Eleven-year-old Zachary Johnston says that skiing, for some "normal kids takes years to learn."
"It took me one day," he said. "I was just a natural at it."

The fifth-grader at Altamont Elementary School is taking ski lessons at the Double H Ranch in Lake Luzerne for his second year this winter. The ranch offers support to children and their families dealing with chronic illnesses.
"I’m at the top of the mountain" the king of the hill," he said of his status within the school, being in the highest grade.
Zack said the ranch is "awesome." His brothers, Alex, 9, and Ian, 7, agree, "It totally beats Jeepers and Chuck E Cheese’s," said Alex. They both learned to ski at the ranch, too.

Alex snowboards, and Zack and Ian ski.
"I prefer skiing; it’s much easier," Zack told The Enterprise.
He said that speed is his favorite part of skiing. "It feels great to be on skis."
The three Johnston children, along with their parents, Lee Ann and Kerry, went to the ranch for a family weekend program during the summer. The kids got to ride on horses, and do high ropes, which "was totally awesome," they all agreed.
Mrs. Johnston said the ranch and the programs it offers is "a great opportunity for our family to do something together."
For Zack, the ability "to share the experience with his brothers has been really amazing," she said, preferring not to name his disability. "It’s a great way for Zack to feel successful."

Zack took a skiing trip to Gore Mountain with his Double H Ranch ski instructor, Mike, he told The Enterprise. "Oh my God, it was so windy," he recalled about the trip to the much larger mountain.

He said he noticed while riding he chairlift that he passed the 3,000-feet elevation marker, and he was astounded that he was up so high.
"I could feel the difference between the man-made snow and the real snow," he said. "Natural snow is fluffier, and easier to slide on; it’s softer."
"I feel so free when I ski, " Zack added.

Alex Benninger, a 13-year-old seventh-grader at Farnsworth Middle School also learned to ski at the Double H Ranch.

Alex has cerebral palsy. He has participated in both the summer and winter programs at the ranch for three years now, he told The Enterprise.
"I’ve done things there that I never would have believed I could do," Alex said. "The confidence boost I’ve gotten has been incredible."
The ranch staff helps these kids feel that they "can actually achieve something," said Alex’s mom, Tami Benninger. "It gives them a huge spirit uplifting."
The ranch is "a really beautiful place," Alex told The Enterprise.
He said he has written songs about the ranch, and "everybody has heard my stuff."

Alex skis on two skis, and uses two outriggers – poles with attached skis. He skied in last year’s winter Empire State Games in the four-tracker division, earning a silver medal, he said.

Alex has an identical twin brother, Jake, and a 10-year-old sister, Renee, who, along with his parents, Tami and Trent Benninger, have cheered him on as he zooms down the slopes.
"He loves it, he absolutely loves it," Mrs. Benninger said of the pleasure Alex gets from the ranch.
Everyone at the ranch, Alex said, "greets you with a smile, even if they are having a bad day."
"Every instructor has a big open heart," Mrs. Benninger said. "They are so wonderful."

Instruction

The winter program is staffed by 115 volunteer ski-instructors and ski patrol. Ronald Von Ronne, of New Scotland, is the ski-school director. He oversees the ski instructors, curriculum, and training, he said. His wife, Judy, does administrative work.
The ranch’s team includes some of "the most extraordinary people in the world," Doug Jacoby, a parent of a skiing student, told The Enterprise.
Von Ronne has been working with the winter program at the ranch for about five years, he said. "The first day I was there, I knew it was something special."

Von Ronne told The Enterprise that his experience working with the children at the ranch "has made me a whole person."
Von Ronne said that he and his wife were lucky to have four "wonderful, healthy" children. Working with the kids at the ranch has been "an amazing opportunity to learn how some families have to deal with special children all their lives," he said.The ranch is a great opportunity for the kids to "understand they are not alone," Von Ronne said. The kids all face similar struggles.
"They’re just kids, and they want to have fun," he said. "They can do as much as we convince them that they can do."

Each instructor must participate in a minimum of four days of training per year, Von Ronne told The Enterprise. The training sessions are done both on-site at the ranch and at Gore Mountain, he said.
One aspect of the training is "disabled ski teaching," he said. The instructors learn how to use the various equipment with which the ranch outfits the students, he explained.
The children are each teamed with two instructors to guide them down the mountain, and are provided with "all the equipment they could need," instructor Rex Moon told The Enterprise.

Most weekends are set up on a per-day basis. Usually there are 15 to 20 students scheduled per day, Moon explained.

But the ranch also has a few sleepover weekends, where 10 students are scheduled to attend, and the instructors teach not only the students, but their families as well, he said.

On any given weekend day, the lodge at the ranch is usually packed with close to 100 people, Von Ronne said.
"The kids are darn good," Von Ronne said. The program focuses on improving the kids’ self-respect, he said.
"That is an accomplishment that is very much needed," he said.
Von Ronne said that the main goal of the instructors is to "make sure that everyone has a good time."
"It’s amazing how upbeat these kids are," he said. "I love my job."
"I’ve got such a deep connection to the place," Alex Benninger told The Enteprise. "If I had a chance, I’d love to meet Paul Newman."
If Alex were able to meet Newman, who visits Double H every year, he would tell him, "You’ve built up one of my favorite places in the world."