Gale Wondrasek-Lane, a retired educator, started Let’s Go Skiing 25 years ago along with Jessica Issendorf-Johnson, who was a student teacher she was advising at Bottineau Elementary. Wondrasek-Lane said the goal of the program was to take advantage of the school’s close proximity to the Bottineau Winter Park and give Bottineau third graders their first taste of the thrills of skiing.

“The idea was to have a program they could do after school and that would be a life-long physical education,” Wondrasek-Lane said. “Some of my students will never ski again. They’ll ski in third grade. Some of them will ski on. Other ones will come back when they’re in high school. It’s kind of fun.”

Wondrasek-Lane said the program evolved into a ski mentoring model which paired older high school students with younger ones on the slopes. Wondrasek-Lane credited the program’s ongoing success to all the student and adult volunteer ski mentors, saying, “This program would not exist without them.”

The mentors work directly with the third grade students, helping them stay upright as they master their “pizza” and “french-fries.” Countless students from both Bottineau and West Hope schools and their families have contributed or been involved in the program over the years, as have generations of teachers who have continued the program.

Submitted Photo Gale Wondrasek Lane guides one of the third grade participants in a Let's Go Skiing program event at the Bottineau Winter Park on Friday, Feb. 27.

“I even had a parent that went by me skiing, and his third grader was in the program last year. I taught him. We have a ski patroller. All of her kids learned in my third grade program and then came back. Now they’ve been part of the race team and ski mentors. It’s just a really big deal for us,” Wondrasek-Lane said.

All told the students get about four hours of lessons at the Bottineau Winter Park. Wondrasek-Lane thanked the teachers and administrations of both schools for letting the students have the day off, especially after it had been rescheduled previously due to weather.

“We are so lucky to have a place like this. They call this the ‘Jewel above the Prairie’ and the program would not exist without the support of Bottineau Winter Park, which helps keep skiing affordable for the students,” Wondrasek-Lane said. “This program has been extremely beneficial for students who might not otherwise have the opportunity to ski.”