Elisenda and her ducklings Turoa 28 Sept 2007 Half a dozen ski instuctors were giving lessons at the Wintergarden. Most noticable was a young woman in a bright blue headscarf zig-zagging slowly down the slope with half a dozen four-year-olds following along behind, like ducklings following a mother duck. Laughing and waving, Elisenda Vinas had her charges making french fries, chicken wings and pizza slices, turning the skills of skiing into games. At the ski-tow, she carefully checked her brood's bindings and goggle straps. A parent was on hand to assist his daughter up the poma, but the others confidently rode up by themselves. Halfway through the lesson it was time for a stretch and a rest. "Stretch forward: touch your ski tip. Now lean back." For couple of minutes they sat around her and threw snowballs at a rock target. Then back for more fun on the slope. At the end of the lesson they were carefully re-united with their parents. Elisenda is from Barcelona, Spain, and has been a ski instructor in Europe for seven years. "In summer I sat on top of mountains as a fire watcher; it gave me time to do some university papers." But for the last Northern winter she worked in California to improve her English, and then came on to New Zealand. Other instructors were using the same cheerful appoach. An uncoordinated adult boarder was assisted up the poma, while a little boarder and her instructor did hi-fives when she finally got the front-knee-bent technique right. It was three-o-clock. Elisenda was nursing a sore foot. She was glad to be finished for the day. Then snow-school supervisor Matt Alcock arrived with a request, "There's two more beginners here. Can you do an extra lesson?" Two more ducklings. Soon Eli's blue headband was bobbing up and down, communicating her enthusiasm and energy, her sore feet forgotten. "First make french fries..."