Seeing ski kicked sideways launched mountainous career for Jerry Warren

SUNDANCE — It was not a particularly auspicious start to skiing for Jerry Warren.

As a young teen living in Springville, he sneaked onto a bus headed for Timp Haven, now Sundance, with borrowed skis that were too long, borrowed boots that were too small, and not a clue as to what made skis turn.

He watched, slid around a little and fell a lot.

"Then I saw a man kick his ski sideways, throw up a little snow, and said to myself, 'I can do that' — and I did," he recalled.

Which, it can be said, ultimately led to Warren being the latest recipient of the Professional Ski Instructors Association's Lifetime Achievement Award.

In its 50-year history, involving thousands of instructors over the years, only nine people have earned the honor.

Today Warren is director of mountain operations at Sundance, which covers just about everything that happens on the mountain, including the ski school.

And it is his work with the ski school that has, in part, earned him the most recognition, not only here in the United States, but around the world.

From that adventurous start, Warren would not only learn what made skis turn but would be directly responsible for teaching millions of skiers the finer points for turning.

As PSIA's national vice president of education in the 1980s, Warren co-authored the group's two teaching manuals. He was also the primary author of its alpine ski manuals, which still have a strong influence on skiing and how movements are analyzed. And he was for many years a contributing writer to many of the world's leading ski/snowboarding publications.

It's also a fact that Warren has been and is still recognized today as one of the finest technical skiers in the world.

As a member of the United States' 10-member demonstration team, dating back to 1974, he traveled to ski areas around the world teaching and presenting the American style of skiing. Which was, he remembered, "To show skiing needed to be fun and guest-centered rather than technique-centered. Technique is important, but how quickly people learn and how much fun they have takes precedence."

As a member of the demonstration team, he participated in the first Interski held in Czechoslovakia in 1975, which brought demonstration teams from all over the world. He would ski again in a special winter education festival in 1978 in Japan and the Interski held there in 1979, and the Interski in Canada in 1987.