This year we decided to suspend the ability for a member to bring a guest. We do not have adequate systems in place to handle additional people beyond members and the ability to process the paperwork became burdensome. In future we may change our “No Guests” policy, but for the current year it stands.
Despite the recently fallen snow which played havoc with the roads and early morning travel, we were at capacity out of Lincoln Park and had a respectable showing from the suburbs as we made our way to Wilmot. For those of you who missed Saturday, you really missed the best snow of our beleaguered season. We continue to have some members who feel that attendance at lessons is non-essential and I can hardly police the truants while managing the 150+ other members. I especially look to the parents of our A, B and C level skiers and boarders to encourage them to attend lessons to improve their ability. I am more worried about those other skiers and boarders on the mountain than I am on the errant students. While they represent a danger to themselves, they pose more of a threat to those who expect that those around them ski or board with the same level of caution and courtesy. A member of our immediate Blizzard family is currently seeking medical attention for possible knee damage due to an accident caused by a person skiing out of control (thankfully not one of our own members). Skiing and Snowboarding is not something you learn by osmosis. It is taught and we have professional instructors who are at our ready to help your kids become experts.
Many of our members who have been attending class have cruised through the beginning levels to our “Blue” intermediate levels at D and E. Typically these are the levels we we perfect the skills and make the most progress from the classes. These are also the levels where most members spend a great number of weeks in class. It is very common to repeat multiple weeks at these class levels as well as other levels to firmly learn a new skill and teach our muscles how to perform.
As kids come in to the Mountain House and also later when they travel on the bus, they are tired. This means they are not paying enough attention to their surroundings and things have a tendency to go missing. I have a growing pile of single gloves. While I won’t be able to update the lost and found this week I do have a pair of Lands’ End pants, a jacket and various other pieces of outerwear needing their mate and home.
We are getting much better with getting to the bus on time, hence the reason we seem to be arriving earlier back to Lincoln Park and River Forest. I will tell you, however, that there is an increase in trash left over on the bus for us to clean up. I presume it is tiredness which consumes the kids’ energy at the end of the day preventing them to carry their trash forward to the trash bags in the front of the bus. I can’t believe they do the same thing at home. We try to restrict the amount and variety of the foodstuffs which are carried back on the bus to be consumed, but I am always amazed at the sheer quantity of the trash I pick up.
We are looking forward to our overnight to Granite Peak on the March 3rd weekend. There will be no regular Blizzard on that day, just the overnight trip. Between now and then we will have two weekends of Fun Days with races, crazy hat contests and awards for attendance and improvement.
I have to apologize for the system changes that took place last week which had everyone wondering if both (or all) of their children were registered. An upgrade to the WordPress system we use caused a few glitches and that was one of them. Even though your receipt might have only one child’s name, all of them were reflected in our attendee lists. This may continue to happen until we figure out how to fix it.
Looking forward to January 28th.
The Blizzard Ski and Snowboard School
As we wind down the end of 2011 and look forward to a healthy (and wealthy) 2012, we should also put SNOW at the top of our wishlist. While the prospects for a colder week ahead mean that we will at least have a man-made covering for the Wilmot Slopes, a natural bed of snow would also be nice…
Our second week at Blizzard is a memory of the past and far less turmoil and angst than our first week. We have a large population of new skiers and boarders with us this season and I want to stress that this club is first and foremost a place to learn. This means that parents have to help us by telling their youngsters that lessons are not an option and that their children will be spoken with if not regular attendees to lessons. Bad habits are formed early and sometimes take a lifetime to correct. we would prefer to start with the right habits and improve from there.
