Ski School Director Jean Pavillard developed station teaching at Crested Butte to handle the large numbers of participants in the Learn-to-Ski-Free (LTSF) program. This program was offered for the first time in Crested Butte during three weeks in November and December of 1989. During those weeks, “never-ever” skiers received free ski rental, lessons and lift passes. Discounted ski lessons and lift passes were available to the skiing friends of LTSF skiers.
Using station teaching, new skiers could progress through the 12 stations as slowly or as rapidly as they wanted, without peer pressure. The stations were marked with signs, students had maps of the station system and instructors gave additional directions where needed. When all stations had been completed, students received a graduation certificate and a discount coupon good for additional ski school lessons.
At station one, located inside the base lodge near the ski school desk, a program orientation was given every half-hour in the morning and every hour in the afternoon. Students usually moved through the first four stations as a loose group and then spread out as their self-pacing varied. Steady movement through the stations prevented crowding and created favorable student/teacher ratios, often one to one.
Instructors at the first four stations covered orientation, safety, skier responsibility and skiing basics such as side stepping. At stations five through eight, students learned to ride a chair lift and perform gliding wedges and wedge turns. Instructors at stations eight through eleven introduced advanced topics, including speed control and wedge christies. Station 12 was a skill test, where skiers were asked to demonstrate wedge turns, traverses, stepping and balance.
Most students completed the LTSF program in two days, while some used as many as four days. Students skied an average of five hours per day, compared to four hours per day in regular group lessons, and they finished more skilled than they would have been after an equivalent number of days in group lessons. Program Supervisor Jocelyn Ritti said that most skiers in this program were level “C” skiers (early parallel) after two days, while they would have been level “B” skiers (wedge) after two days of traditional group lessons.
Surveys of LTSF participants indicated that they enjoyed station teaching, would pay for it and would return to Crested Butte to get it. The LTSF program was in operation for only 19 days, during which time about 2,500 students participated in the station teaching.
Crested Butte’s ski instructors also liked station teaching as a change from traditional group lessons. They enjoyed giving the students more individual attention and being able to focus on specific topics. Station one was popular as an opportunity to help the students relax and prepare for skiing.
For the ski school, larger numbers of clients were handled with fewer instructors. Indoor contact with the students at both the beginning and the end of the program provided opportunities to promote additional lessons.
The resort also benefited from the LTSF station-teaching program, which was offered during a normally slow period. Resort advertising easily reached LTSF skiers at several points during their predictable flow through the station teaching system. For contributing free ski rentals and reduced-rate lodging, businesses received advertising exposure. Because LTSF customers could easily schedule ski school time around other activities, business at resort shops and restaurants increased.
Pavillard believes the initial indoor station is the most important one in the entire program. “This is the best opportunity to build confidence in the new skiers and promote the ski area,” he said. But he added: “A disadvantage of station teaching is that it is cost-effective only during busy times. A group of instructors to staff the stations must be paid all day regardless of the number of students in the program.” Normally, during slow periods, the few scheduled classes are split between the instructors and work days are short.
Station teaching was so well accepted that next season Pavillard plans to use it for regular ski school clients during busy times, as well as for future LTSF programs. Students who were pleased with station teaching earlier last season returned to the Crested Butte ski school with friends. The feedback should be even more positive next season.
