Our winter program is in full swing and we are enjoying every minute of our snowy season! We kicked off our program on January 8th with 30 skiers and snowboards and 43 volunteer ski and snowboard instructors. It is such a great feeling to walk into the ski lodge and see the faces of so many kids who are excited to be at Double H and the instructors who are thrilled to teach them.
Our family weekends started with a safari theme. I was worried that the safari theme in the middle of winter might be hard to pull off but with the help of Family Pals and some cleverly dressed up instructors it was a big success! After a long day of skiing kids played pin the tail on the zebra and colored large murals depicting jungle animals to hang all throughout the lodge.
One of the most enjoyable moments of the weekends was our talent show. While very different from our summer talents shows, the winter talent shows still capture the excitement of our campers. Skier Lexi, who was here for her first time began practicing her hula hoop act the minute she read on the schedule that there was a talent show. Prior to the show, the families were out sledding and Lexi kept asking her Family Pal if the show had started because she couldn’t miss it. After sledding Lexi was the first one in through the doors to pick out the best costume for the act, red faced and cold she quickly put on a tutu and cowboy hat and got her hula hoops ready. After a brief pep talk from myself and Pezz, the show was ready. The lights dimmed in the lodge and out stepped Lexi from behind a sheet hung over two coat racks. Miley Cyrus pumped through the speakers and Lexi began tossing the hula hoop to her two co performers, Jordan and Joe. Her smile couldn’t get any bigger and was only matched by her mom and dad’s smiles. Her final bow was met with thunderous applause that echoed through the lodge.
There are amazing moments that happen on the hill and our instructors work so hard to see our kid’s progress through skiing and snowboarding; however, those amazing moments occur inside the lodge too; when the chair lift stops, the lights dim and an 11 year old girl tosses a hula hoop in the air.
Written by: Kate Walsh, Camp Program Director