The snow was threatening to fall over Antelope Butte Ski Resort in Shell Canyon as instructor Karl Milner gathered his First Chair students together at the top of the hill.
Madison Mutter, age 7, stared down the Happy Trails ski slope with intensity. She adjusted her goggles and told her instructor she was ready to go.
Standing straight, no poles to slow her down, she slid down the hill. His shouts of encouragement followed her to the bottom where she came to a slow stop. Without pausing, Mutter slid her way over to the Polar Express, the magic carpet that would take up for another pass down Happy Trails.
“We teach them to control their speed, specifically with turn shape, and to fall down before they run into somebody,” Ski Instructor Tim Brown said. “We teach a controlled fall.”
Safety and a skier’s personal responsibility are drilled into all the students before they are even allowed off the Happy Trails ski slope to the Ho Ha Ha Trail, which is the beginner slope.
“It's the hope is that they learn to be aware of their bodies and their surroundings,” said Becca Steinhauer, the Little Bear Ski Club instructor. “This will lead to more control and safer skiing.”
These lessons start the moment the kids put on their skis and mandatory helmets.
With the recent death of a 12-year-old in a preventable accident at a New Hampshire ski area making national news, the staff at Antelope Butte stress that safety comes first. No students are allowed on the lift until they can demonstrate an ability to stop — or to at least do the controlled fall.
Safety On Skis
After struggling to get into his skis, First Chair student Ronin Wichern, 7, is ready for his first slide down Happy Trails. The slope is gentle and he is slightly nervous as he starts his ascent. He makes his first turn and then falls into a soft crash, all the while with instructor Milner shouting encouragement.
“The hardest part of being an instructor is letting them be free to fail,” Milner said as he skied down to help Wichern to his feet. “You got to relax on the technicalities and simplify it. We take itty bitty baby steps sideways and then just let them go.”
The Skier’s Responsibility Code is built into the lessons as each student is drilled on staying safe while still having fun. These are the rules that all skiers should know such as being aware that the skier below you has the right-of-way, not you.
“Before we let them get off of the very beginner hill, they have to demonstrate to us that they can turn and stop,” Snowsports School Director Will Chamber said. “When we're comfortable with their ability to control themselves, then they can go on bigger hills. But they must know that it's their responsibility to avoid somebody in front of them.”
The responsibility code, according to the National Ski Areas Association includes looking uphill to avoid others before starting downhill or entering a trail. You must always stay in control and you must be able to stop or avoid people or objects. They also say it is a skier’s responsibility to stop only where you are visible from above and do not restrict traffic.
Trees Don’t Move
If a skier finds themselves out of control, Ski Instructor Scott Badley says they need to “throw out the anchor” and stop anyway they can without hitting anybody or any obstacle.
Once a student graduates from the First Chair programs and have demonstrated an ability to ski on the big slopes, they can join the Little Bear Ski Club for additional lessons every Saturday. This club is not just for kids, 7 to 17, who want to race but for those that want to join a group of other kids to fine tune their skiing and learn skills they can apply their entire lives on the ski slope.
“My whole goal is really just to get the kids to be better All-Mountain skiers,” Steinhauer said. “It's just getting them anywhere and everywhere on the hill. The goal is to improve their skiing more than anything.”
The emphasis is on safety first to prevent accidents, such as the one that claimed the life of a 12-year-old boy when he crashed into a tree at Cranmore Mountain, New Hampshire.
“They didn't really say much when I was growing up about safe skiing,” Badley said who skied in the club in the 1960s. “But when we started Little Bear Ski Club again, I made it a point to always tell the kids that trees don't move.”
Badley would know. He hit a tree once that was only two and a half inches wide. He said it didn't move, and this small tree knocked the wind out of him and broke a couple of ribs.
“You gotta watch what you're doing and watch your speed,” Badley said. “If the snow gets really slick and icy, you got to be more careful because you can catch an edge and then slide into the tree.”
First Chair student Ronin Wichern, 7, slides down the Happy Trails Ski Slope for the first time at the Antelope Butte Ski Resort. (Jackie Dorothy, Cowboy State Daily) 
It is First Chair student Yeji’s first time on skis, and she is nervous as she slides down the Happy Trails Ski Slope at the Antelope Butte Ski Resort. (Jackie Dorothy, Cowboy State Daily) 
First Chair student Yeji learns the basics of standing on her skis from her instructor S.J. Grote at the Antelope Butte Ski Resort. (Jackie Dorothy, Cowboy State Daily) 
Tucker Alger, 6 years old, is at Antelope Butte Ski Resort with his parents, who are teaching him to snowboard on the Happy Trails Ski Slope. (Jackie Dorothy, Cowboy State Daily) 
First Chair student Madison Mutter, 7, rides the Magic Carpet to slide down the Happy Trails Ski Slope at the Antelope Butte Ski Resort. Operator Jonah Oster watches her progress and is there to assist any who need the help. (Jackie Dorothy, Cowboy State Daily) 
First Chair student Madison Mutter, 7, slides down the Happy Trails Ski Slope at the Antelope Butte Ski. She was excited to go. (Jackie Dorothy, Cowboy State Daily)
Toddlers On Skis
At Antelope Butte, the youngest students are just three years old and when they are first put on the skis, are attentive and nervous. However, it doesn’t take long for them to start grasping the basic concepts and take off in controlled chaos.
“Some of them are super excited, as you can imagine,” instructor Brown said. “Some are tentative and even a little scared about getting hurt. Once you can get them sliding on the snow, they start to appreciate it and come around.”
This year, to get more families on the slope, Antelope Butte has waived the annual pass fee for all kids under 17. The ski resort is a nonprofit and their emphasis is on creating a community of skiers at the resort.
“I grew up with my parents telling me to go outside and play,” Chambers said. “Kids now are a lot more phone and video game oriented, and if parents can bring them here, they can learn to appreciate being outdoors. That's a big part of our goal.”
Badley, who has skied at Antelope Butte since he was 10 years old, agrees.
“That's the thrill of it,” he said. “You're outside and you get that feeling of freedom and control. It's a very social sport. You ski with your friends and your buddies and it's a lot of fun.”
It is also about staying safe and obeying the rules so you can continue to have fun this ski season.
Jackie Dorothy can be reached at jackie@cowboystatedaily.com.
