This won’t help you for this week, but if your kids want to pursue skiing or snowboarding, what you might want to do for next year is enroll them in the Blue Angels program. Our kids love it. It’s run by a local Del Mar family, and what they do is take kids by bus (nice coach-type bus), leaving from Albertsons on Via de la Valle at 6am on 5 Saturdays during the winter, to Mtn. High for the day. Based on age/ability, they’re placed in small groups with a chaperone and instructor for the entire day. They get a full day of instruction, lunch and the bus ride home (DVDs playing all the way), returning at 6pm. They include a Blue Angels helmet, which is mandatory to wear, and they give you a discount on rental packages at Ski Chalet (I think we pay $100 to outfit each kid for the entire season).
Also, if you’re looking for decent ski gear at low prices, we’ve had some luck at Marshall’s. It’s definitely hit or miss but sometimes they have quality stuff like boots, ski pants and jackets.
Our kids have done Blue Angels for a few years now…they both ski and snowboard although now they’re more into boarding. Their skills greatly improve each season, solely based on their Blue Angels experience since we only go skiing maybe one other time during the year. The cost is not cheap – $750/kid – but it’s definitely been worth it for us. We figure it costs less than doing a week at a ski resort with the whole family and may give them even more instruction and time on the mountain.
Their website is at blueangelsnow.com if you want to check it out. If you decide to do it, you have to sign up in the fall because they fill up quickly. I think they take kids from ages 7-17. At first, I was a little nervous putting my kids on a bus and letting them go alone for a whole day, but the care and oversight (as well as instruction) they receive is excellent. The family that runs the program does it in a very first-rate way.
I agree with the other poster that if your kids really want to learn to ski or board, going for one day only may be kind of a kick, but also may frustrate them and cause quite a few bumps and bruises. It’s best to give them some lessons and keep them at it if they’re going to start enjoying it and take it on as a potentially lifelong sport.