The members spend a great deal of time on their own while at Blizzard. Last week, a parent told me that not only had his child become a far better Boarder than he might have anticipated, he said his son had learned self-reliance and a sense of responsibility while with us on Saturdays. For many, this is the first time they have gone through a cashier line by themselves, or had to remember to put all their worldly possessions together (not strewn all over the tables and floor of the lodge) and, be responsible for time. This last effort seems more challenging than in years past as we have a number of members to whom an analog clock is unfamiliar. Equipping your 8-10 year old with a watch or cell phone would help. Those of us at the desk in the afternoon have been holding “telling time” classes for the frequent requesters. We have two clocks within visible distance of our desk and yet it is the single most frequently asked question. No one wants to be late for the bus. Leaving people behind isn’t the issue. Holding up 54 other kids while they wait for you to join them is a peer experience no one wants to repeat.
We continue to reclassify our more advanced skiers and boarders, often with surprising results. We have had as many go up a level as go down two levels. Again, the goal is to place students of the same level in the same class and teach specific learning skills rather than have to accommodate a wide-range of talent in a single 8-member class. We expect that students will remain in the same class level for at least 3-4 weeks. It is almost impossible to progress from C to E, for instance, inside of the same season. And this is true whether you are skiing or snowboarding.
And, once more a plea to ensure that your skier who rents skis from Viking or Wilmot, knows exactly what their skis look like and that they are well-marked with their name. while this year has not been as bad as some past years, we have only started the season and the more populated weekends are yet to come. PLEASE USE THE CORRAL. It costs $1 and will save eons of headaches.
We look forward to seeing you on January 7th. Please remember that the trip registration closes at 5PM on Thursday or when we reach the maximum # of seats on the buses. I mention this last point as we only have enough Supervisors to handle 3 buses out of Lincoln Park. That means we only have enough physical seats for 150 members. When we reach that level, registrations are also cut off. At that point, if we still have room on the bus leaving from River Forest/Oak Park, that will be an option for those not minding that start and stop point.
Have a Happy New Year and we will see you next year.
Blizzard Ski and Snowboard School
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: Due to an increase in the Bus costs we are raising the fee for the weekly trip by $1 to $69.00. We apologize for not knowing this earlier in the season, but it was beyond our control.
The first week of Blizzard is over and while we are always glad to see that some things remain the same, we are always looking for change in the areas where we continually experience challenges. The first week is always “iffy” due to the weather. We had a 100% man-made base and it was great! While there were only 4 runs open and 2 lifts, there were few enough people on the slopes that kept it from becoming over-crowded.
We tackled one of those challenging issues this year and it was not well-received by the students, as you can well imagine. We asked everyone who had previously been classified as an “E” or “F” level to take a test run and reclassify. Over the past several years I have noted that our classes had become a bit too diverse for our instructors to teach to a consistent level. Stylistic differences with the instructors and self-promotion had exacerbated the problem. We have now educated the instructors and are working on the students. We don’t want to discourage anyone but this is a safety issue and we need a “D” to truly be a “D” before we start on the exercises to take them to an “E.” I will continue to monitor the situation, and encourage class participation. You, the parents, can help by reinforcing that Blizzard is first and foremost a Ski and Snowboard School and we expect students to go to the morning classes. We had great success with the “E” Skiers who had a very tailored lesson to their level with remarkable results for those students. We hope to hear about this level of success each week. Anyone who is in level “C” or below should be taking classes each week and will be singled out if we are not seeing them at lessons. This level is highlighted since there is terrain at Wilmot that is beyond the capability of members at this level and we are trying to forestall any injuries or out-of-control skiers/riders.
One way in which all members and their parents can help the club is in ensuring that the members know their equipment. As usual we have had our share of ski swaps in this first week. So many families rent from the same location that we see a sea of red and white skis that all look alike. Even with markings, members pick up the wrong poles, skis and boards and use them. There are two ways to combat this situation: use of the Corral which is $1 for the day – to stow your gear when you go inside the Mountain House, and make certain you review exactly what your skis/board look like and pay attention to the details that set your equipment apart from the rest. It is as frustrating for you as it is for us to have to continually monitor who is using whose equipment. Go over the markings with your child and ensure that they know exactly what their skis look like (it is less of a problem with boards, but it still exists). Please remind them to use the Corral during the day so they don’t have to worry about it.
