STORY AND PHOTOS BY KAREN BOSSICK

If you squinted, you could see a smattering of snow on the upper part of the hill at Rotarun Ski Area. To get back to the lodge, the youngsters had to make some turns on icy, frozen grass.

Mother Nature didn’t bestow a copious amount of snow on the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation’s inaugural Rota-Rippers season this year.

But coaches made do.

With just about four days out of 16 class days suitable for skiing, they substituted a variety of activities to hone the children’s athletic skills, including jumping on trampolines and walking slack lines  in the SVSEF Air Barn in Elkhorn, ice skating at Campion Ice House and even winter hiking highlighted by the addition of Matt Archibald’s kite.

And the kids were as excited, as if they were powderhounds cruising through snorkel-deep powder.

“Even with the lack of snow, my child has been having a blast,” said Alison Marks. “He loved the Air Barn, skating, hiking to the top of the mountain—especially when someone bought a kite.”

“It didn’t matter to them if they were doing hula hoops—they were just happy to be here,” said SVSEF Barb Dunn.

The Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation started the Rota-Rippers for first-time skiers and Board Rippers for first-time boarders ages 5 through 9 this year.

There were 120 kids between the Rippers and the eight-week LASAR (Learn to Alpine Ski and Race program) for those ages 5 through 11.

A dream of Dunn’s, Rota-Rippers targeted children whose parents have never skied.

“The idea is to reduce the financial, cultural and geographical constraints that have created barriers preventing some of the children in the valley from being able to try skiing,” said Dunn. “We want to grow mountain kids.”

“It’s a community feel good program,” said Cynthia Knight, SVSEF’s director of development. “And it’s a great opportunity for the south valley.”

Donations—more than $5,000 came from Eye On Sun Valley readers who read about the program last November—rolled in to help cover the $200 tuition and season pass, equipment and even clothing.

And parents jumped on board—one mother even drove her children from Shoshone to take part in the program.

“It’s a whole different animal, having never-evers,” said SVSEF Coach Brian Caulkins, as he described children who have never skied before. “Everything is targeting the first generation, getting kids off the couch and onto the hill. We got lots of smiles, and we got all but a couple on the lift the first day.”

During a season-ending party for that attracted a hundred parents and children to Rotarun Ski Area for KB’s burritos and Konditorei cake, Fernando Hurtado told coaches how he wanted to help out with the program any way he could after seeing the difference the program had made in the lives of his two children.

His daughter—6-year-old Fernanda—had taken a fancy to ice skating while watching the Olympics on TV. And she loved getting to try it for herself when the group spent an afternoon at Campion Ice Rink.

“She likes trying any activity, and she loves learning something new,” Hurtado said. “My son is shy but now because of this he loves to do things with other kids out of doors.”

Marisol Ramos, concurred: “My 7-year-old daughter Victoria was sad that there was not enough snow, but she thought the skiing was good for what they had. She likes sports. She likes wild stuff. And she came home so excited about everything they did.”

Anne Kalik, a volunteer with Rota-Rippers, came away impressed, as well.

“A lot of times anymore you say, ‘What’s the magic word?’ meaning ‘Please’ and ‘Thank you,’ and the kids don’t have any idea what you’re talking about,” she said. “But at the air barn these chidlren were so kind and polite. You could see the children’s joy, how really happy they were to learn.”

The SVSEF board is examining what it will take to put in snowmaking, which would offer dependable snow for the mountain and allow youth afterschool programs to expand, said SVSEF Director Sam Adicoff.

The board of Rotarun Ski Area secured a pump house and water rights last year. And directors estimated it would cost $50,000 to acquire a portable snow gun and compression equipment, line a nearby pond that would provide water to a gravity-fed fire hydrant  and provide a pipeline to ferry that water.

“We’re looking at snowmaking as part of a bigger project that would also involve improvements to the lift and lodge,” said Adicoff.

DONATIONS CAME FROM:

Friends of Rotarun, including Betsy and John Ashton, Gillian Hatch, Julie Weston and Gerry Morrison, Marjorie and Barry Traub, Randy and David Caldwell and Anne Kalik.

Sponsors of Rotarun, including the Horizon Foundation and Margaret Chadbourne, John Foundation of the Rockies, with Tom and Ellen Campion, Berit Campion and Lynn and Ted Wadell; Power Engineers; William Carey Hay Foundation via Beverly and Michael DeChevrieux; Friedman Memorial Airport, Wood River St. Luke’s and Cox Communications.

Others included Syringa Mountain School, which provide vehicles for transporting kids; WOW, which facilitated the building of a timing shack; the Papoose Club and Hunger Coalition, which provided  snacks; Board Bin, which supplied leased equipment, and Gold Mine, which provided discounted clothing.

Also, the Wood River Women’s Foundation, which provided a grant for the LASAR program; Hailey Ice;  BC Builders, which donated $2,000 in labor and materials for the construction of benches and cubbies; Kids Mountain Fund started by Kaz Thea, which provided scholarships for equipment via Sturtevant’s;  Sun Valley lift mechanics, who helped shore up the lift; Sun Valley Ski Patrol, which donated vests, banners and yellow safety pads; Galena Backcountry Patrol; BCRD, which leased a groomer; Rotarun, which provided the site and infrastructure, and the SVSEF, which provided programming.