Stephanie Ryan never gave downhill skiing a thought, even though she lives in the Olympic village of Lake Placid in the heart of the Adirondack Mountains.

Then she heard about the ski school at Whiteface Mountain.

In the past seven years, the school has taught thousands of people to do what once was unthinkable – parallel ski in a single day. And at Whiteface, no less. The mountain, which hosted the 1980 Winter Olympics, boasts the biggest vertical drop in the East at more than 3,400 feet.

“We can teach a monkey,” said Ed Kreil, the ski school director who devised the “Parallel From the Start” program. “It really is that easy. I have seen people who can barely walk or see become avid skiers. People over 70 learn how to ski.”

The secret lies in using short skis – only 3 feet long – and no poles.

“Fifteen years ago, half the lesson-takers usually quit before the first lesson was half-done,” said Mr. Kreil, a native of Germany. “The problem with most people is that ski shops put them on too long of a ski. People have to learn to cater down to shorter skis. More people would have fun if they experienced a shorter ski.”

One day last winter, Ms. Ryan and two friends – all in their 20s and not a skier among them – joined instructor Mark Sperling at the base of the mountain for their first lesson.

Mr. Sperling, who helped develop the program, is adept at making his pupils feel comfortable right from the start.

“Everything we do will be safe. If it’s not safe, we won’t do it,” Mr. Sperling said, standing atop more than 3 feet of newly fallen snow.

“Now, what I want you to do now is stand up straight. Perfect posture. Here’s the technical part. I want you to flump into your boots,” he said.

Flumping, for the uninitiated, involves keeping the knees a little bent and the shoulders a little rounded.

So far, so good.

“That’s it,” Mr. Sperling said. “That’s all I’m going to teach you right now. Let’s just walk.”

The class made its way up a small hill and sat on four wooden benches. Mr. Sperling asked them to imagine holding a couple of glasses of wine while flumping in their boots.

“I’m just going to let gravity and the snow take me,” he said as he slid down a slight incline and made a parallel turn.

Ms. Ryan followed, smiling widely as she slid into a turn holding those imaginary glasses.

“Did I tell her how to turn?” Mr. Sperling asked. “She’s moving to the head of the class. All I wanted her to do was to go straight and she turned.”

Classmates Laurie Besanceney and Monica Shellenberger followed and easily made the same turn.

“You’ve been out here just three minutes and you’ve just perfected an open-stance parallel turn. I love this job!” Mr. Sperling said as Ms. Ryan shrieked with glee. “We guarantee that with everybody who skis with us, and we’ve never had to pay off that guarantee.”

It was different when Mr. Kreil first strapped on a pair of skis nearly 50 years ago.

“I think it took me 10 years to learn open parallel turns, no lie,” Mr. Kreil said. “This program is going to get you to the top of the gondola skiing Little Whiteface in three lessons or less.”

Ms. Ryan and her friends were right on schedule. No longer harboring the initial trepidation they felt when they arrived, the three hopped aboard the “dreaded” chair lift and climbed higher for the next lesson.

Mr. Sperling asked them to imagine squeezing a sponge with each knee as he explained that skiing happens from the knee down.

“Watch me get shorter,” he said. “Squeeze the sponge. Now we’ve got to fill it up with water, so we kind of relax a little bit. Now, we squeeze the other sponge, knee going forward, shin pushing against the boot.”

Less than an hour later and after only a few harmless falls, they had learned how to stop and mastered the S turn.

“As you ski and progress around the mountain, you will learn that the best snow is on the side of the mountain,” Mr. Sperling said. “So, we’re going to ski the side of the mountain. We’re not going to ski out where all the crazy people are skiing, who don’t take lessons and don’t know how to turn.”

The class completed the two-hour lesson by skiing gently back down to the base lodge, smiling at every turn.

“There are other mountains where they’re still teaching parallel skiing from the beginning,” Mr. Sperling said. “And it isn’t like we’re saying we’re better than anybody, but this method, you can see how quickly these three just learned.”

And how quickly they became hooked.

“I didn’t buy their claim that I could ski that well that quickly,” Ms. Ryan said. “I’m a believer now.”

“I’m getting my season pass next year and going all out,” added Ms. Besanceney, who went back shortly after her lessons to ski six more times last season, even making it down a black diamond course at Whiteface.

“Because of the program, I progressed so much I feel I can do anything now,” she said.

Ski season at Whiteface Mountain begins this Saturday, weather permitting. “Parallel From the Start” lessons for beginning skiers include a lift ticket, a two-hour lesson each day, and rental equipment; $75 for one day; $135 for two days; $195 for three days; $255 for four days; $315 for five days.

In addition to “Parallel From the Start,” the ski school at Whiteface Mountain also offers an Adaptive Ski Program that accommodates people with disabilities. Advance registration is required. Other programs include private or group lessons in skiing or snowboarding for all ages and ability levels.

For more information, call 518-946-2223 or visit www.whiteface.com.