DOWNIEVILLE — Nine Downieville School kids hit the slopes at the legendary Palisades Tahoe ski resort Sunday. Ten-year-old Liam Daniel called it “The best field trip ever!” The fourth, fifth, and sixth graders were the guests of Ski-DUCK, a Reno-based non-profit dedicated to “sharing the joys of skiing and snowboarding” with youth who might not otherwise get an opportunity to enjoy a world-class destination like Palisades Tahoe. Indeed, most of the Sierra County kids who went Sunday had never clicked into skis or strapped on a snowboard before. The day started early. Herded into two vehicles in the pre-dawn hours by teacher Faith Edwards and her fellow chaperones, the kids headed over Yuba Pass, south through Truckee, and past the eternal flames that mark the entrance to Olympic Valley. They picked up their passes, got fitted for rental equipment, and met their instructors – all free of charge, thanks to Ski-DUCK. The thrills came early as the young athletes stepped into the historic Aerial Tram. Like a wild ride at a sporty version of Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory, the tram whisked the kids up the mountain – climbing 2,000 feet in eight minutes to High Camp, offering panoramic views along the way. Soaring above the surrounding slopes and legendary lifts like KT-22 and Headwall, and even catching a glimpse of Lake Tahoe itself. More than sixty years since hosting the 1960 Winter Olympics, Palisades Tahoe is still a mecca for wintersport, attracting travelers from all over the world, creating generations of Olympic athletes like Jonny Mosely and Julia Mancuso, and providing a home base for skiers who continue to push the boundaries of the sport – like freeskiing pioneer Shane McConkey and the creator of Gaffney’s Numerical Assessment of Radness, Robb Gaffney. Now we can add nine more names to the pantheon of Palisades athletes: Haven Antrim, Wyatt Burns, Liam Daniel, Rudy Jackson, Chloe Knoefler, Ryker Knoefler, Kyler Ledesma, Hector Nevarez, and Samuel Nevarez. Learning how to ski and snowboard is hard work. But the kids powered through the challenge – even through the infamous discomfort of ski boots. “My toe pinky really hurt,” said Hector. But he gritted through the pain to charge down the mountain again and again. He and his toe are expected to make a full recovery. All returned safely home in time for dinner, extremely tired and equally grateful for an awesome day on a great mountain. “That,” said Liam, “is my kind of Sunday school.”
Chaperones Tom Mooers and Faith Edwards flank the Downieville School skiers
Liam Daniel, Rudy Jackson, Chloe Knoefler, Samuel Nevarez on the Aerial Tram
Ryker Knoefler shreds the GNAR
Hector Nevarez — a man to match the mountain