When Tyburn Academy started its ski club in January, about a third of the student body signed up for the slopes.

The past few Fridays, about 30 of the school's 100 children have been boarding a bus for Song Mountain in Tully. The group of mostly beginning skiers are in the midst of a six-week introductory course with the ski center's instructors.

Sixth-grader Jack Hogan chose to join the club because his parents and friends had talked up the fun of skiing.

“I think I'm learning pretty fast,” he said. “The lessons are really the key.”

On hills like Stormy, his favorite, Hogan has honed his skiing fundamentals, such as the ability to swerve while speeding downhill. He plans to continue strapping his ski boots on every winter through middle school, partly because the Tyburn ski club provides a Friday evening social outlet for him in addition to presenting a physical challenge.

Students from other Auburn schools, such as St. Joseph, and parents of Tyburn students are also welcome to join the ski club's Friday bus to Song Mountain. Opening the group up beyond the Tyburn student body was a priority for the club's chaperones, Laurie Faiola and Ann Fallon.

Faiola and Fallon started the club to give Tyburn students the same outdoor winter exercise opportunity they may have enjoyed through the ski clubs organized by other schools in the area.

“It helps winter go a little faster when you're having fun,” Faiola said. “I just love being out in the fresh air.”

Song Mountain offered the club an affordable site for its weekly outings. For $65, the mountain's one-day-a-week pass opens its slopes to ski club members every Friday of the winter season - whether they go with the club or not. Included in the fee is the six-week introductory course. Tyburn students sold candy bars to raise funds for their season passes, as well as to pay for extra expenses like equipment and bus rentals.

Since the club began trekking to Tully after Christmas break, Faiola and Fallon have noticed the children newest to skiing look less and less like novices each week.

“The hardest day is the first day because they've never had boots or skis on before, but it's amazing how quickly they learn,” Fallon said. “Even from the first to the second lesson, there's a huge difference.”

Before joining the Tyburn ski club, ninth-grader Eileen Weichert had only tried skiing once or twice a few years ago. So far she has found the lessons less than challenging, but rewarding nonetheless.

“At first I thought it would be more social, but now I want to focus on learning more and getting better,” she said.

As the six weeks of lessons wind down for the club, Fallon hopes most of its members will be motivated to keep skiing.

Though the students will be free to venture to Song Mountain on their own, Fallon feels that with the right planning and fundraising, the club bus could continue making Friday runs to Tully.

“Learning to ski is like riding a bike,” Fallon said. “The children can always come back to it.”