Volume 3, Number 1
February 28, 2002

Contacting pmts.org

Need to contact the pmts.org office? We don't yet have a telephone, but we're here and ready to help! Diana Rogers is processing all member applications and questions, event registration, orders, etc., so we have changed the mailing address to get things to her more quickly.

The best contact method is via e-mail, at
info@pmts.org

The next best way is to call Harb Ski Systems at (303)567-4663. They will relay your inquiry to the correct individual.

The slowest way, but still functional, is to send us traditional mail. The address is...
pmts.org
c/o Diana Rogers
PO Box 111
Dumont, CO 80436

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Realities of the Wedge, by Harald Harb

Every so often someone sends me an excerpt from a ski forum on the Internet. You can guess at my amusement when I saw what was being discussed in this particular thread. I had just returned from a week in the Florida Keys, fly-fishing for Bonefish, so my mind was clearly not on skiing. By the way, the fishing wasn't that great - wrong time of year - but then again, catching isn't the main reason for fly-fishing in the first place.

I understand a thread on a ski forum was started where a skier asked, "What's the difference between GLM and PMTS Direct Parallel?" At first, many thoughtful and accurate responses were given before the Traditional concepts of skiing were again served up by a few instructors as the requisite way of learning to ski.

In an attempt to combat the blatant misrepresentation of "PMTS Direct Parallel", I offer these comments. The "System", PMTS Direct Parallel does not teach the wedge. The reasons are clear and important. The wedge keeps skiers from learning rapidly. The wedge and its progressions used by traditional systems worldwide are flawed and create flaws that continue to limit skiing progress in beginning and intermediate skiers. We call them "Dead-end Skills". In fact, the wedge progressions are what keep skiers at intermediate levels.
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Those who still defend the wedge have yet to study, understand, use and be properly trained in the power of the effective alternative. Let me make clear that I don't blame instructors. I know they have allegiances and commitments to other organizations, time constraints and financial considerations limiting their motivation for further training. These are all valid reasons for not moving ahead or pursing education. Some instructors feel threatened and defiant of other approaches that challenge their way of thinking. I respect everyone's right to have these feeling and emotions, but it doesn't stop me from challenging the current systems and telling the truth about the differences. I also have the right to disseminate information and the public has the right to decide what is the superior product in ski teaching.

As many of you know, my company, Harb Ski Systems, offers ski camps employing PMTS Direct Parallel. PMTS has been used in over four hundred thousand lessons in the past four years. In our ski camps, week after week, we are virtually undoing the movement mistakes skiers learned from the wedge and other traditional instruction. The most common comments made by skiers after attending Harb Ski Systems Camps are: "I cannot believe they are still teaching the wedge." and "I will never take another traditional lesson." It is very frustrating to skiers when they discover they have been led down the wrong trail.

Shaped skis have changed the playing field. The wedge and its enhancements are unnecessary components if an accelerated teaching system using shaped skis is desired. However, if someone wants to learn the wedge, they should use traditional skis. The wedge is easier, and control with it will be better, on traditional skis.
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The proponents of PMTS Direct Parallel unequivocally understand and acknowledge that a wedge stance may result, even when skiers are taught "Direct Parallel". Often, the torque created through leg alignment twists the skis to a wedge. In fact, many humans cannot control the inward rotation of the femur in balancing situations on skis. Many intermediate skiers have difficulty standing in balance on one ski without skidding the ski tails. Standing on one ski is part of an overall, comprehensive, on-snow balance assessment done with every PMTS Direct Parallel student. The wedge and its many stages of development make this situation worst. The wedge is already a pre-internally-rotated position of both femurs and it accentuates and ingrains this predicament in beginning skiers. Therefore, not only does the "PMTS Direct Parallel" system teach "Direct Parallel", but it also incorporates alternatives to reduce and undo the influences of beleaguered rotary movements and wedge maneuvers.

The defense I often hear from traditional instruction is, "We teach the gliding wedge not a braking wedge." True, a gliding wedge is better than a braking wedge, because it is closer to parallel. A braking wedge is acknowledged even by traditionalists to be hard to unlearn once you become dependent on it. It is naive to believe that a beginner will stay in a gliding wedge until they become parallel. The gliding wedge, which is often suggested as the "saving grace" of the wedge progression, is discarded by beginners for the reliable, bracing, defensive wedge as soon as they move from the beginner slopes to even slightly more difficult terrain.

