There are few sports that rid people of the winter time blues like skiing and snowboarding. Sunshine, fresh air and endorphins all mix together in a euphoric concoction of wintertime bliss. Such was the day the students at Vermilion Forks School had last week thanks to the staff, parents and chaperones who escorted the energetic bunch up to Apex Mountain to burn off some serious steam and have a ton of fun doing it.
The group left the Vermilion Forks School parking lot at 7:30 a.m. loaded into two buses driven by our local very competent bus drivers and arrived at the hill just after 9 a.m. where they were met by a large group of organized Apex staff to receive their lift tickets and get suited up for the day. After all the students were fitted for boots and had their snowboards and skis adjusted, they were split up into groups by skill level and skiers vs. snowboarders. The more experienced students skied or boarded a test run before Apex instructors and were given the okay to head up off the beginner hill to the more advanced runs if they passed the test. The less experienced young athletes stayed on the beginner hill with their instructors and were taught the basics right down to the proper use and adjustment of their equipment. They spent the morning in ‘basic training’ and had the afternoon to work on improving their skills under the hill’s staff’s watchful eyes.
The more experienced students headed further up the mountain and got right to it. Finding their way down the mountain with their friends and chaperones. They spent the morning finding their ski/board legs and then at noon met up with their instructors to hone their own skills and learn a few new tips to take them to that next level.
All in all, the warm weather and great staff at Apex made the day a special one. The students all learned some new skills and had a lot of fun doing it. The chaperones and parents who wanted to, each had a moment or two to practice their own skills and get their bodies remembering muscles that had not been used in a while. Warm weather and winter time sport were two things that in unison made last Wednesday a day to remember for the staff and students at Vermilion Forks School.
“Skiing and boarding can be a life time sport,” said VFE principal Barry Clarke. “We really wanted these field trips to be a positive experience for our students and they have been going on eight years. We all enjoy these days.”