By Maggie Dolbow
Correspondent

Goffstown's Gordon McKenney, 72, has been a ski instructor at Pat's Peak since 1967, and shows no signs of slowing down.

"Keep counting noses!"

That's how veteran ski instructor and clinician Gordon McKenney assures himself that all his charges are there as he shepherds and instructs them down the trails of Pat's Peak.

"I line them up, six on one side, and six or seven on the other, and teach in between," he said.

McKenney is 72. His love of the sport and the skiers is apparent as he relates how he came to be an instructor many, many years ago.

Gordon and his wife, Marilyn, who have lived in Goffstown for the last 13 years, moved with their three daughters to Bedford from Massachusetts in 1964, and began skiing at newly opened Pat's Peak.

The whole family became expert skiers, and Marilyn often accompanies Gordon skiing today.

In 1967 the ski school director asked Gordon if he would help teach on weekends.

"I was a little reluctant, but he assured me that they would teach me to teach, and ski better," McKenney said.

He found that he liked teaching, and he continued instructing on weekends until he retired in 1992 from his work as an electrical engineer.

That year and the next he taught almost every day. Even a heart attack in the summer of 1987 did not keep him from the slopes.

He believes that the heart attack was caused by smoking and stress, but going back to skiing "did not hurt," he said. It became part of a changed lifestyle that included weight loss and other exercise. Although McKenney is an expert sailor as well, he added walking as a way to improve his fitness level.

All instructors go to clinics every day prior to the start of ski lessons. They learn the American Teaching System, which is national in scope, and is the program of the Professional Ski Instructors of America. Level two and three certified instructors teach the new ski instructors.

Gordon became level two certified in 1992. This certification entails a three-day exam on the snow, covering ski ability, technical knowledge of equipment and the physics of skiing, and teaching ability, which includes knowledge of learning styles and sequence of skills.

This is a demanding profession, but McKenney's continued motivation is based upon his enjoyment of "teaching, meeting people, and the camaraderie of the ski school and the ability to keep my skiing on top," he said.

Pat's Peak Technical Director Luke Martin said McKenney skied the Boarder Park – an area of multilevel ramps and hills for snowboarders – just the other day.

"He skied that with more enthusiasm, energy and technique than most men half his age," Martin said.

Gordon teaches all levels of skiers, as do all instructors at Pat's Peak. On this morning, he was assigned a group of four Level 3 skiers – two preteen girls, one of their moms and a male adult.

After questioning them about their skiing experiences, he took them up the J-bar for some observation and instruction. With the very briefest of instruction, these skiers were able to turn their skis across the hill. Then they were off to the Valley slope.

Hesitant skiers often pick up speed and confidence in an hour's lesson. Of course, not all classes are as small as this. Many may have up to 15 students. Pat's Peak Ski Area is a family- run business owned by the Patenaude family. This year 9,000 students participated in the after-school program. Bertie Holland, director of the ski schoo,l said her staffers "match any ski school anywhere, including Waterville and Killington."

Their versatility, as well as a high number of PSIA certified instructors, is the reason for the program's reputation.

"Just look at Gordon," she said. "He's 72, and he teaches them all. He never complains – except about the parking!" "My favorite program is the adult program in the a.m.," McKenney said. "I have the same group of students for seven weeks, and we have them for a longer time. Adults ski from 10 to 12 and we have a buffet lunch with our students." He also teaches the afterschool program on Wednesdays, and all groups on Sundays.

He is not the oldest ski instructor at Pat's Peak, but he has been there the longest. When McKenney is your ski instructor, you have 38 years of teaching experience helping you navigate that hill.

McKenney and his wife have skied throughout New England and parts of Canada, as well as the French Alps and Colorado. Besides skiing, his favorite interests are his wife and family, sailing, music and traveling.

Although it may seem as if teaching was something new to Gordon, his work as an electrical engineer for various military defense electronics companies as well as a spokesman for PSNH, often put him into the position of instructor.

But skiing is different. "Skiing is part of keeping active and staying fit, and is a lifetime sport," he said.