by A.L.E » Tue Apr 03, 2018 8:17 pm
I took some of my employees for a ski trip to New Zealand in about 2004 and on the way home in Auckland airport one of the guys picked up a skiing magazine. On the back page was an advertisement for Anyone Can Be An Expert Skier book/video. Having not long come back from a completely useless “ski improvement “ camp I had signed up for in Whistler, where the main focus for me was to convert to hip/shoulder stance width, I was immediately drawn to the narrow looking stance of Harald in the advert.
At that same time, I somehow became aware that two Aussie instructors (Peter Stone & Scotty Burns) had adopted the PMTS system and were running camps all winter long up in Fernie Canada. I booked in and took the wife and kids. I actually didn't go on the camp, my wife did and I looked after organizing our three youngsters. On the weekend following the camp, I skied with Peter, Scotty and local instructor Max Sherwood. They asked if I was in the banking industry……I had zero CB!!!!
Scotty Burns had full cert Australian & Canadian badges. He also achieved Black PMTS certification. Peter Stone was a great guy, a very good coach/communicator and I enjoyed skiing with him. He fitted my first pair of aligned boots back in Sydney. Max Sherwood was also a black PMTS guy, he was an awesome skier and came from a racing background. He also happened to be the local Fernie golf pro and fly fishing guide in summer. He had the dream outdoor life.
My first extended time on snow with a PMTS instructor was with Bob Hintermeister in 2007. Bob was a consultant/contributer on the ACBAES books, he has a background in health & movement sciences. Bob is an excellent skier and coach. I had some Colorado days one on one with him. That vacation took in Disneyland for the kids, skiing for two weeks and a week stop off in Tahitii. An awesome trip combo. I doubt all that would have happened without my new found PMTS bred enthusiasm to ski in the USA.
Reading the Epicski forum wars in the early years was fun. The fact Heluva, Geoff & others went from being sceptics to converts, now with immense skiing ability via PMTS, is clear proof who won the war of words.
The only PMTS Harb camp I've been to was up in Big Sky. That trip proved to be more memorable because I met some PMTS skiers who have vacation places in Big Sky, they’ve become firm friends who I visit and stay with regularly. We've had many fantastic days at Big Sky. It's likely certain, had it not been for those friendships then I'd have not skied so much in North America or perhaps immersed myself in PMTS nearly as much over the years.
I've travelled with those Big Sky folk to Colorado for a few sessions with Diana. We've even done a road trip together from Colorado back to Big Sky via Wyoming, ski stopping at Grand Targhee. I’ve travelled from Sydney to PA for one of those friends' 60th birthday a year or so ago. My daughter & wife got to visit New York for the first time as well.
PMTS led me to meeting fellow Aussie, Monsterman (Geoff) from the forum. He’s a funny bloke. We travelled to Colorado a few times early in the seasons for some boot work and skiing with Harald. Monsterman has been to numerous Hintertux camps.
A mate of mine, who I’ve never skied with, is going to Hintertux next week with his son. They’d done many days in Whistler/Europe under ski school instruction and he sent me some video. I told him he was destined to be forever on the same ordinary intermediate platform he was on, regardless of how many more lessons he paid for but there was a way out called PMTS.
TBH, my PMTS skill set is not quite where I'd like it to be yet but given I only ski a couple of weeks a year it's become reasonably passable. I think I’ve made big improvements this recent two weeks in Telluride. In Australia, I rarely ski because my kids winter team sports always got in the way. I also still play competitive soccer in winter, something I’ve done now for 48yrs. In my 20s I played semi-professionally. A couple of teammates went on to play for Australia and at high levels in Europe. Last year I organized my team to compete in the World Masters Games in Auckland. Those events are huge fun and very competitive. The next one is in Japan in 2021.
On the hill, I get asked every now and again if I am a ski instructor, LOL. I’m sure plenty of PMTS skiers get asked the same thing. Perhaps its because we ski differently and certainly more elegantly than many of the golf cart looking ski instructors. It happened again in Telluride a few weeks ago. This time it was a ski instructor who stopped with his student. He told me he’d been watching me from the lift and wanted to know if I’d done any instruction before. I jokingly said I would like to. Picking up on the accent he said 20% of Telluride instructors were from Oz and NZ and I’d fit in. He was curious about the narrow stance and said I’d need to widen it up for their coaching. Or perhaps he just stopped by to tell me I needed a lesson!!! Hahahaha
I don’t think I saw a ski instructor in two weeks in Telluride on skis under 85+mm in width, so I’d guess teaching tipping wasn’t a major part of the curriculum. I know the ski rental shops in Telluride barely carry any skis under 84mm either.
Having bought the instructor’s manual, I’ve gained further understanding and enjoy teaching a few friends. The results are immediate. One footed balance to eliminate the stem works every time. I own all the online videos, books, DVDs. I've given away copies of the books to a few clients as well.
I’ve skied with a few of the Summit County crew. I must say Geoff Da stands out as someone who’s skiing improved from a pretty average standard when I first saw him ski, fast forward perhaps 3 seasons when I next skied with him and the difference was absolutely massive. His written skills here on the forum are equally impressive.
I skied for a day with Irwin Hamilton up in Whistler and his skiing is very impressive. Another trip last year I skied with forumite Co_Steve in Snowmass, he too skis very, very well.
What I enjoy the most about PMTS skiing is the knowledge it brings, I understand how to make a turn, very few on the mountain have a clue. And doing drills, at any speed, is a joy not a chore. This allows me to enjoy spending time with friends who are slow skiers on slopes that suit them.
I’m planning next season’s schedule now, new boots and liners from the shop as a start, I’m contemplating doing the bump camp, a few days in Snowmass, two weeks in Telluride with family & friends and a couple of weeks in Big Sky. It would be an unprecedented length of time on snow for me. With an Epic Pass in hand for USA, I’ll do some days down in Perisher Valley in Australia since it’s also on the Epic pass. Perisher resort (the biggest in Australia by area) was bought by Vail Resorts a few years ago. The attraction for Vail Resorts was that Australians spend a million ski days a year in Nth America. No doubt Epic Pass affiliated mountains get more of that traffic.
Harald & Diana have so much to be proud of and to be thanked for. They have added so much enjoyment to so many peoples’ lives. And not just for skiing. The number friendships they have indirectly instigated would be countless.