Want to hang out with active, athletic people? A New Jersey Ski Club might be just for you

BY BOB WILLIAMS

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

SKIING AND SNOWBOARDING

Susan Donlan of Summit says she had always been attracted to active, athletic people. So she joined a ski club.

Today, she's president of the New Jersey Ski Council. As such, she helps call the shots for nearly 50 ski clubs with 10,000 members scattered throughout the Garden State and New York. Although recreational skiing here in the United States has slowly declined over the past 20 years, membership in local ski clubs, such as those throughout New Jersey, continues to grow.

New Jersey clubs range from the Bordentown Ski Club, with 55 members, to the Picatinny Arsenal Ski Club, with 650 members, to the West Long Branch Ski Club, with 400 members. The Monmouth Ski Club in Red Bank, established in 1939, sports 110 members. Annual dues range from $10 to nearly $200.

The New Jersey Ski Council is an umbrella organization that supports the state's private ski clubs, some of which have been functioning since the 1930s. The council itself this year celebrates its 70th birthday. For more information on individual ski clubs in New Jersey, visit www.NJSkiCouncil.org.

"I always liked a group setting," says Susan, who first rented a summer house with others back in the 1970s at the Jersey Shore, then a winter house with others at the Hunter Mountain Ski Area. "I enjoyed the ski house experience so much that I decided to join a ski club — the Craigmeur Ski Club (www.craigmeurskiclub.com) in Rockaway, near where I lived."

Over the years, as Susan moved from one New Jersey community to another, she transferred to other ski clubs. She joined the Short Hills Ski Club in 1995. www.shorthillsskiclub.org.

"Back then, the club asked me to be its representative to the ski council," recalls Susan, who works at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in Manhattan, and who has been skiing for the past 30 years. "Before long, the ski council asked if I would be its secretary, and I agreed." Eventually she became council vice president; she has been council president for the past three years.

"Being part of a ski club has always been an important part of my social life," Susan says. "A ski club is a great place to meet others who have similar interests."

Susan explains that socialization isn't the only reason why singles and families join ski clubs.

"Once you join a ski club, it's less expensive to ski, because many ski clubs own or rent lodges," Susan says.

Susan's club, the Short Hills Ski Club, owns a lodge near the Sugarbush Resort in Warren, Vt., about a four-to-five-hour drive from New Jersey. The two-story structure sleeps 46 guests.

A typical weekend at the Short Hills Ski Club lodge? Here's the deal.

"People usually arrive Friday afternoon and evening, and we'll socialize and unwind a little through the evening," Susan explains of the ritual. "Our club hires a weekend cook who prepares a full Saturday breakfast, full Saturday dinner and full Sunday breakfast. In between meals, we'll ski, then probably head home Sunday afternoon."

Cost for the weekend lodging and meals: a mere $50 to $100 per person, depending upon club membership category, Susan says.

"Of course, since we own the building we've got to maintain it, so we schedule volunteer work parties in the late summer and fall," Susan says. "Members who have specialized talents, such as electricians, plumbers or painters, contribute their skills, and this keeps our maintenance cost down."

According to Susan, another benefit of ski club membership is that clubs often receive discounted lift tickets at many ski areas — possibly as much as 50 to 60 percent off a typical $100 ticket.

Among other membership benefits are club and council racing programs and an extensive travel program.

"Next month the ski council has a bus trip to Jay Peak in Vermont, and then a big trip to Steamboat in Colorado," Susan explains. "While ski clubs run their own trips, the council supplements those with one or two big trips each year. In the past we've skied Japan, South America, New Zealand, Chile, France, Italy — all over the world. This is a big club benefit."

Susan points out that many ski clubs in the state offer year-round activities, such as summer barbecues, clambakes, swimming and boating. The council itself sponsors a jamboree, or trade show, each fall that draws ski and boot manufacturers and other vendors related to the sport. The next one, in October, will be held at the Hanover Marriott Hotel on Route 10 in Whippany.

Each club is different, too, Susan adds.

"Some are singles oriented while others are family oriented," she says. "Over the years a lot of marriages have resulted. A ski club is a real social network."