Starting 'em Early
For Kids, Cross-Country Skiing is All About Attitude

Skiing is all about attitude. Just ask my two year old! My husband and I took our son Ronan to Pine Lodge Ski Center in Kirtland and had a blast. We weren’t sure how he would react to skiing though he has seen mice skiing down mountains in one of his favorite books and seemed to think this was something he would enjoy. My husband was only 3 the first time he skied and growing up in Colorado skiing is a little bit more accessible. I on the other hand grew up in Northeast Ohio where mountains are tough to come by. We would like skiing to become part of what we do as a family so we figured, why not enjoy what we have here in Cleveland. Lots of great parks with fabulous trails and lots of snow to enjoy cross-country skiing! Like most sports the earlier you start the better your chances of success.

It was a nice day in late January, not too cold but perfect for cross-country skiing because we had just gotten about an inch or two of snow the night before. I was so thrilled to see so many people out! It really helped me shake the winter blues to know that this little winter oasis is right here in our back yard! The Pine Lodge Ski Center is in Chapin Forest and is part of Lake Metroparks. It is about a 10 minute drive off of Route 90. There were a lot of families just like us out for the day for a fun and affordable day in the snow! Adults are just $5 an hour and $2 every hour after that or $15 for the day, and youths under 12 are $3 an hour and $1 for every hour after that or $9 for the day. Ski rental equipment includes boots, skis and poles. You can even enjoy a mile of lighted trails that stay lit up until 9PM; all of this is weather permitting of course.

Some families had sleds attached to them as they were skiing to pull their babies and other families were snow shoeing, which are also available to rent at the lodge. Not only is this a great family friendly activity but is it low cost and good for your heart! Don’t worry if you have never skied before, any day is a good day to start. The lodge offers different classes and camps for all ages and levels.

Ronan was very excited about having the actual skis on his feet and though he wasn’t coordinated enough to use the poles he insisted on having the straps around his wrists. Since cross-country skis are much easier to move in than down hill skis I think this was a great place to start. Cross-county skis allow your heal to come up while the ski stays down so Ronan was able to move in a walking motion while gliding his skis across the snow. Once he was comfortable moving around, at a snails pace mind you but none the less, moving, he said he wanted to go into the trees! He saw some people skiing along the trail through the trees and decided his 20 minutes of lessons was good enough for the big time! We did slowly make our way over but once we got into the thick of it he decided he was done. All in all it was a great day and a wonderful family friendly activity.

Unlike some families in Cleveland we are actually hoping for some more snow so that we can get our son on skis again this year. Though he may not be ready for any big mountains next winter we think that just exposing him to skiing in this way will help to make him more confident next year. Besides, we got some great photos!

Visit the Lake Metroparks Chapin Forest Pine Lodge Ski Center at 10381 Hobart Rd. Kirtland Call 440-256-3810 or find them online at www.lakemetroparks.com.

Comment and Photo from Cool Cleveland contributor Patricia Neligan Barley neliganAThotmail.com
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