NYSEF or Mountain Adventure?

What do people think?

Mountain Adventure is certainly easier on the parents - drop them off at 8:30, pick up at 3:30. No volunteering or driving around to other mountains.  The driving around is what convinced us to stick with Mountain Adventure even though our daughter was begging to do the race team.  I just couldn't stomach the thought of working all week, driving 4 1/2-5 hours up to Gore, just to get up at 5am to drive to another mountain the next day.  Our daughter has now moved up to the teen version of Mountain Adventure and she is in heaven.  It's just Mountain Adventure minus the lunch, but she was getting sick of those Saddle Lodge hot dogs anyway.  Our son is in MA too and loves it (he will never be sick of those Saddle dogs).  They have a new director this year - Mark O'Connell- who was one of the MA instructors last year, and he is really doing a lot with the program - he browbeat Gore into finishing that new clubhouse before the season started (although I'm sure others would have preferred a refurbished Tannery). The full season program is up to 45 kids from 29 last year.  We never did NYSEF so I can't comment on that experience but I'm sure it is great for those that can make the commitment.

Here is my 2 cents based on the equal programs at WF - Cloudsplitter Club vs Nysef.  Gore's MA program was modeled after Clousplitter Club but there are some differences like length of the season and options etc.

I was a coach in Cloudsplitter for 8 years and my wife still is.  I now have a son in Nysef now who had been in Cloudsplitter for 3 seasons skiing with my expert level group.  He really enjoyed the program.  Note that i had to pay full price to have my own son in that program.

I think that CC / MA are great programs for kids to learn how to become strong skiers.  These ski school programs are more social than a more goal oriented Nysef program.  I think that a ski school program like CC / MA is ideally suited to take younger kids and develop their skiing skills and make them all around good skiers.  I can't speak about the Gore program but when we created the WF Cloudsplitter program the mandate was that we would only bring in very experienced and PSIA certified instructors to coach in the program.

At some point parents and the kids need to make a decision - if the kid is now a strong skier and has a competitive drive then NYSEF becomes the clear path for them.  I have personally advised quite a few parents of kids that I coached on the decision to go to Nysef or stay in CC. I now look around the lobby in NYSEF now and see so many of the kids that I used to coach.  On the other hand if the kid is not competitive (I mean this in both a physical skill and mental / personality sense- some kids just are not interested in competing) or the family can't commit time wise to a fairly regular schedule, CC / MA is a good path to continue on until they are 12 or young teens.  I also have many young adults that I used to coach that are now instructors themsleves now.  The program has worked as a feeder into our apprentice and staff.  Its a no brainer to hire a former Cloudsplitter as they know how ski school works, are strong skiers and are already are used being trained.

This is the way that the Austrian's handle their kids.  They all go thru ski school until around age 10 and then are either funneled into race programs or just skiing for fun.  Recently USSA has decided to make changes to the racing programs to allow for more development time before racing becomes much more serious.  I think that this is an excellent change and meshes with what they are doing in other countries.

As a parent be realistic about what you and your children want from skiing.  If you can make a commitment to the sport and have a competitive athlete then NYSEF is an excellent choice.  You also can not go wrong with a program like CC / MA.  Personally I think that the ski school programs make a nice starting point and you then can chose a path from there based on your childs personality and skiing development.

I have had multiple kids in the NYSEF program for years. The kids make friends for life and become totally awesome skiers. It does require a major family commitment especially if you live far from the mountain. However, it beats being a hockey parent and you will have many memorable road trips if you stick with it. You will also get to ski mountains (or hills) you never dreamed of visiting! The NYSEF folks are always looking for new kids and they are happy to have someone tag along with a group for a day to see if you like it. If you are interested in that opportunity stop by the training center and talk to Bone or Kelly and they will hook you up for the day.

zach wrote

The NYSEF folks are always looking for new kids and they are happy to have someone tag along with a group for a day to see if you like it.

Cloudsplitter Club will also give kids a free trial to see if they like it.  You need to talk to the director Pat Simpson to arrange this ahead of time.  Not sure if MA at Gore also does this.