River Ranger Interns at Vail

      The River Ranger high school interns had an incredible opportunity to learn to snowboard at Vail ski resort this Saturday. ​

     Our day started long before the sun rose, as we met up with Environmental Learning for Kids (ELK) and drove up into the Rocky Mountains. Our 10 interns engaged in lessons alongside students from ELK, as part of SOS Outreach’s SnowCore program. This program provides youth with a one day snowboard trip that includes professional instruction, equipment rentals, lift tickets, and lunch.

     The majority of the students had never been on a snowboard and fearlessly followed the instruction, gaining more confidence and experience as the day wore on.
     In the morning, our SOS volunteer contact greeted us and spoke to students about courage, one of the core values of SOS's program.  Then we headed to the bunny slope where instructors guided students through the beginning steps of snowboarding. The day on the mountain was split in half by a quick lunch in Vail's cafeteria, and then we all headed  back to keep practicing! Students learned how to dig in heel-side and toe-side, how to stop, make a J turn, and even how to just stand up - which is way harder than it looks!
​     By the end of our adventures on the mountain, students kept telling us how much fun they had and how they couldn't wait for another turn on the slopes.

See more photos on our instagram - and follow us to see what other adventures we go on!