Our local Bill Koch League Club came today for their weekly organized ski meeting. The skiers are from the communities of Gorham, Shelburne, Randolph and as far away as Lancaster. When the schedule works out, I really like being the Great Glen staffer who skis with them. Most of the kids seem to be in 3rd through 5th grades. It’s a great age to be skiing. They are high energy, coordinated and able to listen and follow directions. We were limited to our Geepers Loop, waiting for a little more snow to get out on the woods trails. It didn’t matter; we had a full two hours of challenges, games and learning.

 

The first challenges involved skiing downhills. First they were asked to get up momentum, then stop as close as possible to a cone set alongside the trail. We did this several times, shooting for stop cones further and further down the hill. Next challenge was to ski downhill and then pick one ski up off the snow, gliding on one foot for as far as possible. We did this on alternate skis, then moved on to a much bigger hill.

 

All this skiing downhill requires . . . skiing back uphill. So after many trips, tongues were starting to hang. We moved over to the nice flat area in the middle of the Loop for Sharks and Minnows. THIS was a competitive game. Sharks chased their prey relentlessly, minnows sprinted, twisted, squirmed their way to the safe zones at the far end. I had all I could do as a minnow to keep from being tagged. Game after game and enthusiasm stayed high.  Sharks learned to work together to trap the skiing minnows. When each child had had a chance to start the game as THE shark, our time was up. (Thankfully—I’d gotten in as much sprinting as I needed for a good night’s sleep!) Some kids headed for the lodge, a few stayed out for a little more skiing. 

 

I’m already looking forward to next week!  

 

Sue W

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