Marmot Basin is open, and Jasper’s many ski and snowboard clubs are getting ready for an exciting year on the slopes.

Snowboard Jasper Free Mountain is preparing for an orientation day in December that will help determine what groups the kids will be divided into once the teams start regular practices in January. 

Sean MacCarron, with Free Mountain, said the day will be spent on the hill with a coach to evaluate the kids and match them with peers of the same age and skill level. 

Once the practices start in January, kids aged 17 and under will get between ten and eight weeks of instruction on the hill each week. Younger kids will ride for eight weeks on Sundays, when the hill is a little quieter, and more advanced kids will hit the slopes on Saturdays. 

The program is freeride-freestyle. It helps develop a foundation for all-mountain riding that can be applied to freestyle technique.

“Basically it’s just to make people better snowboarders,” said MacCarron. 

The kids also learn respect for the hill, other riders and themselves. 

Coaches are trained by the Canadian Snowboard Federation, but the most important part is the interaction between each member of the group.

“The coach can always show you how to do certain things and lead by example,” MacCarron said.

He added that many of the kids develop by watching their peers learn and being encouraged by the success all around them. 

Each group will be made up of no more than seven people. Last year there were three different teams and many are returning for another year of riding in the team environment. 

MacCarron expects Free Mountain to get under way in the third week of January when the days get a little warmer and longer. The pace on the ski hill also slows down, allowing a prime environment for teaching. 

“Safety is always the number one priority,” MacCarron said. 

More information on Snowboard Jasper Free Mountain can be found on their website at www.freemountain.org