Please remember that I build the lists from the website and PayPal. If you have not paid for your weekly trip through PayPal then you will not be on the list for attendees that week. Any communication by telephone needs to be followed with a note to blizzardskiclub@gmail.com
Note to Lincoln Park parents:
There are typically three buses that leave from Lincoln Park. We have one of those buses stop at Edens Plaza which means that that bus will be returning later than the other two. This week we were almost a half hour later (although it was only 5:15) due to waiting for parents to pick up kids at Edens Plaza. We don’t like to be late, but we also don’t want to leave young members at the mall alone at Edens Plaza. There are a string of events which determine what time we arrive at Lincoln Park. First, if all the members return in a timely manner to the bus (3PM) we can leave on time. If we have stragglers we tend to leave later and encounter more traffic. Traffic is the second factor that is an unknown. The last is the amount of time we have to wait at Edens Plaza. From week to week, this will change. This week, the third bus was also delayed as they encountered Zoo traffic from the events at the Lincoln Park Zoo which caused us to have to use an alternate route to the Museum for drop-off.
Finally, please ensure at the Peggy Notebaert Museum that you use the parking lot and not park either behind the buses or on Cannon Drive. We moved the stop to the Museum expressly because of the availability of the parking lot. Our permission to continue to use it depends on our limited interference with the CTA and traffic on Cannon Drive. In the morning we are in competition with the Green City Market who uses the Museum and are often unloading and setting up, and in the evening it is general traffic. Our buses need an unimpeded space for parking and the parents are putting their kids in danger if they park across the street or outside the parking lot. Please try to comply with this request.
The Blizzard is a fun-filled safe day of education, free skiing to practice what you learned in lessons, and social interaction with other Blizzard members.
Blizzard maintains a desk which has an adult supervisor present at all times during the ski day. Members are instructed to leave their more valuable possessions at home, but they can bring a bag into the Mountain House and stow it near the Blizzard Desk for use during the day. While we are not responsible for lost or stolen articles, over the years, bags left within the Blizzard “area” have been safe from others. Similarly there is a Corral for stowing Skis and Boards during the day while the member is inside the Mountain House. We highly recommend the use of the Corral ($1 per day) to prevent unnecessary angst over missing equipment. There are also lockers which can be rented for greater security of smaller items.
The day starts at the mountain at 9:15AM when we arrive. If your name has been called on the bus and you need to be classified or tested in your level, you will show up at the base
of the Exhibition run “chair 8″ by the Ski School bell for a quick lesson assignment. After you have been classified, you are free to ski/board until your lesson time:
10AM or 11AM or 11:30AM.
Skier Level A, B and C lessons at 10AM
SnowBoard A and A+ lessons at 10AM
SnowBoard B, C, D, E, F and G lessons at 11AM
Skiers D, E, F, and G lessons at 11:30AM
Lessons range in length from 1 hour 15 minutes to 3 hours depending on the level. On occasion, lessons are also available for a longer session at the beginners’ level of A.
All lessons are taught by a certified PSIA/AASI instructor. Higher level classes are only taught by those certified to teach at that level. Blizzard has 4 certified instructors on staff and they use the Wilmot Ski School staff for most of the classes. Class size is typically a maximum of 8 students. We are very careful to ensure that students stay in level-appropriate classes and do not move up a level before they are ready. This may mean that a student can stay at a level for a significant amount of time before being advanced. My daughter stayed at the same level for three years in Blizzard.
The entire point of Blizzard is education. We at least require that a student is classified at the beginning of the season so that we know their relative skill level. Any student below a level “C” will be strongly encouraged to attend lessons as those students are not capable of handling all the terrain at Wilmot Mountain and we cannot monitor each individual from choosing their slope – even injudiciously.
The levels used by Blizzard roughly correspond to those used by PSIA/AASI. There are 7 Blizzard levels and 9 PSIA/AASI levels. Due to the lack of extremely difficult slopes at Wilmot we have only one level that equates to the most difficult (single Black Diamond) skiing and one less intermediate (Blue) level.
