Dodge Ridge skii area, Pinecrest, CA

My son and I went skiing yesterday at Dodge Ridge ski area in Pinecrest, California.  We got there kind of late so I signed up my son for private lessons for one hour, which I ended up extending for two hours as his instructor was so fabulous!  We were lucky enough to get Chris Dahlgren as our instructor and he was naturally fabulous with my son.  As a teacher, I can tell really quickly if someone is comfortable around children, and Chris was very comfortable with my son.  When my son gets a private lesson, I also tag along and so far the teachers and very comfortable with that, especially since then my son is also more comfortable and then there are no crying or tantrums!

Dodge Ridge is a great place to learn.  The instructors start children out on the two magic carpet areas. I saw several group lessons going on, and the children seemed to be having fun.  The advantage of getting a private lesson is that my son went to both of the magic carpet areas several times then progressed to going up the Clementine chair lift.  The chair lift was for two people so I followed behind on the next chair.  It was so sweet as my son was telling his instructor how much he loved his mommy and how I was his "best buddy."

The advantage to going with him on the private lesson is that I started learning how to ski backwards, which is needed to teach a young child to ski.  The instructor told me that he thought my son was a visual learner so it helped when he was looking at him, which is why skiing backwards was so helpful.  I haven't quite mastered skiing backwards but that is something I'll work on next time I go skiing!

View of one of the two "magic carpets" at the kids ski area:

After skiing we went to the North Fork Bistro but they were already closed so we walked over to the Creekside Cafe but they only had a few drinks and snacks, they were no longer serving food. My son was hungry, and luckily I had packed in the locker some goat cheese and crackers.  I've learned through the years to always have healthy snacks and drinks available.

Driving down the hill was somewhat treacherous and I wish we'd left earlier.  This is not the kind of place where you hang out for a long time after and relax, people cleared out quickly.

Resources:

Best ski instructor!  He was outstanding with my son and even started teaching me, as I tagged along, how to ski backwards like him!  Chris Dahlgren   (209) 652-9890, Dodge Ridge ski instructor, mostly does holidays and weekends.

Dodge Ridge Skii Area
PO Box 1188
1 Dodge Ridge Road
Pinecrest, CA  95364
DodgeRidge.com

Call & Reservations  (209) 965-3474 , 8 AM- 5 PM everyday

Snow Phone (209) 536-5300 (24 hours a day)  Continually updated as conditions change

Email  Info@DodgeRidge.com

Road Conditions  (800) 427-7623  www.dot.ca.gov/

Recommendations:
Rent equipment ahead of time as possible, as this can take lots of time!  I am rented equipment and they were really nice, but I know I need to invest in equipment again.

Bring food and drinks for after skiing.  If possible, a thermos filled with hot chocolate would be yummy.    The food area was closed up in both restaurants.  Then, going down the mountain there aren't many choices, plus it starts getting icy quickly.

Dress warm!  It gets really chilly here!