Madison Willey’s skis each look to be about 3 feet in length.
This is her first season out here, says her father Chris Willey of Rotterdam.
`We were here this past Wednesday, so it’s her second time out so far.`
Madison Willey is 2 years old. She is dressed in a pink ski jacket and pullover cap and she glides slowly on her skis as her father holds her shoulder.
This is a common scene at Rotterdam’s Maple Ski Ridge where the motto is `Ski Close, Ski Often.`
As the only ski and snowboard park in the Capital District, Maple Ski Ridge has been the home of area skiers and snowboarders for more than 40 years, and continues to give children who are new to the sport, like Madison, a chance to learn the ropes before moving on to other out of area, and more difficult slopes.
But Maple Ski Ridge isn’t only for beginners. For experienced winter athletes like Matthew March, 12, a snowboarder, Maple Ski Ridge is like a second home.
March frequently goes snowboarding after school and he makes it a high tech affair. Equipped with a small handheld camera, March and friends hit the Ridge Freestyle Terrain Park, which offers challenging jumps, rails and slides to snowboarders and skiers alike.
`Check this out,` says March, showing the camera’s screen to his mother Melanie inside the Ridge’s rustic lodge, which smells of coffee and hot concession food. March’s video turns out to be a blooper of one of his friends falling hard off of his snowboard.
`He’s okay though,` says March, who turns to another friend and shows the video again.
The lodge is also the home of the Schenectady Ski School, which offers seven weekly classes to `ski tykes` and `ski stars` alike. There are also private lessons.
The ski school is directed by Freddy Anderson, who started the school in 1950 at Schenectady’s Municipal Golf Course.
When George Mulyca put a towrope in his field in 1966, Anderson approached the man and asked if she could start teaching ski lessons on his property located off of Route 159.
The Mulyca family still owns Maple Ski Ridge and the one towline in an open field has changed too. The Ridge is now the home of eight trails, a towline, a double and triple chair lift.
In spite of the changes, Anderson, 87, continues to do what she loves ` teach people of all ages how to ski.
`We’re now teaching lessons to 2,200 people a week, and we have a staff of 60, including my daughter Christina, who is the co-director,` says Anderson, who can often be found during the day at the school’s sign-up kiosk in the lodge, unless of course she is out skiing.
`I still ski everyday,` says Anderson, who, much like Madison Willey, put on her first pair of skis only shortly after she learned to walk. `I was never very interested in racing, but I love to teach.`
The ski school is certified by the Professional Ski Instructors of America and teaches the well-known American Teaching System of skiing.
For those completely new to the sport, the Ridge offers rentals of skis, ski bindings, boots, snowboards and other essential equipment to give everyone a chance on the slopes.
And for those that think the recent warm weather might make conditions difficult, officials at the Ridge say their trails will continue to be covered with white, fluffy snow.
`We’ve been making snow like crazy this year,` says Lorraine Moyer, director of ticket sales.
On Friday, Feb. 1 and Saturday, Feb. 2, Maple Ski Ridge will `go red` in a 24-hour ski-a-thon to raise money for the American Heart Association’s `Go Red for Women` campaign. For information or to sponsor a team, call 381-4700.
To have a registration packet mailed to you, call the American Heart Association at 869-4042.
Maple Ski Ridge is located at 2725 Mariaville Road in Schenectady.
For information about ticket rates or snow conditions, call 381-4700 or visit Maple Ski Ridge online at www.mapleskiridge.com.“