KELOLAND.com

Flashback Friday: Learning to ski at Terry Peak

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — With more snow on the way, skiers and snowboarders may be looking to get out on the slopes. Some maybe for the first time.

In this week’s Flashback Friday, we take you back to 1982, where several new skiers learned how to hit the hills.

The alpine slopes at Terry Peak offer skiers a challenging outing. The highest ski mountain east of the Rockies was actually covered with gold mines in the 1880s.

Now modern skiers wisk over the powdery trails, while some just wisk along a little slower than others. And for being a group of begining skiers, this group of Black Hills State college students are progressing nicely.

Their instructor hopes to have them ready for the steep slopes around the chair lifts in a couple of sessions. But before that can happen, each skier must master the basic techniques like snowplowing, side-stepping up a hill, turning properly or just getting up after a wipe out.

Most everyone must take a few lumps in learning how to ski.

“What have you found to be the toughest part in learning to ski here?”

“Turning, and the snowplow. The snowplow, learning to stop. I’ve always learned that stop is sit on your rear, that’s the only way I thought. I’m just going, oh! there’s an easier way.”

An estimated 1,500 people will receive ski instruction this winter from the 26 instructors at Terry Peak. The ski school is affiliated with the Professional Ski Instructors of America and has a good track record — only one injury in 33 years.

The workouts for skiers to adopt robot-like habits out on the slopes. Which is important for a beginner who might otherwise panic in a sticky situation.

“I have found that with people that are more fearful, the best thing to do is once they no how to stop, just to let them follow the class, and let them keep going and going, instead of sitting there talking to them cause that’s not really going to help. They need to ski, they need to relax, and that seems to help the most.”

Kevin Jensen, KELOLAND News, Terry Peak.