At the end of the lesson, the instructor is required to tell the student what they should practice and what are the steps to get to the next level. If anyone has been moved to the next level, the instructor reports that information back to the Blizzard Desk. The Blizzard tag will be “punched” for the appropriate level. Initially cards may not reflect the appropriate level from the previous year. This is to ensure members start each year at the appropriate skill level. Tracking lesson participation is easy by looking at the card and seeing if the week numbers are punched.
Since the lesson times vary, so does lunch. Wilmot has a variety of lunch stations. Breakfast foods are also available. The Pizza Barn and the Cafeteria Line arefavorites, but there is also the Iron Kettle and the Coffee Bar. Lunch costs about $10.00 and sometimes far less.
Other places to spend time and money at Wilmot include the video arcade and the Ski Shop. On cold days we often recommend that skiers and boarders pick up hand-warmers at the shop for $2 per pack. We never recommend the arcade and often pull kids out who seem to find the indoors more inviting than the outside.
The afternoon is spent free-skiing or boarding. Supervisors are on the slopes generally monitoring what is happening, but they don’t know all the members, so we rely on the Wilmot Ski Patrol and others to monitor for inappropriate behavior and horseplay. We also monitor for students skiing or boarding on terrain that is too difficult for their level. We have a full view of the most difficult Wilmot slope from our desk. There is a Terrain Park at Wilmot and both skiers and boarders are invited to participate. We hold Terrain Park classes for skiers as they are most likely to be unfamiliar with skiing techniques in the Park. The classes are available for those in level “D” and higher. Over the past few years we have seen an increase in injuries (few on them are serious) and they are almost all related to the Terrain Park. A word of caution is always advised.
We have Zero Tolerance for disrespectful or inappropriate behavior on a bus or at the Mountain towards fellow members, supervisors or others. Our goal is to provide a safe and supportive environment in which everyone can build a lifetime love of snowsports!
As we prepare for next year, I want to thank all our Supervisors for their tireless assistance: Bill and James out of River Forest; Bart, George, James, Claire and Chloe out of Lincoln Park; and surprise appearances by parents and relatives who chipped in when we needed assistance. The job of a Chaperone is a volunteer position and we greatly appreciate those who lend their time to the Blizzard Ski and Snowboard School.
A special thanks goes out to Mary and Cal without whom the club could not survive. To Thomas who laboriously helped us make the website happen. To Fred and Chuck as the coordinators of our lessons, and, of course to all the men and women of Wilmot Mountain who give us a safe place to Ski and Ride.
While we haven’t been as lucky with the weather this week as we might have hoped, it is a 50/50 chance we might escape the rain on Saturday. Wilmot has complete coverage with no bare spots and they closed the mountain yesterday and today to preserve the base they have for their last weekend. We have more than a full bus load of members from Lincoln Park, but could use a few more to make the second bus worth while. We will have lessons on Saturday as usual, but they will all be held at 10AM. This is the last chance to pass to the next level before next season. If we have seen you for the last time this season, we look forward to seeing you next December.
Please check the Lost and Found for any items that you may be missing, and don’t hesitate to contact us about anything that may be on your mind about Blizzard and how we can better serve you!
During the month of February we wind down the ski and snowboard season by holding races on successive Saturdays. The first set of races on February 19th are Fun races. By fun we mean that they are sort of goofy and not purely based on speed and ability. Races have ranged from obstacle courses, to taking off equipment and walking up hill, to skiing backwards and through hoops. We never know what the racecourse will look like until the day of the event. The inventiveness of the course designer continues to amaze us. The courses for snowboarders and skiers will be different. You sign up for these races at the Blizzard Desk at Wilmot during the morning. All lessons times will be changed to accommodate the race.
The second set of races are on February 26th. These are more traditional slalom races with speed and ability being accounted for in the times for completion. The courses will be set to accomodate skiers and snowboarders and the varying ability of our membership. Again, sign up at the Blizzard Desk on the morning of the 26th for these races.
