European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 13, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Things that go think. Continued from Page 3 learn these Maneu vers. Taking away our poles was among the most Clever. Then we Slid Down the Hill with our hands on our Knees stood up with hands in the air then put our hands on our Knees again in a kind of a Hoke Pokey dance. The tumbling team started out with six of us Connie Widhalm fort something and her husband a chief master sergeant from Rhein main a in Germany were among the most senior in the group. Connie a part time sales clerk admitted that until our learn to ski week she had led a pretty sedentary life. On the slopes her husband Dean favored one knee because of an old basketball injury. He had worked at the base gym several times a week for months to build strength in his legs using an electronic Stair machine. Quot skiing is kneeling Quot Dave told us along with How to Edge our skis into the Mountain Stop and turn. The youngest in the group was Kip Baker 13, he had started out the Day saying he Felt pretty dumb in his unfamiliar ski gear but finished up giving the rest of us tips on technique. The rest of the group included Doris Dittell who later admitted that she was afraid of Heights Mark Birnie an air Force staff sergeant from bad sibling Germany and this reporter along for the ride. Most had heard their friends talk about skiing and wanted to Check it out. Quot i can t wait to get Back and write letters just got Back from skiing in Austria Quot Connie said when she skied the gentle incline Back to the bus. It was the or major accomplishment of the Day. She was triumphant. Doris took the next Day off to heal  2 a go High or go Home ski slopes Are marked Blue red and Black for easy intermediate and something Akin to a glacial Cliff. We started on a treacherous stretch that ended in a narrow passage Between two Rushing streams. Well they May not have been Rushing but they were potentially very wet. The Quot training Hill Quot was about 28 Yards High and the length of 2 i football Fields. In Alpine regions it is More commonly called the Quot baby Hill Quot sometimes the Quot idiot Hill Quot a in the states the Quot Bunny  spent the first Day sliding Down a Small Knoll at its base. As far As we were concerned it was the matterhorn. On the second Day we repeatedly staggered higher and higher up this Hill let Loose and collapsed at the Edge of the water. Amazing How creative a person can get when faced with a plunge into Winter White water. A. It was All part of Dave s plan no doubt because we were exhausted and begged to learn How to use the to bar lift to make the ascent easier. This mechanical conveyance uses inverted to attached to kind of coiled bungee cords. They half Sling and Hal drag passengers Uphill. Interestingly even though your feet Are on the ground you can still fall off. Quot Don sit Down. Hold it under your bum Quot Dave s words bounced around in our Heads As the Hill raced under our feet. Odd sensation a sliding Uphill. It did t take Long before we figured out the system the machine pulled us up the Hill and the skis pull us Down. Up Down. Simple. T was just that now we could take a spill going up As Well As Down. By Day s end Dean and Connie took quite a beating. Kip Baker 13, gets some encouraging words from instructor Dave Formby while trying to form a wedge with his skis. Instructor Dave Formby shows Mark Birnie the proper procedure for using a to bar. Day 3 a bumps one experienced skier told me before i set out on this adventure that there Are three basics to learning to ski 1. Buy advil.2. Don t get cold. 3. Don t sweat. Connie and Dean added Quot rub in Ben Gay Quot to the list i told them at an aromatic breakfast that i had also heard that if you survive your third Day on the slopes you will learn to ski. Back on the Hill Doris wore thicker socks and rejoined the group. She quickly made up for the Day she missed and developed her own to bar technique. Holding the bar in front of her she sort of water skied up to the top. Instructor Heather Simms explains to Kip Baker the proper Way to stand up after a fail. The Star of the Day though was Mark who mastered a particularly icy Ridge and worked his Way through poles Dave had set up. He wore Good goggles. All this made for Lively apr amps ski talk at the Lodge where we took our lunch break. Over steaming bowls of homemade soup and dumplings the size of footballs people laughed or moaned about their Sno plow Maneu vers with great sweeping motions of their hands. Day 4 a Blue terror they say terror makes time go faster. In that Case this was a Short Day. We made four trips Down the Blue beginner Hill. In a country where children ski world class continued on Page 6 stripes Magazine january 13, 1994