By Brite Cheney, Staff Sportswriter
Ascutney Outdoors (AO), in Brownsville, offers free learn-to-ski programs for elementary-aged kids from Albert Bridge School and Windsor School. This program has been running as long as Ascutney Outdoors has been open, and has become an essential part of building a community of young skiers in the area, all while being run completely by volunteers and donations from the community.
After-school ski students pose for a group photo with a program banner on the slopes. Courtesy of Ascutney Outdoors
Shelley Seward, the executive director of Ascutney Outdoors, laments the time between the closing of the Ascutney Mountain Resort in 2010 and the opening of AO in 2015, and specifically the loss of the learn to ski program that had been a part of the resort. She describes the closing of the program as a huge loss for the community, and why restarting it was a priority for the organization. “When a rope tow was installed, the school ski program with Albert Bridge School was one of the first things reintroduced to the mountain,” says Seward. The program, supported entirely by volunteers like everything else at AO, started with just 16 students but has since grown to include Windsor Elementary. According to Seward, “Total student participation has grown to approximately 130 with nearly 50 volunteers.”
Those volunteers are an essential part of keeping the program going, as they help manage the program, operate the rope tow, and assist in teaching small groups. Amanda Yates is a member of the AO board, a staff member at Albert Bridge School, and a mother of two children who currently participate in the ski program. She is quick to sing the praises of the volunteers and highlight everything they do, both for the program and the kids who participate. “There are so many of them that come back year after year and form relationships with the kids over time. They bring so much positivity and encouragement. Without them we wouldn’t be able to run the program,” Yates says.
The program is free for any student at Albert Bridge School and for third and fourth graders at Windsor. The volunteers play an important role in keeping the program free of charge, but equally as important is The Boot Pro Ski and Bike Shop in Ludlow. Boot Pro donates all necessary equipment for all students, including skis, boots, and safety equipment. To allow for the most positive impact, students are allowed to use the equipment any time they are at Ascutney Outdoors, not just during the school day. As many families are finding skiing to be financially prohibitive, this extra cost-saving measure helps lower the barrier not just for the kids but for their families. Yates says, “It can be really expensive for a family of four. With the equipment and Ascutney’s super affordable rates, we choose to ski there over anywhere else.”
Accessibility and creating an environment for young Vermonters to appreciate their natural resources, is a goal Yates sees as being at the core of the program. She explains, “These sports are a big part of growing up in Vermont, whether it is skiing or snowboarding or snowshoeing.” But access to these activities is more than just a way to stay active in the winter. Yates feels that it creates an essential connection with the community. “A huge part of it is understanding the resources that are a part of the community that you live in. It’s important that [the kids] understand those things so [they] can become stewards for these resources that are in [their] community,” Yates says.
The kids seem to enjoy it too. Both Yates and Seward say that former students continue to ski at Ascutney after they have aged past the program. Yates attributes this to the welcoming atmosphere. “The kids are so encouraging, they just want each other to succeed,” she says. Yates also highlights how great the location is for the kids. Ascutney Outdoors is a small community mountain, the students use the rope tow, which means they don’t have to contend with a lift, and the skiing area is a fairly safe one. All this means the students are allowed a fair amount of freedom and independence. “Adults are there watching, but the kids have a lot of freedom to be with their friends and have a nice place to learn how to ski,” Yates concluded.