Hitting the Slopes Warms the Heart
Reported by Erik Smith
Web produced by Kelly Reynolds

After 30 years on the slopes, Archie still finds a thrill every time goes down a hill Video

Archie is up at daybreak, on the hillside checking his tracks in the freshly groomed snow. Soon his students will be arriving for their lesson.

"If you'll all just stand with your skis flat on the snow," he instructs his students.

He's been teaching over 30 years at Alpine Valley because he wants others to share the thrill it still brings to him at the age of 82.

"I think there's something about the free movement that people experience," he says. "That is being able to fly on their own, be able to move without any propulsion behind them of any kind, be able to take advantage of the grade that's going to take them down the hill without doing anything except turning the skis."

Archie coaches his students: "In this wedge in the snowplow position, we're able to control our speed coming down the hill."

He discovered the joy of skiing in the United States Army back in 1948 and he's been on the slopes ever since.

"When I got out of the army, like in 1947 or 1948, they were starting to ski around here. I got into it and from there on, that was it. Been here going on 30 years here at Alpine," Archie says.

Archie in action working with a student

He doesn't seem to think it's any big deal that he's 82 and still out there challenging the hills. He says he's just a little more mature than some others and he insists anybody can learn to ski regardless of their age.

"Most people think of ski instructors as young dudes that are going to take you up on the mountain and have you jump off moguls and bounce off of hills and stuff like that," he says. "But when they get with a more mature instructor, they gain confidence. We move them along slowly, try not to take them out of their comfort level."

Through teaching, Archie hopes to share the joys of skiing with others

After 32 years of playing in the cold weather, nothing seems to warm Archie's heart more than a good run down the slopes. It's a still a thrill every time he goes down the hill.

"Every time," he says. "Every time."

Click here for more information about Alpine Valley.

[More From the Heart stories]