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Standing under the glowing orange parking lot lights at Skyview High School on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, one could swear they hear laughing children echoing from the distant woods.

It's not spooky after dark phenomenon, but part of the Tsalteshi Trails Youth Ski Program that's been kick stepping away since mid-January, three days a week.

The program wraps up on Saturday, but instructors and organizers are heralding the first year program as a success.

On one of the outside walls of the shed where the groomers are housed hangs a blue banner with white lettering that reads, "No child left inside."

On Saturday mornings and in the evenings on Tuesdays and Thursdays, the banner is fairly accurate, as a sea 43 6- to 12-year-olds practice both their classic and skate ski techniques in the nearby field.

Laura Pillifant, secretary for the Tsalteshi Trails Association, said that even a few days before lessons began, organizers were hoping to have maybe 20 students, let alone over 40.

The program's popularity shouldn't really be a surprise though

Mary Helminski, of Soldotna, who has a daughter taking lessons, said learning to ski is affordable, easy, healthy, family oriented and something participants can do through out their entire lives.

"What's really nice about this, what I really love about it, is that it's a family thing. You're not sitting on a bench and you're not sitting watching your kid play. The instructors encourage the parents to ski too," Helminski said.

Helminski said she usually goes out and skis with her daughter's group.

She noted that the Tsalteshi Trails are always open even after the lessons end, so families can come back and ski on their own as well.

"That's what's so cool about skiing, nobody ever says, hey you can't come in here," Helminski said.

She also pointed out that once the students learn to ski, they'd never forget it.

Adam Reimer, a program coach, said that's part of the program's mission.

"This is something they can do until they're 80-years-old," Reimer said. "It would be great if all of these kids raced in high school, but its even better if they're all skiing when they're 50."

Helminski said that as a parent, the costs were more than reasonable and that she'd pay double the $80 lesson fee for what it offered her daughter both in the short and long run.

"You look at the price and you say, they're not doing drugs, they're not smoking, they're not out partying, because they're too tired and it's a good endorphin thing," Helminski said.

While $80 covered lessons, students also had to have the equipment.

Additional funding for the program was obtained through the Department of Natural Resources Alaska Trails Initiative Grant to help purchase skis as well as pay a stipend for coaches.

Participants could than rent skis from the program for $20, leaving them to purchase boots and poles on their own.

Making the program a success took more than just putting the students, many of whom had never skied before, out on some snow with skis attached to their feet though.

The instructors said they all had to do a little homework themselves. While many of them have skied for years, instructing was something new.

"I spent a lot of time studying how to teach children how to ski, what comes first, skills they need. There's no set curriculum out there," said Robin Nyce, a coach.

Nyce said she'd purchased several books on teaching cross-country skiing while other instructors said they had done the same or researched the topic on the Internet.

The program also required more than just three coaches with so many students signed up. That came through innumerable volunteers and parents.

Helminski said it was common to see other parents helping out with the lessons. She said instructors often asked parents to come out and give them a hand.

"They'll put you to work," she said, laughing.

While the instructors searched for a curriculum and advice from other program directors in Anchorage, they also relied a little on their own learning experiences.

"I taught myself how to ski, I never had a coach," Reimer said, "So when I ski with these kids I can see things that took me five years to figure out and I can tell them in five minutes."

Instructors excited to share their sport, combined with motivated students sent many of them gliding on their way much faster than most expected.

"I really thought that after the first night, we had no beginners. It was just incredible, they just learned so fast," said Denise Harro, also a coach.

Reimer agreed, saying, "I was doing a lot of drills in the field, thinking that the trails would be intimidating, but it turns out, they want to go to the trails. You have to get through the drills fast before they get bored."

Dr. Justin Moore, a volunteer instructor, added that students weren't just looking for the easy routes either

"They don't want to do the flat trails, they want to do the hills," he said.

The fast learning skiers also had ideal conditions to learn on instructors noted, crediting trail groomers, Bill Holt and Tom Seggerman, with putting in long hours on the machines to ensure that snow conditions were perfect through this winter's whims of sub-zero to above freezing weather.

Consistent snow conditions on top of safe, lighted trails, along with a core of dedicated volunteers have all made this year's program possible.

Nyce said the TTA board has long hoped to offer a program like this, but this year everything seemed to be in the right place to get it off the ground.

"It's an incredible amount of work, you cannot believe how much work it is," Nyce said.

The time and effort was worth it however, Nyce said she was "hooked."

With lessons wrapping up this week, she and other instructors have already started planning for next year.

As to whether the program will have the same popularity next year, "I think so," Helminski said. "I will bet they pick up another 40."

Dante Petri can be reached at dante.petri@peninsulaclarion.com.