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11/09/2016 07:30 AMWhen Annette Murphy went to North Haven High School in the mid-1970s, the North Haven Ski Club (NHSC) was in its early days after being founded in 1971. Many of her friends took advantage of the cheap rates—$7 for the bus and $14 for a lift ticket—to spend time on the slopes with friends.
“My sister and I were the only ones in the family who skied so we’d go on the trips,” says Annette. “Back then, there were three buses that would take the kids from school.”
Annette and her sister continued to take ski trips throughout high school and on breaks from college. In 1986, they took a ski trip to Hunter Mountain.
“I met my husband David on that trip. Eight months later, we ran into each other again at a friend’s wedding and started dating,” says Annette. “We joined the ski club together and did a ski trip together to Utah with my sister and a bunch of friends of friends and we were married the following year.”
Annette and David both attended North Haven High School, but because David was two years older and the school was split into a 9th- and 10th-grade campus and an 11th- and 12th-grade campus, they didn’t actually go to school together.
Annette did go to school with some of David’s five brothers and soon got to know his whole family. They spent many Sundays on bus trips and long weekends at ski resorts. David’s mother was heavily involved in running the NHSC, and she encouraged Annette to get involved.
“My husband’s family were big-time skiers,” says Annette, who noted that one of David’s brothers also married someone he met through the NHSC. “When my kids were little, she suggested I get involved in running the club because it was cheaper to ski.”
Annette and David have two children, Patryce and DJ, and the family spent many days skiing as a benefit of being involved with the NHSC. The Murphy family spent many weekends taking advantage of the discounts offered through the ski club.
“Skiing helps winter go by a lot quicker,” says Annette. “We loved getting the kids out. It used to be our Sunday family thing for years.”
Members of the club pay yearly dues—$15 for high school students, $20 for college students, $30 for a single adult, and $55 for a family. Members can order bulk tickets (discounted tickets to specific mountains with no blackout dates), get special discount rates on Connecticut Ski Council Days (each mountain has its own schedule of discounted dates), attend bus trips (six are scheduled so far for the 2016-’17 season and kids under 12 ride the bus for free), and take part in social events like pizza parties, pot luck suppers, ice creams socials, and white-water rafting trips.
“The prices are pretty good,” says Annette. “The bus trips offer nice, comfortable buses with three pickup points along the highway. Most of the members join to get the discounts and save some money.”
This is actually the first year that the Connecticut Ski Council is holding a second order of bulk ticket orders. The second orders must be placed by Thursday, Dec. 1. The NHSC is hosting an open house for new members and bulk ticket orders on Wednesday, Nov. 16 from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Knights of Columbus.
At the open house, members and prospective members can get information from a number of ski area representatives. There will also be raffles for lift tickets and baskets. Once people sign up as members, they can sign up for bus trips or learn more about the Council Awareness Days.
“People can come find out what we’re about and we’re always looking for new people to join us,” says Annette. “We’ll have information on winter activities up north—not only skiing and snowboarding, but we also have a bunch of seniors who like to go up to go snowshoeing, which is great exercise. Some mountains have tubing, too.”
Another benefit of membership is taking advantage of offerings from other Connecticut Ski Council clubs. The Ski Council not only hosts trips to mountains throughout the United States and Canada, but other countries like Austria, Chile, and more.
Annette is hoping that this winter brings better weather than 2015-’16 as she only hit the slopes one time and the club only was able to host a few bus trips.
Annette has been the president of the club since 2002 (she was vice president in 2000 and 2001), but she has been getting more help in recent years as her children have stepped up to follow in her footsteps.
Her husband often travels for work and the couple spent the winter of 2013 in Florida and the following winter in Saratoga Springs. While Annette was able to do the majority of her work as president of the club, when she couldn’t run the bus trips, her kids took over.
During the winter of 2013, Patryce supervised a bus trip for St. Patrick’s Day. Some of her friends also attended that trip and they brought along another friend, Anthony.
“After that bus trip, she had to go right back to college, but she and Anthony kept in touch and eventually started dating,” says Annette. “Now they’re engaged and Patryce is the vice president and Anthony is the treasurer.”
Annette enjoys her time involved in the ski club and sharing that passion with her family and other skiers.
“Being involved is great—it’s a small family club and we have a lot of members from North Haven and other surrounding towns,” says Annette. “I’ve lived in North Haven for most of my life and it’s a great town with great schools. The ski club lets you see kids grow up and enter high school and some go off to college and come back by themselves to continue.”
The North Haven Ski Club hosts an Open House on Wednesday, Nov. 16 from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Knights of Columbus, 22 Church Street, North Haven. Saturday and Sunday bus trips are offered January through March. For information or forms, contact Annette Murphy at 203-927-3071 or dapdmurph@aol.com or like “North Haven Ski Club” on Facebook.