Olympic Ski Team? Here I Come! : Ski Snowstar Winter Sports Park
Written: Feb 13 '07 (Updated Feb 15 '07)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: The staff, fun, everything provided there for new skiers, cheap
Cons: I didn't find it sooner!
The Bottom Line: Staff, facilities and different degrees of slopes make this a great place for everyone to get outdoors and ski!
|
|
|
| cmaw63's Full Review: Ski Snowstar Winter Sports Park |
Well, the Olympics team has nothing to worry about, but I still had a great time learning how to ski at Snowstar Winter Sports Park. A few miles from the small town of Andalusia, Illinois, you'll find this compact, yet well thought out winter park. Everything needed for an enjoyable visit is available right there. All you need to bring is yourself, warm/water resistant clothes and money. A surprisingly small amount of money! Best of all, everyone, from beginning to end, was knowledgeable, fun and patient.
The story: At the age of 65, my mother decided it was time to fulfill one of her goals in life...to snow ski. She didn't want to be good at it, just to be able to say she had done it. Being the dutiful daughters my sister and I are, we agree to take her. We're in Central Illinois...not exactly a skiing mecca. I search online and find Ski Snowstar Winter Sports Park, only 2 hours away from our homes. Why hadn't I ever heard of this place before? Because, I had never wanted to ski. It's cold, there's snow and it's exercise. I was still not thrilled about this whole situation when we arrived there.
Arriving:
Pulling in to the parking lot, there is not a question of where to go first. The buildings have large signs on them, directing the first time visitor, easily. We entered the Welcome Center, where you purchase your ski rentals, lift passes and lessons. My mom and sister bought the Beginners Lesson for $30. This included a one and a half hour group lesson, all equipment needed and use of the beginner slopes for the day. I had purchased the Beginners Package online for $38, thinking I was saving $5 off of the $43 beginner package. When I questioned them about the difference, I was told that mine included a ski lift upgrade. I told them back, if you see me on a ski lift call 911...it's going to be bad! Since, I had purchased online they couldn't refund my money, but they did offer me a free meal ticket. I was satisfied.
The Lodge
We had an hour and a half wait until the next group lesson, so we wandered over to the Lodge. Nothing special here. Three walls are windows, so you can sit and watch those out on the slopes. Downstairs is a food service area, where you can get such things as pizza, hamburgers, fries and drinks. This is where we returned after our lesson to redeem my meal ticket. I had 2 slices of pizza and a drink. My sister had the same and paid $2.50 for the meal. There are windows downstairs to watch those outside. They, also, had a fireplace with a nice fire going to sit by, to warm up.
Getting Ready
We were told to come back a half hour before our lesson, to get geared up. We returned to the Welcome Center, as the equipment rental place is straight through to the back of it. The woman, who's name I wish had gotten, had infinite patience. We told her we had never seen ski boots let alone put any on. She got the correct sizes for us and came out, from behind the counter, and assisted us above and beyond what we could have hoped for. She informed us how the boots should feel and readjusted them over and over, until we told her they felt how she said they should. Next, the ski's. The same woman picked out our ski's for us, after we filled out a paper that needed our names, height and weight. When questioned about the need for that info, she stated she would adjust our ski's to work for us, according to the individuals information. Ok, if it's going to help us ski, we'll divulge this top secret info. What to do with the boots you wore and other items you can't take out on the slope? They have lockers in this area: a small one is 75 cents and a larger one $1.25. They lock and you take a small key with you onto the slopes. While getting our ski's we meet our instructor...
The Lesson
Our "group" was...well, the three of us. We walk out the back door of the rental shop onto the bunny slopes. As I said before, this is a well thought out park. You walk to the top of the slope, as you don't put your skis on until the instructor has gone over some information with you. Mainly, how to slow yourself down and stop. I listen, very carefully, on the how to stop part...it seems vital. She then instructed us on putting the skis on. Ok, we are now officially, ready to ski. If our instructor isn't thinking, what the heck are these three middle aged, chubby women doing out here...she's the only one. She leads us through skiing the slope twice, before my mom has had enough...my sister goes once more. It seems the only part of the lesson they retained is: if you can't stop and can control your fall, fall to the side. I'm the person that went kicking and screaming into this adventure...now, I'm not leaving.
My lesson continues to the advanced bunny slope. It is longer and a little steeper. I learned how to turn and slow down and stop from a faster speed. There is what's called a "magic carpet", which is a conveyor belt that will deliver you back to the top of the slope. I do several more runs, then I'm done for the day. We could have all continued, as the ski rental and slope pass is for the day... but our lesson was over and we could all say we had tried skiing. We were happy.
For the Intermediate to Advanced Skier
Besides the bunny and beginner slopes, there are 14 different runs, varying in length and difficulty. Most end in the same area, allowing the user to be taken back to the top by the three available ski lifts (one of them a double/double). Some runs will challenge you by steepness, others by shooting through trees and some by route. Some of the trails have small jumps set into them for those who want to "get a little air time", as we overheard some of the younger adults there saying. The names are interesting: Solar Spin, Zero Gravity and The Black Hole are some examples.
Tubing
My sister was "totally disappointed" that the tubing was closed. We were there on a Monday and the tubing hill is only open 5-9 p.m. Fridays and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturdays & Sundays. The tubing hill looked like a lot of fun and it has a "magic carpet" conveyor belt that will deliver you back to the top. We plan to return in two weeks to get another ski lesson and try out the tubing hill.
Snowstar Info
Early Season hours: (Opening Day thru Friday December 15th) 4 to 9 p.m. Monday thru Thursday and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Spring Hours: (March 6th thru Seasons End) 4 to 9 p.m. Monday thru Friday and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Both Early and Spring Season are determined by weather.
Peak Season hours: (December 16th thru March 5th) Open daily 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Christmas eve is 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and they are closed Christmas day.
There isn't any lodging at Snowstar Winter Sports Park. They do offer a couple of suggestions on their website and we stayed at Country Inn-Suites Moline Arpt, in Moline, IL with $5/night off of our room with a Snowstar pass.
Other Highlights
Another ski instructor, that passed by us, took the time to give my sister some individual attention, as ours was busy helping me learn turns. That he took his own time to help her gain enough confidence to go down the advanced bunny slope was wonderful. We ran into him later at the lodge and when we let him know we were returning in two weeks, he gave us $5 off our next visit coupons.
One more thing I must mention...there was a 78 year old man learning to snowboard. Everyone, including the younger people there, were amazed and encouraging. It was a joy to watch this man boarding down the beginner slope, being encouraged by everyone. I must admit...he was pretty dang good!
Overall Impressions
I loved this place and the people who work there. It's a beginner skiers paradise and an advanced skiers playground. We, already, have plans of returning in a couple of weeks and will be doing yearly visits from now on.
Special thanks to cr01 for adding this to the NY ski resorts, until Illinois can be added to the database.
Recommended:
Yes
Level of Experience Needed: All
Best Suited For: Families
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
cmaw63
|
 in Pets, Home and Garden, Books |
|
Member: Julie
Location: Illinois, USA
Reviews written: 307
Trusted by: 73 members
About Me:
Looking forward to my first grandbaby. She's due November 24!
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.