Ski teaching has moved on; soon skiers will be able to differentiate between instructors who have pursued alternatives. Skiers are already asking for PMTS lessons at the major resorts. Remember to remind your friends and clients who want a PMTS Direct Parallel lesson to ask for an Accredited PMTS Instructor, to get the "Real Thing".
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Harald Harb is a pmts.org trainer and the originator of the PMTS Direct Parallel system

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Congratulations to Mid-Season, 2001-2002 Accredited Instructors

We had a mid-season accreditation at Sunburst, Wisconsin, in January. I hope the snow lasts long enough that all the participants can put their training to work with happy skiers! Congratulations to...

Blue Level...
Erich Krausser (Wilmot, WI)

Green Level...
Scott Arbit (Sunburst, WI), Nancy Barnett (Sunburst & Blizzard, WI), Gloria Gabriel (Sunburst, WI), Brent Heimann (Cascade, WI)

Good job, and have fun teaching!

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What We Share, by Kim Peterson

(This article is an excerpt, and follows after the segment in December's newsletter. Further articles will appear in upcoming newsletters, and the full text will reside in the PMTS.org library. -Ed.)

Sharing Meaning

At first glance, it may appear that sharing words and sharing meaning are the same thing. The two are certainly related. Both words and meaning are individual and symbolic. In their fundamental state, words are ink on paper or sound waves that vibrate your eardrum. Meaning is only communicated in symbols. You can't really transmit or impose meaning on another person. Sharing meaning may encompass sharing words…but not always. When we share words, we share understanding (at least our understandings overlap); when we share meaning, we share experience. Meaning isn't found in words; it's found in people.

Here are some examples of words that have more than one meaning:
1. Skis: may be water, or snow skis.
2. Sliding: may indicate a preferable activity on a slide or a horrifying activity on an icy road.
3. Poles: can include fishing, telephone, or fence poles.
4. Rotation: could be a pitcher's turn to pitch or what the earth does.
5. Engage: might be what you do before you get married or putting your lawn mower in gear
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One of the common applications of this principle haunts my lessons. After students make reasonably good turns, I ask them how they accomplished the turn. Regularly, students reply that they turned their knees. Sometimes I ask them if their knees are still intact. Subsequently, I point out to them that our knees really don't turn all that much. Interestingly, for the guests, femur rotation means knee rotation. Here's another example. Have you ever noticed what happens when you invite guests to put their skis across the fall line? Quite regularly, they will orient their skis parallel with the base of the mountain or parallel to the lodge where they started. Sometimes, students will still slide backwards because of multiple pitches and variable fall lines. To some students, "downhill" means the base of the mountain.

In addition to words, meaning can be shared in other ways. Many students may conclude that falling is bad. Helping them discover that falling can stop them from hitting trees may cause the meaning of falling to change. Some students judge their skiing ability by how narrow a stance they can create in their parallel skiing. Helping those students discover the stability of a functional stance may cause them to create new meaning. Frequently, students are motivated by moguls and bored with groomed runs. Helping those students practice mogul movements on groom runs may alter the meaning of groomed runs on their behalf.
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Like words, meaning seems to be shared on a continuum:

Once again, a balance between their meaning and my meaning is preferable. If the experience were heavily weighted toward my meaning, guests would undoubtedly leave confused. If the experience focused exclusively on their meaning, there would likely be no growth. If we truly want to share meaning, we have to be willing to both create new meaning and acknowledge old meaning in our students.

The following guidelines will promote the possibility of shared meaning:
1. Create opportunities for guests to demonstrate (usually in their skiing) what concepts mean.
2. Acknowledge guests' pre-conceived meanings.
3. Construct meaning as part of the shared experience.
4. Be open to allowing students to create new meaning for you.
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I remember the student who associated fear with speed and fast turns. Despite all my explanations about creating friction, maintaining balance, completing turns, and pressuring her outside foot, the thought of speed still petrified her. On a chairlift ride, we talked about her other interests. I was surprised to discover that she loved to ride her touring bike…and that she loved to ride it fast. On the next run we talked about how difficult it was to balance on her bike when she was riding slowly and how a little momentum seemed to make balancing easier. With renewed determination, she added a little momentum to her skiing. To her delight, she felt much more comfortable than when she was constantly starting and stopping. In this case, speed had a new meaning.

