Figure skating instructor Patricia “Pat” Muth has lost count of how many students she’s taught over more than 50 years at Columbia Ice Rink.

The 86-year-old, who cofounded the Columbia Figure Skating Club in the 1970s, still regularly hits the ice to show the next generation of winter athletes how it’s done.

The Banner caught up with Muth this week to talk about the history of figure skating in Howard County and the Winter Olympics before they come to a close on Sunday. The women’s free skating final is Thursday. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Tell me a bit about yourself.

I was born in Cambridge, England. I came over here when I was about 10 or 12 with my father, who was a neuropathologist working with the National Institutes of Health in Washington, D.C. My parents put me in a Learn to Skate program. Why? I don’t know. I mean, I think I wanted to, but I wasn’t sure. I did a lot of ballet. One of my coaches was a pretty famous skater at the time, and she was a beautiful skater. I fell in love with her. I thought she was the thing.

I got married, had four children, and my husband was with the Rouse Company building this whole area. I found out there was an ice rink being built at the end of my street. As soon as it was finished, I went to the Columbia Association. They had people who were running it who knew nothing about ice skating. It was a disaster. I offered to do the Learn to Skate program. I met with U.S. Figure Skating, and they told us what to do.

Later, the Columbia Association said we couldn’t have the ice anymore unless we paid for it. Once you give those times up, you never get them back because of hockey. My daughter was a really good professional skater and she was in “The Nutcracker on Ice” with Dorothy Hamill, which traveled around the country. I went to see it and thought, “I can do that on the ice rink. That would save us money.” We made up costumes. It was hilarious. We made $800 and paid the CA the money. We’ve done “The Nutcracker” every year since, and that saved the club.

You were once quoted in a newspaper article as saying ice skating is one of the only sports in which you don’t wear shoes. Tell me about your signature pink skates.

When you rent skates, they’re terrible. Your skates have to fit you like a glove. These were originally pale pink. I had them made that way. There used to be a company that custom-made your skates. They would send you a box with a cast that you put in the oven, and then you put your foot in it and sent it back to them. They were named Klingbeil out of New York City. When they shut down, nobody knew what to do. These were like the last pair of skates that they made. They are like 12 years old now. I knew that I would never have another pair.

When watching the Winter Olympics figure skating competitions, what are you looking for? Good technique? A strong performance?

When you get to that level, you’re a good skater. It’s how they perform, how they present to all of us, the TV. Are they good at that? Are they funny? Do they have a sense of humor? Do they work well together in pairs? Do they like each other?

Do you expect to see more people getting interested in skating? Winter sports are having a bit of a pop culture moment right now with “Heated Rivalry,” the Olympics and Ilia Malinin getting dubbed the “Quad God.”

Oh, I know him! Well, I don’t know him personally, but I know of him. Skating is a small world. We all knew about him five years ago. I babysat his sister one time.

What do you think of his quadruple axel and those devastating falls during his free skate?

The falls were the best thing that could have ever happened to him. I think it’s unfair that they called him the “Quad God” when he was 17 years old. He hasn’t lost anything over the years, nothing. He was better than anybody because he could turn so quickly in the air. It is a talent, but it’s also God-given. He will go down in history, really, and I think he knows it.

Some people reading this may never have skated before. Can you describe for them what it feels like?

Terrifying for most people, especially adults. Kids, they get on the ice, fall down, and it’s fine. That was my goal, though, to get more adults. You can tell when you have somebody who’s terrified. I think nowadays everybody has a helmet when you’re learning to figure skate. We have these bands now that you wear around your head. They’re steel and they look like a headband. You can get these shorts, and they’re padded. Why get hurt when you don’t have to?

What should people know about figure skating?

If you’re an adult and you want to learn this, you need to have an instructor by yourself first. That’s the most important thing. Because it’s sort of like eating a piece of cake. All of a sudden you want more of it and more of it. You’ll learn how to do something and then you’re like, “Now I can try a three-turn.”

Every once in a while I’m reminded of my novice status because I’ve been humbled by the ice. Do you ever fall?

My best friend, she said, “Pat, I don’t want you out there. You’re going to fall.” She wants me to quit teaching.

I said, “No, not yet.”