Details For The Learn To Ski Program
Classes usually begin the first or second week in January and go through mid March . We will not teach on President's day weekend in February. On this weekend we will be traveling for our annual ski trip. Please refer to our schedule for more information. Plan to have your children at class by 9:15 a.m. and pick them up at 11:30 a.m.
Classes begin and end at the Base Lodge (formerly known as the Outpost) at the bottom of Chair Six. When driving up Big Mtn Rd, turn right to Glades Drive and proceed to the lower parking areas. There is no drop off in front of the Base Lodge this year, so arrive early and be prepared for a short walk
Class numbers will be posted on banners.
Classes 1 through 3 will meet just North of the lift station at the Base of
Chair 6.
Classes 4 through 10 will meet at the tree line approximately 150 feet North
of the Base Lodge.
Classes 11 through 15 will meet at the top of Chair Six - to the far right of Chair One
Note: Chair 6 is no longer a free lift, your child must have a pass or ticket for every lesson.
Parents must be at the bottom of Chair 6 to pick children up at 11:30 a.m. Please do not leave volunteer instructors to wait on your arrival. They have to pick up their own children.
Class Assignments:
Class assignments will be mailed to students instructors the week prior to class.
The Base Lodge has season rentals and season passes available. Please refer to www.skiwhitefish.com for pricing information. Equipment is laid out and ready to go at the Base Lodge each Saturday. This is a nice way to go so you won't have to haul equipment. Get your early bird season passes before September 30th.
Sportsman Ski Haus has kid's packages for sale. Seasonal rentals can be purchased and traded in for growth. Call 755-6484 for more information. Daily rental packages are $10.00 for 24 hours for kids 18 and under and $15.00 for adults.
Important: If you rent from the Base Lodge, please arrive early so that your child can be equipped and at class before 9:30 am. Make rental arrangements in prior to lesson day. It is impossible to do rental fitting on the day of lessons and make it to class on time.
Tickets:
Students who have NO skiing experience will not need paid tickets for the first lesson, as they will be on carpet. They will need a ticket after the first week.Children without tickets will be asked to wait in the cafeteria during lesson times. Tickets can be purchased at the Base Lodge or at the Lift Ticket Plaza, top of Chair Six. For current lift ticket prices please refer to the Whitefish Mountain Resort website which is skiwhitefish.com
Passes & Frequent Skier Cards must be picked up before the 1st day. Otherwise kids end up missing their classes. Kalispell Ski Club does not provide ski tickets or passes.
Weather:
Weather changes constantly on the Mountain. Please layer clothing on your child and prepare them for extremes. Kids need good quality gloves, goggles & warm headgear. Kalispell Ski Club strongly recommends (but does not require) helmets for your child's safety. Kids without safe clothing will be asked to wait in the cafeteria during lessons.
Extreme Weather: Often we cannot determine weather extremes
until we arrive on the mountain to check first hand. We reserve the right to cancel classes
at any time to insure child safety.
Equipment: Instructors will not make ski
adjustments. Please take care of this before class. The Base Lodge Ski Shop
can adjust skies.
Equipment and Safety:
If your child has faulty equipment, is too cold for safety or has a similar problem, the instructor may have him/her wait for you in the Base Lodge. Between 9:30 & 11:30 a.m. a KSC Learn to Ski helper will usually be available. We ask that parents of young children plan to be in the Base Lodge area to handle normal childhood trials and traumas. We ask that parents of older children be on the mountain or available by phone should an emergency arise.
Medical Cards are included in the this newsletter. Please fill these out for your children and place them in each child's ski parka during lessons.
Radio Protocol. If your child has an FRS Radio, our instructors use channels 5 and sub channel 38. This is a great safety device for getting kids to lost classes and for emergency communication. Please do not use channel 5 or 5-38 during classes.
Questions & Answers
Please call the Info Line at 752-skis (7547) first. Most questions
will be answered there or on our web site at: www.kalispellskiclub.com
This is a fun and information rich source. Your child may be photographed
with his/her class - these photos may appear on the web site. If you prefer
your child's photo not be displayed, please let us know.
Instructor Information:
Instructor tickets will be issued in the cafeteria of the Base Lodge between
9:00 & 9:15 a.m. Please be prepared to arrive at your class location by
9:15 a.m.
Instructors must sign in with Don and Heidi even if you have a pass. We have no other way to know if each class has the necessary instructors.
Class Leaders are responsible for picking up and returning class packets each week and for handing out maps, class lists, emergency information, name buttons, etc.
Instructors are responsible for reassigning kids to upper or lower classes. Please do this in writing on the assignment cards in your packets so we can compute new lists by the following week. We will not remember verbal changes.
Instructors - please explain changes to the children since they may believe you are the only teacher for them.
Please let Don or Heidi know a week in advance if you are going to miss a weekend, so we have appropriate time to assign a substitute for your class.
Substitute instructors are welcome to check with us at 9:00 a.m. each Saturday
to see if unexpected vacancies need to be filled. This sometimes leads to
full time instructing. We love volunteers!
SEE YOU ON THE MOUNTAIN,
Don & Heidi
Learn To Ski Directors
