East Stroudsburg, PA.
January-February 2017
It is here again!! The Mountain Burners Ski and Snowboard Club. We participated last year, and now again this year. It is amazing in so many ways.
First let me tell you where it is. It is on the Shawnee Mountain Ski Area in East Stroudsburg, PA. It is a great place to take your family to. The atmosphere is very family friendly. There are 23 well maintained trails to explore, the ski and snowboard instructors are all wonderful. It is a full day for us to go there, but we all enjoy it very much.
We are signed up to go with a wonderful group of kids and adults once a week, during a weekday, for 5 weeks, at an amazing price. If you register early, I think end of November, you get an extra day. So it becomes 6 lessons. The price for this joy is $190.00 per person, for the six weeks. Included in the price are 5 group lessons, rentals for every time you come, and a lift ticket. That is an amazing deal no matter how you look at it. (There is a group deal for the weekend, but it is another $100.00 more expensive.) The participants can either choose to ski or snowboard. Please keep in mind that the rentals don’t include helmets, you have to have your own, or you can rent one for an additional cost. Also, another great thing is that once you set up your rental, it will be ready for you every time you come back. This way you only need to measure and try everything only once. It is a huge time and trouble saver! Oh, and if you are sick and miss a session, you can get a pass to come back during another weekday.
Here is how our visit to Shawnee Mountain goes:
We pack snow pants, snowboarding/skiing socks, hats, gloves, masks, goggles, helmets and waterproof coats the night before. We wake up at a really early time for us, around 6 am. Pack a big breakfast and lunch: I usually get sandwich fixings, fruit and yogurt, chips and something ‘sweet and yummy’ as my 7 year old puts it. Put half sleeping kids in the car, get coffee on the way, and drive to Shawnee to be on time for our lessons. The lessons for us start at 9:30 sharp.
The bunny slope has a regular lift, as well as a conveyer belt for the little ones. There is also a separate area for the classes, and another small, fenced off, space where they do classes for the youngest kids. My husband and kids are signed up for the program, while I just come with a book and a cup of tea to hang out by a big sunny window and watch them go at it. The lodge area is open, and has beautiful big windows. There is enough space for everyone, and it never feels crowded.
My little one chose to ski last year, and, with the help of some of the amazing teachers at Shawnee, picked it up very quickly. Now he won’t stop going up and down the bunny hill. It is hard to keep up with him. My big one picked snowboarding. It has been a longer learning curve for him, as snowboarding is generally more difficult, but he is working through it a bit at a time. My husband stays with them on the bunny slope and goes up to the bigger slopes when the kids are resting and having lunch inside with me. We have also used one of the days to go snow tubing in the afternoon. It was fun, but the kids decided that they prefer to ski and snowboard instead. So far this year they haven’t asked to go snow tubing yet.
When we go I make sure to bring a few mugs, and packets of different tea, instant coffee and hot cocoa. In the cafeteria the hot water is .25 to .50 cents a cup, depending on your cup size. This way we get to enjoy some lovely hot drinks to warm us up after the cold.
Aside from the group rate, Shawnee has many other discount deals that you could take advantage of, you can find them on their WEBSITE.
Like I mentioned before, it is a full day, and a long drive, but it is absolutely positively worth it. The kids come home exhausted, but happy.