'Blizzard' Season Is Around The Corner

When Jeff and Jennifer Lewin bought Blizzard Ski & Snowboard School in 2004, they knew they wanted to continue the tradition of the school that had served the area since 1958, but they also knew a key to their success would be continuing to develop partnerships with communities and retailers throughout their coverage area.

A traveling ski and snowboard school, targeting K-12 age groups, Blizzard Ski & Snowboard School has Saturday and Sunday programs available for all levels, including parents. They visit many area ski areas including Afton Alps, Buck Hill, Mount Kato, Powder Ridge, Trollhaugen, Welch Village and Wild Mountain.

"We represent 56 different suburbs in the Twin Cities," said Jennifer Lewin.  "We go from Shoreview to Eagan and Mound to Hudson and it has been crucial for us to partner with community park and recreation departments and retailers within our industry."

With more than 20 bus stops around the metro, residents have plentiful options for pick up locations for their kids to attend a Saturday or Sunday Blizzard program. While convenience for parents is important, Lewin says Blizzard's commitment to top level ski and snowboard training is still the vital element that keeps people coming back to the program.

"We absolutely want to make this easy for parents and a convenient option for them," Lewin said. "Blizzard is all about families. We want to help make skiing and snowboarding a lifelong activity for families and hopefully create a passion that people carry with them and their families forever. We want to continue every year to offer the best training possible for your family while maintaining a positive and fun experience each time out."

Jeff Lewin began as a member of the blizzard program when he was 10 and later became an instructor in the program. His experience at Blizzard as a youngster helped develop his love for skiing and before purchasing Blizzard, he served as an instructor at places all around the world, including Vail, Colorado and Australia.

"His experience instructing all over the world is a testament to the program and how it developed his passion and self confidence as a youngster," Jennifer said. "While it is absolutely about training and making kids better, the programs also create increased self confidence and the kids develop great new friendships. I've received so many calls and emails from parents thanking the program for developing their kids in many different ways."

With more than 800 skiers and snowboarders invading a ski area on any given weekend, many parents wonder how a program can keep things organized for their children so they feel comfortable for the all-day adventure. 

"We take this very seriously and even though it may look like organized chaos in the lodge, we work very hard to make it an organized and pleasurable experience for all levels," Lewin said. "We are generally at a 10-to-1 student to teacher ratio and we require all instructors to be over the age of 18 with training and background checks. We even have a Blizzard table at each site to ensure that any question or concern is dealt with immediately."

While the program is targeted toward the K-12 crowd, some new programs that Lewin referenced are a parent breakthrough program where parents can take lessons and many teen-only events designed to give teens the opportunities to stay active and make new friends throughout the season.

"We are really trying to make this a family experience and we've initiated programs like the parents program and the teen-only events to give families many different options," Lewin said. "It's just another way that Blizzard is trying to keep promoting the active lifestyle in the cold winter months in Minnesota and keep everyone in the family involved."

The Blizzard Ski & Snowboard School Family Information Fair is 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 15, at the St. Louis Park Recreation Center.