European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - March 1, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Me my new own ready to teat their a la Ace. The Bunny slope stories and photos by Wendy Bourland staff writers Kiing is an Art lorm. Anyone who used to watch Jean Claude Killy and friends on Abc s wide Worldon sports sunday afternoons can Tell you 1hat, i started following the olympic skiers on sports As e 6-year-old, but that scene in the show s introduction you know where the ski jumper takes the Nasty fall kept me away from the slopes for he next 20 years. I was relieved to learn thai the instructors at the armed forces recreation Center ski resort in Garmisch Germany Don t expect first timers to be Artsy Ellof Hess skiers. They know the Glamour comes later. Learning to ski is work alter All before you can Zigzag Down powdery slopes before you buy that snazzy designer ski suit it s a Good idea to be Able to walk turn and Stop with those Long planks on your feel. Mastering these simple moves is work work that takes the first two Days of a live Day beginner class. When do we ski complained one beginner the first Day of a recent class. All we do is  the complainer s instructor a sunny German woman named Ilka it Zwerle Lold her Crew of 13 they were going to spend Yel another Day walking in skis making stops called Snow lows. And making simple turns also called Snow lows because the ski lips Are Kepi together and the heels Are spread apart. Beginner i trudge monday through Friday from arc s Hosberg ski Lodge through the parking Tot and across the children s yield where German kids Are instructed next to life size cutouts of foghorn leghorn Sylvester the cat and . Then Over a Small wooden Bridge crossing a Frozen Creek to another Field of Small Hills. They plod along in Bulky ski boots Helling the unfamiliar weight of skis on their shoulders. When they arrive at the Field 10 Manulas later several Are out of breath. Then the work begins make a bigger wee1 Elka shouted dozens of limes every Day As she urged skiers to Widen the vol their Snow lows while turning and stopping. By the end of the second Day most of us had discovered Muscles never before used. I take aspirin in the morning in he afternoon and at night said Carol Palmer. Her husband Bob who is assigned to a South in Naples Italy was in an advanced class. Carol said she and her iwo children had come to Garmisch to learn How to ski because in Italy instruction is offered Only in italian. And if they 8kt like they drive i Don t want them to teach me to ski she said roiling her eyes and laughing. Ilka watched her students fidgeting with boots and rubbing sore arms and legs. Day two is the Day she said when people Start dropping out. Some skiers go bandaged by ski medics in the Hausberg ski Lodge first Aid of lace that Day. The bandages provided extra padding Between the leg and Boot where Many had developed raw spots. Others changed their ski boots the most important piece of equipment Lor better tils that did t chafe Ankles or agonize tender shins. Some did both. Somebody should have watched Over us while we were pulling them on to make sure we got the right ones said Lou car in the class with her husband roman who is assigned to Safe Headquarters Al Ramstein As. But nobody quit. Alter two Days of stopping and turning it Werth s group graduated to the beginner or Bunny slopes. Real skiing at last one woman was tempted to quit wednesday. Iraj jul i Ner classmates were urging each other on with you can do its and a alays. Another source of motivation kept her going. -. I d go Back to the hotel today if my husband. Was t Here Martene Matthews said after three Falls in. That Many minutes. I m frustrated her husband de assigned to the 6th in 10th arty72nd Field arly brigade in Bamberg was skiing in an advanced class. He d kill me Iii gave up she said. By the end of the third Day most had successfully conquered the Bunny slope made icy by a Lack of Snow during the week and below freezing temperatures. The 3-Minule trip Down the Hill faced. Wilh fear earlier that Day was fun now two or three people even stayed after the class ended at 3 30 per. It s hard to believe How far we be progressed said Dennis Gary assigned to the 10lh attack helicopter in in Hillesheim Germany. An advanced beginner class skier he had come to Garmisch with his Wile Kathy who placed in the beginner level. Kathy who had taken More than her share of alls. The first two Days in the Fields was enjoying herself by wednesday. Dennis was pleased because he had. Finally talked his wife into skiing with him after 13 years of marriage. Although a twisted ankle Cut her skiing Short thursday Kathy was pleased with her vacation. The instruction is excellent she said though she had seen some classes lose Many beginners. It All depends on the instructor and in the class is. Supportive of each  despite the encouragement some beginners were unnerved Friday morning As they filed up the Mountain by Cable car to an easy slope just below the Al Spitz the second highest Peak in the bavarian Alps. This slope they d heard made the Bunny Hill look like a Page 14 the stars and stripes