Jamestown Elementary school returned to Eldora Ski Resort on March 15, 2022 for their annual ski day, which had not taken place for the past two years because of the pandemic. Finally, to the joy and relief of the students, parents, and faculty, Jamestown Elementary was able to return to this cherished tradition.

Before the pandemic, mountain schools had enjoyed 25 years of three days of skiing at Eldora. It had included three days of discounted lessons for students, as well as discounted lift tickets for parents. This year, Eldora limited the experience to only one day of discounted tickets, with the focus being on lessons for the students because of staffing shortages at the resort. For some families, it was the first time they had had the opportunity to participate in the tradition.

Kristin Bradley was the parent responsible for organizing the event this year. Although she had never been a part of ski day before, she has been a part of the Jamestown community for 15 years. Bradley and her husband, Cooper Didier, moved to Jamestown over 15 years ago. They have two children; their oldest daughter, Theia, is in kindergarten at Jamestown Elementary.

“It’s amazing, it’s such a great community,” she said, “everybody is really close to each other, you couldn’t ask for anything else.”

Bradley skis and snowboards, much like many of the parents, who appreciate the opportunity to have their children learn the sport as part of the physical education curriculum. “I don’t get to snowboard very often,” she said, “and it was so amazing to just get out there and snowboard on this warm, sunny day.”

Patrick Griffin teaches third through fifth grade and has done so for nine years at Jamestown. “What I love to see were all the kids learning a lot from their lessons, getting out there and trying new things,” he said. “We had a number of kids who tried snowboarding today. That was different than what they had tried before. Or maybe their first time skiing, first time snowboarding. They all came back with huge smiles on their faces and are anxious to do it again. So, I think that’s what it’s all about.”

“It’s nice to squeeze in one day this year, and we were glad that Eldora could take care of us for the one day and get enough instructors,” said Griffin. “We really want to get back to three days so the kids can build on what they learned from one time to the next.”

Griffin was happy, still, to have been able to return to the slopes, and was quick to point out the positives. “Overall, a very successful day. Typical bluebird Colorado day,” he concluded. “We’ll probably see some sunburned faces by the end of the day… the kids will be tired tomorrow at school, which is absolutely fine after a great day like this.”

Ski days at Jamestown are known to attract alumni of the school as well as members of the community, which is why the renewal of the tradition is such a significant occurrence. Among the attendees at this year’s ski day was Michael Box, the current mayor of Jamestown. He has been to the ski day many times in the past and was happy to be able to attend this year.

“Jamestown Elementary school is a very, very special institution, that we’re really, really lucky to have in Jamestown. It’s real community asset,” he said.

Mayor Box continued, sharing his memories of the last ski day. “It was about two years ago to the day. It was March 1…I remember. We were sitting up here and we were talking about some sort of new disease. It was COVID. Nobody realized the impact it was going to have on us,” he said. “Now here we are back at Eldora.”

He talked about how it was such a nice event, and how it was able to bring together families and children. He reflected on the students who had graduated from the school who still came back for the ski days, and the parents whose children had grown up experiencing the camaraderie of learning to ski together at Eldora. “It’s a great community day to ski and be together as parents with younger kids.”

Kristin Bradley summed up the sentiments of the school community: “I think everyone was super grateful that we were able to come together, especially after last year, not being able to get this together with COVID,” she said, “and just thankful that we can be here together and have a fun field trip.” After hearing about the event for so many years, she spoke for all of the students, parents and staff who made this year’s ski day unique. “It exceeded my expectations. Such a nice day.”