Skunk Hollow Ski and Snowboard Club

Travel with us as we visit Park City, Heavenly, Telluride and Vail this winter! As a warm-up we will also spend a short weekend at local favorites Cascade and Devil’s Head. Skunk Hollow Ski and Snowboard Club has organized trips and other activities for adventure-seeking men and women over 21 years of age for over 50 years. With membership hovering around 100, we are large enough to offer reasonably priced trips while small enough to allow each member an influential voice in where we go and what we do.

Membership spans all of Chicagoland as well as several other states. All ability levels are represented, so there is always somebody to share the slopes with. Between winter trips and during the summer months, our club remains social with parties, campouts, downtown excursions, dinners and concerts. Social events are largely influenced by our members’ input, so we have done and can do just about anything. Find out more by attending a meeting. We meet the second Thursday of each month at 8 p.m. at Boston Blackies in Arlington Heights.

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Oak Park Ski Club

The club, of course, pursues skiing, racing and snowboarding, but during the year sponsors many outdoor and indoor events. We’ve done excursions to Ravinia, ice cream socials in Park Ridge, scenic bicycle tours along Chicago’s lakefront and through various suburbs, and we target a “Bar of the Month” each month.

No description of activities would be complete without mention of the club’s proud asset in Michigan: its own year-round lodge, located in the Boyne Mountain ski and vacation area. Members and their families and friends who use the lodge are treated to a modern, fully-equipped kitchen and accommodations for 42 guests. This past year we skied Big Sky, Montana; Boyne Mountain, Michigan, and Nubs Nob, Michigan. This winter we’re headed for Vail, Lake Tahoe, and Midwestern destinations including our Lodge. Meetings are the second and fourth Tuesday of the month at 8 p.m. at Champp’s Restaurant & Bar, 955 E. Golf Road in Schaumburg. Minimum age is 21 and the annual dues are $35.

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American Blind Skiing Foundation

The American Blind Skiing Foundation is an all-volunteer 501-C-3 charitable organization for blind or visually impaired skiers, their families, friends and volunteers. It was established in 1971 to provide services for the benefit of legally blind persons including skiing, ski education and other recreational activities. These services are intended to promote the wellness, self-confidence and independence of the members. Ski outings are held every week during January and February. For 2011 we’ll have six day trips to Wilmot or Alpine Valley, two weekends at Devil’s Head and a trip to Breckenridge, CO in March. In the summer we go on a canoe trip, have a guide appreciation cruise on Lake Michigan and do a season kick-off pizza party. Board meetings are the third Monday of each month by conference call.

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Summer Club Activities

With Skiing and Snowboarding being seasonal recreational activities, one can’t help but wonder how these athletes occupy their time during the “off-season”.

The ski clubs of the Chicago Metropolitan Ski Council manage to keep themselves busy by participating in a number of outdoor sports and recreational activities, all year long.
From biking to kayaking and whitewater rafting, these adrenaline junkies explore the outdoors in the most extreme ways, in order to keep them primed and ready for the next ski season to arrive. To learn more about each clubs individual activities visit Summer Activities.

Message from the President

The Chicago Metropolitan Ski Council president, Keith L. Fanta, shares recent updates and changes within the council. Fanta notes the advancements made towards promoting individual club members  through online search engine optimization tools, in order to help gain exposure to the public. To see this issue’s message from the President visit: CMSC Message

2009/2010 CMSC Member Clubs

The Chicago Metropolitan Ski Council’s mission is to promote member ski and snowboard clubs around the Chicagoland area and neighboring states. The 2009/2010 Member Directory, lists all of the Member Clubs in this year’s directory along with contact and meeting information. To see the full 2009/2010 directory visit: Member Clubs

Blind Skier Wins Gold

Founded in 1971, the American Blind Skiing Foundation is a non-for-profit organization dedicated to providing physical and psychological therapy to the visually impaired through their skiing program. Working with skiers of all ages and levels of expertise, the ABSF’s mission is to provide visually impaired skiers with an extra boost of self-confidence by engaging in a challenging and adventurous sport that those with full sight may not even attempt.
Proficient VI skiers can also choose to participate in Ski Competitions through the ABSF.
This year, defending champion downhill racer John Erickson retained his title by bringing home the gold from the NASTAR National Ski Racing Championship in Winter Park, CO.
To read more about Erickson’s victory, visit: Blind Skier Wins Gold

2009/2010 Chicago Metropolitan Ski Council Associate Members

The Chicago Metropolitan Ski Council (CMSC) has Associate Members across the country, ready to offer their assistance and expertise while planning your next ski group vacation. From resort contacts, to sports medicine professionals, to “where-to-get-your-gear,” Associate Members of the CMSC come from a vast array of disciplines.
No matter what your question, the Associate Members of the CMSC are always on hand to help make your next group ski excursion the best one yet. A comprehensive list of North American members can be found here: CMSC List

Midwest Ski Club Profiles

Want to know more about Midwest Ski clubs? Midwest Skier offers information on Ski clubs that make up the Chicago Metropolitan Ski Council. The Fall edition offers information on several area ski clubs. Learn more.

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Blind Skiers Amaze and Inspire

For the past 36 years, the American Blind Skiing Foundation (ABSF), with the help of hundreds of volunteer ski guides, has enabled hundreds of visually impaired children and adults to experience the thrill and excitement of downhill skiing.

One of those first visually impaired skiers was 16 year-old John Erickson. Three years earlier, Erickson had complete vision loss in one eye and had become legally blind in the other due to pressure on his brain.

“Skiing changed my whole attitude about my visual impairment because I suddenly found myself doing something I never thought possible,” Erickson said. And when others voiced their amazement in seeing him ski, he began to consider his visual impairment as an inconvenience, not a handicap.

When a volunteer guide suggested racing, Erickson gave it a try. At first, he said, “it was terrifying; it was skiing as fast as I could, barely in control, behind someone I could barely see. But when I finished that first race, the sense of accomplishment was beyond belief.”

“With the help of my guides, I started to think that almost anything was possible.” Last March, Erickson and his guide, Jennifer Gardner, won gold at the NASTAR National Ski Racing Championships.

Contact ABSF if you would like to volunteer as a ski guide – and help show another visually impaired person that skiing is too fun not to do just because you can’t see well!

Contact: absf.org.

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