The miracle of shared meaning exceeds my understanding of a guest's fear or their trust of my expertise. In fact, shared meaning creates new meaning both for me and for the guest. I get to be a witness to their discovery; they get to mediate my knowledge in a new forum.
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Kim Peterson is a PMTS trainer and the developer of Student Directed Ski Instruction™

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Tyrol Basin, WI, hosts Spring Fling and Green/Blue Accreditation

Tyrol Basin, Wisconsin, a Licensed PMTS Direct Parallel® ski school, is hosting a Spring Fling and Green and Blue-level Accreditations, March 8-10. It's not too late to enroll!

The Spring Fling takes place Saturday and Sunday (Mar. 9-10), with a casual reception Friday night. Have two days of training and fun for a mere $25 ($40 for non-members). The more, the merrier, so please invite all your instructor, patrol, and race friends. Non-members are welcome to attend.

The Accreditation takes place Friday through Sunday. Both Green and Blue levels are being offered (you must currently be Green-level accredited, in good standing, to try for the Blue level). Accreditation candidates are also welcome at the Friday night reception.

Click here to view the Adobe pdf flyer (12 kb, Adobe Acrobat reader required)

Tyrol Basin is located in Mt. Horeb, Wisconsin, about 25 minutes west of Madison. Lodging is available in West Madison.

To enroll in either the Accreditation or the Spring Fling, please contact Mel Brown (melski10@aol.com) or Kris Kruse-Elliott (kruse@svm.vetmed.wisc.edu)

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2002 Season Finale - April Accreditations at Loveland, Colorado

April at Loveland brings the full slate of training events: Accreditation & Maintenance Accreditation (Green through Black), and Trainer's Training. The dates for each event are...

April 14-15 (Sun - Mon): Trainer's training
April 17-20 (Weds - Sat): Accreditation
April 18-19 (Thurs - Fri): Maintenance Accreditation

Please send us your enrollment forms 3 weeks before the events to guarantee space.

Any instructors contemplating Trainer's Training? Let us know what you'd like to see at that event - whether you currently train instructors in PMTS Direct Parallel or are going to do so in the near future.

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Administrative Corner

Hello, members!

As the snow falls here in Colorado, and we prepare for a busy March and April, it's hard to imagine that the season may be drawing to a close in the Midwest and East. To all you non-Westerners hoping to extend your season, consider coming to a training event out in Colorado. To really stretch your season, come to the International Instructor College in Hintertux, Austria, May 6-10.

If you can't come out West and stretch your season, then we wish you a happy summer. Keep in mind the workout program on our website (http://www.pmts.org/ind_fit.htm). Keeping in shape over the summer will improve your skiing next season.

Drop us a line sometime. Tell us what you'd like to see in term of clinics or other activities. If you don't tell us, we may not be able to read your minds to find out what you're thinking!

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Maintenance Accreditation Reminder

We'd like to remind all Accredited Instructors of the requirements to maintain your Accreditation. To stay current, an accredited instructor must attend two, two-day clinics every three years. One of these two clinics must be a "Maintenance Accreditation". (Please read the full text on the website: http://www.pmts.org/accmaint.htm )

Last July, we sent out letters to all Accredited Instructors who need to attend a Maintenance Accreditation this season or early next in order to remain current. Here's another reminder.

• Instructors accredited during the 1997-1998 ski season will be required to attend a Maintenance Accreditation or full Accreditation during the 2001-2002 season to maintain their accreditation status.
• Instructors accredited during the 1998-1999 ski season will be required to attend a Maintenance Accreditation or full Accreditation by the end of December, 2002, to maintain their accreditation status.

If you do not attend the required events, you WILL NOT remain accredited. So, instructors accredited from Silver Creek, Telluride, and Wilmot back in 1998, please contact the PMTS.org office and let us know when you plan to attend an accreditation. If we get enough interest from our Midwest instructors, we may be able to schedule an event back there. Otherwise, the Loveland, CO, event, April 18-19, is your last option.

You can send us an e-mail or call us, at 303-567-4663.

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