And are you both typical of the PPLH trainees? Do you think all PPLH trainees operate out of such sites?
What is taught regarding performance planning on Robbies regarding confined areas?
Well, I don't know what the "typical" training is, as I am not a CFI.
However, the way I was taught to handle off-airport landings is to crawl it in, basically just riding that vibration down at around 150fpm. So before committing I'd pull it back to pretty much a hover (while still high enough to abort) then check my MAP to see how much I have between what I'm pulling and what my takeoff limit is. If there's at least an inch and a half, or two (depending on just how steep and how high the takeoff will need to be) go for it.
Now I can't speak for other schools, but I went to one of those "CFI Factories" that pumped out CFIs like Tic-Tacs.