Skiing’s Future
February 10th, 2009Posted in Skiing in the Tetons
Skiing’s future past me on a bus yesterday. Having enjoyed a morning dose of a few inches of soft new snow, I was heading down Grand Targhee’s access road when a big yellow school bus from Swan Valley, ID. past me on its way up to the resort. A few minutes later another big bus from Alta, WY. past me. Both buses carried skiing’s future; elementary school kids enjoying special release privileges from their school and generous discounts from Grand Targhee to spend one afternoon a week getting lessons either from volunteer instructors or from the resort’s snow sports school’s instructors.
Grand Targhee’s Wintersports Program for local school kids is probably 31 years old now. Every winter kids from four local elementary schools, the middle school and the high school get a group lesson from a volunteer instructor and a 1/2 day lift ticket for the amazing price of just $13. (Even kids who can’t afford this special price can participate thanks to a number of scholarships offered by Grand Targhee.) For a few bucks more students can get a 2-1/2 hour group lesson from the resort’s professional instructors.
It is heartwarming to see the dozens of happy kids milling about the resort’s base as they get into their ski gear and later see the little groups of them scattered around the mountain all afternoon as they learn to ski (or snowboard) better. Anyone can see the kids love the program, and they learn to love the sport, which is the point. Skiing and snowboarding are superb lifetime sports, and Targhee and the local schools are to be commended for providing a very affordable opportunity for local kids to become skiers and snowboarders.
The program works! Perhaps you have heard of freeskiing phenom Sage Cattabriga-Alosa? Sage is currently the top dog and superstar skier in the world of ski videos- and he is a product of Targhee’s Wintersports Program program.
I have heard of other resorts offering affordable opportunities for local kids to become lifelong skiers. I hope they all do. Kinda like learning a foreign language, it is easier to learn to ski when you’re young. With ski resorts needing all the skiers they can get to insure their futures, they need to encourage as many kids as possible to take up the sport and fall in love with it at an early age.
On the subject of great skiing programs for local students, I was thrilled to learn about an innovative physics teacher, Garrick Hart, over in Jackson who had the idea to teach his students about the science and behavior of avalanches. With the support of the principal and donations from Backcountry Access, twelve students completed a Level I Avalanche Course, taught at a discounted rate by local avalanche instructors. By the time local kids hit high school age, many are wandering outside ski area boundaries, so getting them to learn the basics of avalanche safety is brilliant. I hope this idea spreads.
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