Generations have answered the clang of the bell at Valley Ski Club Written by: Jeremy Derksen ALLIANCE, AB - A bell rings through the frosty air. I half doubt my ears but as I pull ski gear out of the van I hear it again — the unmistakable clang of a large bell, the kind you imagine at an old rural schoolhouse. That’s where this big brass bell originally hung, but for years now it’s been hanging by the Ski School meeting place at Valley Ski Club near Alliance, AB, a little more than a two-hour drive south of Edmonton....

Instructor sees a new sense of confidence in people who learn to ski Doc Pow I recently watched a couple of videos that inspired me, both of which you will find  within this story. The first showcases a recent TED talk featuring life stories from one of the world’s most powerful people in the entertainment industry, the other showcases a young girl’s first time ever learning to ski at Jasper’s Marmot Basin. What ties them together?...

Before coming to Canada from India, Chaitanya and Tejas Gautam had never seen snow, much less played in it. Their first winter in Toronto was miserable and cold. But the boys were singing a new tune after taking their first ski lesson in Edmonton, AB....

Blame the kids. Before they came along you were a fantastic skier. You had great equipment, and could handle bumps, glades, steeps and looked pretty damn good après ski....

School-age boys are a common sight tucking down ski runs and blazing paths through the trees at Alberta resorts. But the fact my son Bennett, 8, can do these things is in many ways extraordinary. Bennett has autism, and it’s been a long and slippery trail getting him on skis....