If you’re a devoted reader of the Catamount Trail Association’s blog, you might be wondering, “What happened in the second half of the Ski Cubs season?” Well, for a few weeks, we were wondering that, too. I had been planning for ski days and on-snow curriculum for months, and the second half of the season was all primed up and ready to go in mid-February, only to have many plans foiled by rain and warm temperatures melting out our once-beautiful ski tracks. But don’t start feeling too sorry for the Ski Cubs, though. As any longtime New England skier knows, the weather will eventually change. And change it did.
We made it through the last two sessions of our Saturday program at Bolton Valley by developing the important skill of avoiding ice patches learning to use ski edges effectively on the hard snow surface. The groomers at Bolton Valley did a fantastic job keeping the trails skiable, and the program participants were their usual enthusiastic selves. Though the obstacle courses might have been a little trickier than usual, and the Picnic-Valley Loop was (as one instructor put it) “more of a gully than a ski trail,” the Cubs were out skiing, and that was what mattered. If the trails were too icy to be enjoyed, we played Sharks and Minnows, did partner relays and built elaborate slalom gates.
We finished out the sixth and final Saturday of the season with a long ski on the Maple Loop, a pizza party, and the traditional Paper Plate Awards. During our awards ceremony, at least as important as the PyeongChang closing ceremonies and perhaps even more exciting, each participant got a commendation, ranging from “Most Helpful to New Skiers” to “Most Improved Snowplow Skier” to “Best Snow-Angel-Maker.”
After the major storms of early March, we did a quick about-face with our school-week programs in Shelburne and Huntington to get in as much skiing as possible. In the early weeks of the program, the students had honed their nordic skills by skiing around the athletic fields during PE class. Now, with snow blanketing the hills, they got the chance to try out skiing on the steep, winding trails of Sleepy Hollow Nordic Center. With the help of the staff at both schools and the good folks at Sleepy Hollow, over the past two weeks we’ve had over 130 skiers out exploring beautifully-groomed, mountainous nordic trails.
Many students, who had unfavorably compared nordic skiing on fields to the thrills of alpine skiing, suddenly found themselves excited and engaged. Several times I heard cries of, “This hill is harder than downhill skiing!” What once felt like walking and sliding now felt like climbing up and whizzing down. There were crashes, some accidental turns onto unmarked trails, and a few skiers frustrated by the sudden need to herringbone up the hills. But at the end of the day, there were only tired, happy smiles.
I also had the unique opportunity to do a two-day Ski Cubs program with middle-schoolers from Williamstown, VT, who were beginning a new term of school with an “inter-session” outdoors program. Led by a friendly science teacher who could carve a mean telemark turn, the Williamstown students skied at Sleepy Hollow on their first day, at their school on the second, and in the Bolton Valley high country on the third. The second day coincided with the major March 8 snowstorm, and the drifts were piled high when they arrived at Bolton the next day. The challenge for this group was not edging and herringboning, but dealing with deep unconsolidated snowdrifts!
The Williamstown students progressed from unsteady beginners, to intrigued intermediates, to suave snow-plowers much like any of the other Ski Cubs, only their trajectory was much accelerated. And, when said trajectory led to tumbling falls, boatloads of powder cushioned the blow! The whole group agreed that they wanted to return for another inter-session ski week in 2019, and several told me that they wanted to form a Nordic ski club at their middle school — an incubator program in the making.
Truth be told, the Ski Cubs ski season probably looked much like yours. If you live in northern New England, your ski season might have had a strong start in December and early January, followed by a lull after our first major thaw; then another good run of schussing during the first weeks of February, followed by disappointment over the “immature snowflakes” (read: rain!) that decimated the snowpack; and, at last, a long run of wintry powder converting into spring-like corn in the month of March. But there’s a lot more to tell beyond the meltdowns and powder dumps. This was a record-breaking season for the Ski Cubs program: we had 181 individual participants from nine different schools, skiing in five different locations, helped along by two dozen volunteers. Altogether, we recorded upwards of 1000 hours of program participation time!
In honor of our “three winters,” here are three things that I’ll always remember from this season of Ski Cubs:
1. Flexibility isn’t just a good buzzword, it is a must with any youth skiing program. The weather can throw curveballs at any time, as can logistical hang-ups for different groups. And, once a group is out on the snow, the coaches and volunteers have to be ready to change plans based on what the participants are feeling. Learning to ski is strenuous and difficult sometimes — just getting out there is a victory!
2. Just because you can’t ski now doesn’t mean you can’t ski ever. There were moments this winter when the program lost momentum because of factors out of our control. But we bounced back, and students were just as excited to ski as ever. Once the seed of interest in Nordic skiing is planted, it hangs around for a while!
3. Never underestimate how much enthusiasm a group of kids might have for a new sport. We nordic skiers may feel like a small corner of the winter-sports world. But when we open up our sport to kids who haven’t had a chance to try it, that introduction alone can have a big impact. Who knows, maybe someday a Ski Cub will grow up to be the next Jessie Diggins or Kikkan Randall — or, just as importantly, that skier could grow up with nordic skiing as a joyful part of an active, outdoor life.
Last but not least, none of this would be possible without the generous contributions of time, enthusiasm, and expertise from our many volunteers, program partners, supporters, friends, and nordic center staff. Thank you all so much, we rely on you!
See you out there,
Scott Berkley (CTA Youth Programs & Outreach Coordinator)
