Hm, you didn't say which trails you were using at Heavenly, but nearly
every hill has a "higher up" trail that's better for beginners than the
bunny slope at the base. Your decision to take them higher on the hill
was valid, assuming you'd scoped the day's trail conditions earlier.
Me, I've never had the time nor the inclination to explore Heavenly's
greens and learner slopes, because Sky lift almost always runs, and the
bowl below it is almost always open.

As far as poles? Teaching children to ski without poles seems to be the
rule, and not the exception, except when they're holding onto mommy's
poles and going out for a drag. Since kids are built so close to the
ground and their motor skills are less developed, poles can often be as
much a hindrance as a help. So teaching without poles is probably
better -- for small children.

Adults probably need to be taught skiing with the equipment as "all one
piece" -- i.e. in normal conditions you'll always have two skis and two
poles, and one body to use.

If you take a "first-ever" skiier and teach them to use their poles to
the utmost of their ability first, then they should be able to get the
bottom half of their body to follow their top half. Which means --
poles give balance, the focus for turns, and a good universal tool for
when you're not moving on your skis.

Until you learn to use your poles properly, you're going to have a
difficult time becoming a proficient skiier.

Here's an experiment you can try.

Get a four-legged stool. Set it on the floor. Shove it a few feet
along the floor. This is your skiier with both poles in active contact
with the snow.

Chop off one leg, and try the same things. This is your skiier with one
pole planted and the other pole searching for its next plant.

If you didn't kick the stool too hard, it stayed upright the whole time.

Now cut off the leg opposite the first one you cut off. Balance the
stool. Then shove it a few feet. I don't have to tell you what the
results will be.

This is your skiier who can't use their poles.

And -- don't spend more than 45 seconds teaching the snow plow to
grown-ups, unless you're buying lunch and it's gonna be "pizza, french
fries, pizza, french fries." Teach the parallel turn concept first, and
then the snowplow and wedge turns as "nice to know but you'll only use
them in the lift line."

Train for the ultimate goal, not the lesson plan objectives.

Jimintexus