By Jeniel Jacobson
Just as the inches have snow increased in recent weeks, so do the number of skiers anxious to hit up the slopes. Sundance Ski Resort currently works with BYU and UVU, allowing students to register for skiing lessons for class credit.
Each class meets once a week to work on spatial awareness, learn muscle memory and efficiency. Some classes allow their students to review film of their lessons so they can critique themselves and improve from lessons learned the next time. Students are graded on class attendance and their abilities to make safe skiing choices.
One of BYU’s instructors Owen Boyer says there are plenty of athletes who excel at their young adult age, but skiing is a sport people can do their entire lives. Ski resorts all over the country invest in making it economical for young kids and college students to join in classes so they’ll continue to do it well into adulthood. BYU students pack the classes and have increased the turnout rate for ski resorts throughout Utah.
Boyer said he has students of all ages — up until age 75.
“Skiing is a sport anyone can keep up their entire life and not just during young adulthood like college years,” he said.
Boyer has taught skiing safety and technique classes for thirty-four years.
Sixty-four year old Joe Casner, who just took his second lesson from Boyer, said the instructor helped him learn quickly.
“You’re never too old to learn how to ski,” Casner said.
Boyer also emphasized on the importance of making mistakes, despite the school’s important lessons on skiier saftey.
'If you’re not falling, you’re not learning,” Boyer said.
For more information or to sign up for classes, go to the Sundance Ski Resort’s website at: http://sundanceresort.com/