' i] A ant acebnoipecel ae dle, thy Shames ski school - personal attention by Betty Barton Shames Ski School Director Andrew Rushton is on the job and enthusiastic about the Ski School program planned for this season at Shames. Rushton is a long-tirhe Terrace resident who began his career in skiing as a youngster on the old Bormite Mountain ski hill and at Northern Heights on the Birch hill. He is best known for his coaching and instructing at Kitsumkalum ski area in past winters and fish guiding in the summers. He also spent two seasons instructing at Hudson Bay Mountain in Smithers, one year at Panorama in the Kootenays, and was ski school director at Purden Village near Prince George. Like everyone else in the area, he says, "I've been waiting for Shames for a long time!" Andrew Rushton is looking for- ward to managing the ski school program on Shames, "a commun- ity-oriented hill", He adds, "We'll give personal attention and culti-: vate trust with our students." A new dad himself to 22-month old Jeffrey, Andrew likes "watching the kids progress through the pub- lic school lessons" and he.has the patience of Job in teaching the late-blooming ski athletes (I speak from personal experience) and those who just need a little brush- ing up. Andrew’s primary goal this sea- son is to get as many people inter- ested in skiing as possible, "I want 1o make people realize. that skling can be for everyone! Introducing people io the sport is cxciling. It’s fun and it’s not that expensive. It really gives you a lift in the win- ler." and the sun was shining. Dec, ae i The Shames Public School program, for all schools in the region, is designed to give skiing opportunities’ to all youngsters, whether their families ski or not. Letters are being sent to all the schools including outlying areas like Hartley Bay and Kincolith. Andrew extols the virtues of the program, "It gives them a chance to go up with their friends and introduces them to a healthy, extra curricular activity." Shames will be offering one full- day or 4 1/2-day packages to the public schools and will be tailoring the programs to the needs of the individual schools from the out- lying areas. Once board approval is obtained, it will be up-to the individual schools to determine how they want to fit this into their curriculums. Parents are encour- aged to contact their children’s schools to find out more about the program. The packages will include the ski lesson, lift ticket, - equipment rental, bus transport and progress reports. In its first year of operation, the Public School Pro- gram will be concentrating on students from Grades 5 through 12, Andrew describes the beginner’s area at Shames as “excellent! It’s fenced and wide; it’s superbly groomed; there’s little. grade; it’s protected from the rest of the mountain; it’s visible from the lodge; and you can ski between the beginners’ area and the lodge without having to ski down or walk up a hill." Also, a handic tow much superior to the old rope tow will easily transport beginners up the beginner run, “The Adult Race League (for over-18s) and Fun Races, for @ Natalie Monteith was one of the first skiers on Shames Mountain last weekend. Conditions were perfect, the runs groomed by the new Prinoth snow machines (one in background of photo), no win 15 is opening day. See you ther of everyone - tots, teens, oldsters, broken down inlo age categories and taking place every Sunday at Shames, will work on overall skiing abilities, gate turns, etc to keep skiing interesting and chal- lenging for the more advanced skier. This could lead to the Masters Program, an adult fun league with races for all age categories over 18, Participants can travel to dif- ferent hills and participate in races in their age categcries. Another one of many fun activ- ities at Shames this winter will be the Corporate Cup Challenge. It’s an opportunity for local busi- nesses and organizations to get teams together and race against one another at Shames. Andrew felt it had good success when he introduced it at Kitsumkalum and other ski areas where he’s worked. Look forward to many special events during the ski season at Shames this winter, including Hat Day and Spring Break-Up. Andrew hopes to develop a Snow Play Area for youngsters on the mountain near the daylodge. That way, the parents can keep an eye on them from the lodge and the youngsters can have a safe, fun § place to play. Jt will be completely fenced and contain play characters, bumps and burms for sliding over and a Terrain Garden. Keep your eyes open for this exciting new feature. A final note from Andrew Rush- ton as Shames gears up for open- ing on or near December 15, "I'd just like to thank the directors of Shames and the members of the community who have supported the Shames project. Without their super efforl, we wouldn’t have it." The, Ferace: I Includes: oki & Sleep Packages en 4900 Per person/per night Double occupancy — Shames Mountain 1990/A supplement to the Terrace Review 7 *modern room accommodation for one night *FREE breakfast *Complimentary Pass to the Terrace Aqua ¢ Centre *All-Day Ski Pass _ Weekender & Ask about Mid-Week Ski Packages at the Terrace Inn 4551 Greig Avenue, Terrace, B.C. V8G 1M7 For Reservations, Call (604) 635-6630 or Toll Free 1-800-663-8156 Fax (604) 635-2788