Travelling ski clubs offer members midweek skiing and lessons at private clubs in Southern Georgian Bay and beyond
by Laurie Stephens
photos by Doug Burlock
The squall is nasty: a deluge of fine, dry snowflakes that swirl in circles, making driving tricky. But I am close to Osler Ski Club and looking forward to enjoying some skiing with the Ski Bees, a travelling ski club that offers midweek skiing at Southern Georgian Bay’s private ski clubs.
A snowsquall like this, in what can only be described as “brisk” temperatures, means one thing: light, fluffy powder. A skier’s dream.
The squall passes and the sun pokes out as I arrive at the ski club, and sure enough, there is an ungroomed carpet of white stuff that is waiting for me to make some first tracks.
As soon as the lift opens, I ride the chair with Ursula Balzer, 64, a Swiss-born former figure skater who didn’t know how to ski when she first joined the Ski Bees 20 years ago. Now she’s addicted, and she and her snowboarder spouse Peter are Ski Bees “regulars.”
“I want to ski even in bad weather because I can learn how to ski in those conditions,” says Balzer, who lives in Aurora. “The last lesson I had, I had that ‘wow’ moment and that’s what you want to achieve.”
Balzer and I set a couple of first tracks down some runs, slicing through three-to-four inches of powder atop a base that’s a bit crusty from the cold that set in after grooming. It’s effortless skiing, but bone-chilling, and I head back into Orchard Lodge at the base of the lift to thaw my toes and watch as more skiers arrive for the day.
The Ski Bees Travelling Ski Club was founded in 1974 by two women from Markham who decided to create a weekday ski program for women who wanted to learn to ski but were too busy on weekends.
The club is now into its 45th winter of offering its members – now both male and female – the chance to ski midweek at private clubs in the Southern Georgian Bay area and take part in week-long trips to ski resorts around the world.
Collingwood residents Caroline Connell-Casey and Mike Casey bought the business in 2006 from co-founder Bunny Kent, and Connell-Casey now oversees all aspects of the operation for its 285 members. A Level 3 ski instructor in Canada and a trainer in New Zealand, her entire working career has been on the slopes, teaching in Australia, New Zealand, Squaw Valley, Vail, Japan, Whistler and Ontario.
The Australian-born Connell-Casey is a dynamo. As skiers assemble outside the Lodge for lessons, she chats with members and instructors and herds the different groups towards the lift, even as snowsqualls stream in and out of Osler. Her enthusiasm for the sport is infectious.
“Caroline is just so passionate,” says Lori Van Kessel, 54, a 15-year member who commutes from Sunderland, Ontario. “She’s keen for everybody to learn.”
Once lessons have begun, Connell-Casey takes me out for a few runs and it’s my time to learn. She seems to float on the snow, in total control, and I watch in awe as she effortlessly carves turns down the pitch ahead of me.
Every once in a while she stops to talk to members on the runs, offering them advice and encouragement. At the top of another pitch she asks if I would like a couple of tips, and when I answer “absolutely,” she shows me how to adjust my pole plants and lengthen my turns.
Our last run together is one of those you long for all winter – brilliant sunshine and a long cruising run that still has lots of light powder. With her instructions in mind, I make long, sweeping turns and feel a rush of exhilaration as I shush down the pitch. I end my morning on that high and head into the Lodge to warm up and grab some lunch.
Connell-Casey says people join the Ski Bees for many reasons. Key is the ability to ski at private clubs on days when skiers are scarce on the hill – and without having to purchase a pricey membership.
The Ski Bees’ snow school program is also well-known and respected in Ontario ski circles, with 13 highly qualified and experienced instructors hand-picked by Connell-Casey.
And perhaps most importantly, Connell-Casey has built a connection with Ski Bees members, knowing each one by name and skiing with them during the season. This is very much a social club whose members share a love of skiing, and many a friendship has been formed on the slopes as people return year after year.
“It is so exciting to have built a platform from which to share our excitement about skiing with so many others, and to run a program where we make many decisions that ultimately and hopefully provide an incredible experience for our members,” says Connell-Casey. “Watching members’ skiing skill and confidence improve over the seasons has been so rewarding.”
Barry Altman is one of those Ski Bee instructors who has many years of teaching under his belt, mostly at Beaver Valley. The 64-year-old Meaford resident has been with the Ski Bees’ snow school for five years and has taught some of its members for the duration.
He says it’s a fun group to teach and he loves helping people improve their skiing and learn to conquer different terrain. “They get a better experience out of skiing and it’s almost like you can see the cartoon balloons go off in their heads,” he says. “That’s really fun when that happens. And that’s what keeps me going – people discovering that they can ski.”
Altman says the Ski Bees has a “phenomenal” pool of instructors that includes five Level 4s and five Level 3s, which is unprecedented for a travelling club. “I actually feel privileged to be in that mix. It’s true that talent attracts talent.”
Balzer is the proof in the pudding. Although a non-skier when she started 20 years ago, she says she now has the confidence to tackle just about anything. “So far, every instructor has been great, right from the bunny hill to now.”
