Families enjoy free ski day at the East Fork Mink Creek Nordic Center

POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI)-Some Idaho families returned to the mountains at the East Fork Mink Creek Nordic Center this weekend, to participate in an annual tradition of skiing for free.

The event was sponsored the Idaho Central Credit Union.

Families shared how much fun they were having, especially with parents introducing their kids to nordic skiing.

"It's nice to have a couple of barriers eliminated for us to try things out and figure out, okay, what's viable for a for a small growing family to do and have fun at the same time," Dekker Smith said.

"I think they enjoyed learning a new skill. And we don't live far from here, but we've actually never been to the Nordic Center. We're just down the road. So this was a great way for us to come and not have to invest all this money in rentals and just come try it out and kind of low pressure," Courtney Lamb said.

"We'd been here before. We kind of want to reintroduce Mason to the cross-country skiing. We did a couple of loops on different things, and we wanted to see how well we really liked it, confirm that we liked it, and great fun," Dan said.

Not only were families able to invest some time from their day, into trying new skills, they also ended up having fun making lasting memories.

"We did a couple of loops on different things, and we wanted to see how well we really liked it, confirm that we liked it, and great fun," Smith said.

"It was really fun," Jude Lamb said.

"We just went on Chickadee and the we just kept going," Milo Lamb said.

"I actually really like it. Not as much as downhill," Mason said.

A representative of the Nordic Center Lauren Kumm shared, how the turnout on the day meant to them.

"This is actually really cool to see everyone getting out and actually like exploring Nordic skiing. I think it's really fun seeing everyone out here," Kumm said.

She adds that the event keeps coming back to help introduce more people to nordic skiing.

"We really want to, bring those opportunities out to people, maybe people who can't quite afford Nordic skiing or be able to do these type of things all the time. And we even have like our most wonderful Wendy over there who can teach people how to ski, and Andrea Foust who can teach people how to ski. And I think it's just a really cool experience," Kumm said.

Many of the families said not only did they enjoy the day but may come again this season.