Beginner Skiing Lessons Becoming More Popular For Adults
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The winters here are long and we typically see quite a bit of snowfall.
So it's great if you can find a way to have some fun in the snow. We know lots of Minnesotans enjoy downhill skiing, but did you know that not all of them started skiing as kids?
Increasingly more people are picking up the sport in their 30s and 40s. That's why places like Buck Hill in Burnsville have ski classes just for adults.
"You know what, if you can walk you can ski," said Ski Instructor Tom Schulz. "It is so much fun and as Minnesota winters are concerned, it's a great way to let the time pass."
Ski instructor Tom Schulz is right: I learned how to ski shortly after my 30th birthday.
Buck Hill in Burnsville offers lessons just for adults. Many are people who've never tried before, like Curt Sticha of Shakopee. After decades of snowmobiling, he gave it up because of a back injury.
"Well I want to learn how to ski. Minnesota has beautiful weather in the winter time and I am looking for something to look forward to it," Sticha said.
These two moms are also taking their first ski lessons.
"My kids started skiing this year and I thought it would be something fun for me to learn, so that we can do it together as a family," said Kathy Garland of West St. Paul.
"My husband is an avid skier and we have 3-and-a-half year old girl twins, and they are getting into it and like you, think it's a good family thing to do," said Amy Gilje.
So while it's fun to watch the little ones learn how to ski, you have to give the grownups their props for giving it a try.
"When you take a lesson you learn all those little things, you spend less energy. It is just much more effective to figure out how you do it," said Schulz.
I continue to take a lesson every winter. My husband and I started our kids in lessons when they were 3 and 4 years old and we now take family ski trips to places like Lutsen Mountains. It's not just Buck Hill that offers those lessons for adults, so does Afton Alps and Welch Village and Trollhaugen.
