Skiing the slopes of Telluride: Colorado's Wyndham Mountain Lodge offers the ultimate in resort luxury, while providing some of the finest skiing in the West - Going Places

USA Today (Society for the Advancement of Education), Nov, 2001 by JoAnn Buchbinder

After taking measurements, Dick informed me that my legs are pronated, meaning that they bow slightly. Ideally, one's legs need to be straight over the skis to ensure proper balance. Without that balance, I was favoring my right ski over my left.

To help correct this, I was fitted for custom footbeds by a technician, which required standing in warmed silicon molds for 15 minutes. Knowing that it would take a couple of hours for the footbeds to be made from the molds, Dick led us back to the slopes. Before I started skiing again, he fitted a shim between my right boot and the binding. I could feel the difference immediately. I was now standing straighter over the skis, and I had more control. I tried out a number of different-sized shims until I found the one that felt best.

Dick explained how today's shaped skis virtually turn on their own, and taught me a technique that took advantage of this trait. I had learned to ski a number of years ago, and my style was more suited to the older straight skis, which required a lot of effort to affect a turn. The new skis need much less energy, with turning all about balance. Once I got past my old biases, and with the help of the shims, my skiing improved dramatically.

We skied until my footbeds were ready. Back at Telluride Sports, the technician placed them in my boots. At the same time, the shims were replaced with more-permanent supports. Once I was fully equipped, we continued our lessons and finished the day by comparing before-and-after videotape. I could easily see the improvement in my balance and technique. My equipment felt more comfortable, and another hour of applying the TTS principles gave me a much-better sense of balance and control on the slopes.

JoAnn Buchbinder is a freelance travel writer.