the hill.
• To learning to use the wedge to do a turn.