Inside the Orchard Lodge, the room is packed and noisy with Ski Bees members having lunch and chatting about their morning on the slopes. The social aspect of the club is on full display as members talk to me about why they joined and why they continue to be a member.
Margot Nimmo started with the Ski Bees in 2009. An Aurora resident, she’s been skiing for 50 years and was once a member at Craigleith Ski Club. She says she knows 50 per cent of the members and skiing with them is the highlight of her winter. In the summer they re-connect and take canoe trips together.
“It’s a whole new base of outdoor enthusiasts,” she says. “If I were on my last dollar, I’d be doing this.”
Susan Allen, 58, from Sunderland, says the bus rides to and from the hill really add to the social experience. People have been known to bring appetizers, sushi and treats like chocolate-dipped strawberries, she says. The travellers will sometimes play charades and years ago, someone even brought a guitar. This social connection is a powerful motivator: “We’ve come out on days when we wouldn’t normally leave home,” she says.
The ability to ski at a private club is also clearly a draw for Ski Bees members. Swiss-born Marcella Guldimann, now from King City, says she likes skiing better at the private clubs here than in Europe because the snow grooming is better and the lift lines are “more civilized.”
Dave North, 53, of Orillia, chimes in that he likes the quality of the hills he gets to ski, while Lori Van Kessel says she appreciates the scarcity of skiers on the hill. She’s vowed never to ski at a public club again.
“It’s great to have a club of people at our age group who ski every week,” adds Van Kessel. “It forces you every week to get out and ski, and you meet a lot of people. I’m so happy I found this club.”
Love to Ski Club, owned by Collingwood resident Julie Holah, has been in business for 38 years in the area. The club offers a similar program to the Ski Bees with one key difference.
“We’re the only midweek club that does two days a week, Wednesday and Thursday,” says Holah, who took over ownership eight years ago. “That just gives my clients a little bit of flexibility. If they were to sign up for Wednesday but they have a conflict, as long as I have room for them, they can come up Thursday.”
Holah’s clientele – about 250 of them all told – tend to be retirees or people who run their own business and have the flexibility to take off one day a week to ski. “The people in these clubs are so nice,” she says. “Everybody just has this passion for skiing, and I think that’s what I like. They come from all different walks of life, all different backgrounds. But we’re all just there to ski.”
Holah says the bus transportation from a number of locations in the GTA – including Oakville, Georgetown, eastern Toronto and along Highway 400 – makes it easy for people to make the trek north and enjoy the day.
On the bus up, they typically read a newspaper, drink their coffee or chat with their friends, she says. Then at the end of the day, they don’t have to worry about driving. Instead, after a long day on the slopes, they can relax and have a beer or glass of wine before hopping on the bus.
“Half of them sleep on the way home,” she says. “They are typically retired people and they have busy lives. So they may have theatre tickets or whatever that night and they have a little nap on the way home on the bus and then they’re good to go to another event.”
Like the Ski Bees, ski instruction is popular with Holah’s clients, whether they are serious about improving their technique or just want to ski with someone and not have to think about where they are going. The club also has an impressive roster of high-level, experienced instructors.
She says they don’t often have people join who don’t know how to ski at all, but the club does attract a lot of members getting back into skiing after taking years off from the sport.
Both the Ski Bees and Love to Ski are open to all, and while many members live outside the Southern Georgian Bay region, others are local full-time or part-time residents. There’s a basic membership fee, plus additional fees for snow school lessons and pickup by private coach from several locations in and around the GTA, so members can choose their preferences and pay only for what they need.
Both clubs also offer week-long ski trips to ski resorts around the world. These excursions typically cost much less than ski vacations booked individually because the travelling clubs can get big group discounts.
This season, Love to Ski is planning a visit to Sun Peaks Ski Resort in British Columbia in December, then to Jasper/Lake Louise on March 2, followed by a trip to Sestriere, Italy on March 15.
The Ski Bees also plans three trips per season: a visit to Sun Peaks in December will be followed by Banff/Jasper on March 2 and Les Trois Vallées in France on March 15. Since 2006, Ski Bees has taken more than 750 members to more than 23 destinations, and it’s on these week-long trips that members really cement friendships, says Connell-Casey.
Holah concurs. While people may not all ski together, they connect afterward for a drink or dinner and compare notes about their day. It’s a shared, intense experience that creates long-lasting bonds, she says.
“Everybody wants to belong to something; everybody wants to feel like they’re part of something, whether it’s a ski club or a local gym. You like people to know your name when you do activities – you feel special. There’s a big social side of it; everybody gets to know everybody.” I hear a lot of buzz about upcoming trips as everyone heads back out for afternoon lessons at Osler. The squalls have finally made way for brilliant sunshine that has warmed the air.
An instructor gathering his group says, “You guys trust me? I’m going to challenge you this aft.” Then they’re off – up the lift to spend yet another magnificent afternoon on the slopes in search of pockets of fresh powder left over from the morn.
For more information about the Ski Bees, go to skibees.ca. To find out more about Love to Ski, visit lovetoskiclub.com