At the end of both days, February 19th and 26th, before we depart, we will give out awards for the participants in the races. We have trophies, medals and other goodies for our participants and our winners. All are welcome to participate and will be judged against others of similar ability and age.
The Granite Peak Overnight Trip will take place on the weekend of March 4th. A paper mailing has already been sent with the particulars of the trip. As only one bus is allotted for this trip, it sells out very quickly. Look for your Blizzard Ski Club Newsletter in snail mail to sign up for this trip. A pdf version of the reservation form has been added to this website — don’t wait to sign up as this is a very popular trip and time is of the essence. The cost this year is $305 and includes the bus trip, two days of lift tickets and lodging with full breakfast for each day.
While everyone else is grumbling about the Blizzard conditions outside today and tomorrow, we are looking forward to what will be the best week of skiing in recent years. I expect Saturday to be a sell out crowd, so try to reserve your spot early. While we usually encourage guest participation, when we get close to the limit of the number of members we can handle, our first place to trim attendance is by disallowing guests. If you are thinking of bringing a guest this weekend, please be advised that you can only confirm their seat on the bus on Friday morning and that is dependent on our membership’s rate of attendance. That also means that we will most likely not be able to handle those that want a “no reservation” waitlist spot.
Blizzard supports the local schools by offering to particpate in their fundraisers. We will donate memberships in Blizzard to be used for Silent Auctions. Please send the formal request for donations to the Blizzard office at least a few weeks in advance and we will create the necessary documents and certificates needed for the event. The certificate will be for the 2011-2012 season.
A few items of courtesy that I thought was timely to bring up. We are a club of a variety of ages and abilities. We respect each other’s personal space and do not tolerate any kind of rudeness of age-inappropriate behavior. Everyone is welcome and we all should treat each other as we would our friends and relatives. I do not expect to see or hear taunting, crass remarks, throwing of food, yelling or rude behavior. I expect a wealth of helpful, polite and cheery skiers and snowboarders who pick up their trash, don’t leave belongings behind and generally are on their best behavior. Too much to ask? I don’t think so. I encourage parents to participate in this request by having a conversation with their member(s) about the privilege of attendance at Blizzard and our expectations to maintain our reputation as the best children’s ski club. We will not tolerate any offense to another child and we expect a high level of decorum.
We just completed our 5th Saturday and the snow keeps getting better and better. It is hard to believe that we have only 7 more Blizzard Saturdays. While the East coast gets inundated with snow, we have yet to have a “big” snowfall, but Wilmot Mountain continues to maintain their snowpack and deliver a fresh surface to ski and board each weekend. January is our big month of participation. Each weekend we have had record numbers of reservations, so ensure you have a seat by signing up early. Thursday afternoon is not the time to decide if you want to go on Saturday. With the increased number of participants, we have seen an increase in the Lost & Found articles. Please ensure you have your belongings when you leave the bus. A side effect of the large turnout is the limited bus space that we have for each child and their belongings. Taking a minimum amount of personal items is critical to being able to fit everyone on the bus. There is a limited amount of storage space on the bus and up at Wilmot, so try to be practical in the amount you bring with you. I used to bring the entire lost and found each week. I now only bring those items I know that I can return to its owner.
The slopes at Wilmot have not been too crowded. There are rarely annoying lift lines and the back side of the mountain is always empty. We encourage our members to ski and ride the variety of runs that Wilmot has to offer, keeping to those that are level-appropriate, of course. Lessons have been well attended and we have a large contingent of members that have been advancing in their skiing and boarding abilities. Congratulations to those who have passed to more difficult terrain. We continue to have interest in the Terrain Park for both skiers and boarders, but I continue to caution anyone taking part in the Park to wear the appropriate safety equipment such as helmets and wrist guards. Snowboarders must have a leash on their board to be allowed on the chairs. You will be turned away if you do not as some found out last week.
We can look forward to our Fun Races later in February and our Overnight at Granite Peak in March. I’ll announce them shortly. If you haven’t joined us this season we look forward to seeing you.
