From the calendar

Four Seasons Golf and Ski Center offers ski, snow tubing, snowboarding

Courtesy of Four Seasons Golf & Ski Center

The Four Seasons Golf and Ski Center offers ski and snowboard lessons or day passes so customers can go down the slopes at their leisure. Single-day lessons are $49; students will receive rented gear, an hour-long lesson and a daylong lift pass. Lessons are often taught by local college and high school students.

As the snow nears and students don their ankle-length parkas, there is less motivation to spend time out and about, and much more eagerness to go home after class and bask in the confines of their warm campus homes. Assuming that this routine may get old, Four Seasons Golf & Ski Center has some weekend alternatives for students as the brutal winter makes it way into central New York.

The second the snow hits the ground, Four Seasons’ ski center will open its hills to skiers, snowboarders and tubers, ranging anywhere from beginners to experts. Bill Hane, the operations manager at Four Seasons, predicts the winter activities will begin sometime after Thanksgiving break.

At Four Seasons’ ski center, students can take skiing or snowboarding lessons, or ski and snowboard at their own leisure. Hane describes the ski center as a small beginner area with a 100-foot vertical drop and one ski lift.

Students who are interested in taking lessons before they hit the slope are given multiple options. For a single day, they can sign up for an hour group lesson. High school or college students from the area typically teach the lessons. The skiing and snowboarding lessons are sold as a package and for $49, students will receive a rental board or skis, the hour-long lesson and a daylong lift ticket that is valid from 10 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. These lessons are available on Thursday and Friday evenings, and during the day on the weekends.

Four Seasons’ ski center also offers specials for 6-week and 4-week ski and snowboard camps, $120 and $115, respectively, which offers the one-hour lesson once a week at a discounted price. In addition to those options, beginners can also sign up for a private lesson offered Thursday and Friday evening, weekends and on holidays. The adult fee for private lessons is $55, which does not include equipment rental.



“I think it’s a good way to get outside and get some exercise and fresh air,” Hane said.

Along with downhill skiing and snowboarding, Four Seasons’ ski center also offers cross-country skiing. Hanes said the center offers cross-country skiing lessons, but most students buy the cross-country ski rental and use the fields to ski at their own pace.

Four Seasons’ ski center also has an area for snow tubing. Students can purchase a $25 tubing pass that is valid for three hours of snow tubing. The tubing area has eight separate lanes for tubers to choose from, and they can go down individually or tie onto another’s tube, but Four Seasons only allows a maximum of two tubers to go down at once.

“We have lanes that we carved out with a Snow Cat,” said Hane. “Each one has their own personality to them, and some are a little steeper than others.”

Snow tubing is open 5 p.m. until 9 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays and during the regular weekend hours.

The new winter hours for Four Seasons are 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays. Four Seasons will be open during the holiday break, but will be closed on Christmas Day. Hanes also added that if students come in a group of 12 or more, each student will get $2 off their day pass or lesson.

“It’s a great way to enjoy the winter weather here in New York,” Hane said.





Top Stories