More than 160 skiers participate in annual Plast camp in Adirondacks (01/17/99)

More than 160 skiers participate in annual Plast camp in Adirondacks

by Yaro Bihun

GLENS FALLS, N.Y. - If only the snow in the Adirondack Mountains was as punctual as the swallows of Capistrano or the buzzards of Ohio's Hinckley Lake, the organizers of the annual Plast ski camp here would have little need for Grecian Formula and Zantac.

With more than 160 ski campers - "yunaky," "yunachky" and "bulavni" - registered and no snow on the ground, and Christmas D-Day less than a week away, George Danyliw, the Burlaky Plast fraternity's point man for the effort, was looking around for painful alternatives.

Luckily, Mother Nature and man came together and got things back on track: she provided the below-freezing temperatures, and the Gore Mountain groomers cranked up the snow-making equipment in time to lay an adequate base for the camp's first runs on December 26, 1998. The few inches of natural snow that fell three days into the camp didn't help the skiing very much, which remained good through the end of the camp on December 31, but it did provide a "winter wonderland" setting for the photos.

The 1998 camp drew more than 120 young Plast skiers from the eastern half of the United States. It also played host to five children of Ukrainian diplomats serving in Washington, who skied and participated in the camp's activities as guests.

This year's commandant, a veteran of many ski camps, Andrey Hankewych of Yonkers, N.Y., led a cadre of more than 30 counselors, including "bunchuzhni" Christina Jackiw of Chicago and Marko Nynka of Exton, Pa., and "pysar" Roman Danyliw of Warminster, Pa. Dr. Marta Kushnir of Naperville, Ill, was the camp physician.

The daily routine, which began with wake-up at 6:15 a.m., included a full day of skiing and mandatory ski instructions, as well as various evening activities: contests, an outing to a local professional hockey game, an evening liturgy and the traditional "Mykolaiko," an evening of humorous skits and "gifts" for those "naughty and nice."

The campers selected as their most popular girl and boy - their "snizhynka" (snow flake) and "snihovyi did" (snowman) - Sophia Torielli, 12, of Colonia, N.J., and Darian Fedash, 16, of Oradell, N.J. A group of 15 campers won the coveted first prize in the "krasnomovnist" contest, which tested their oratorical and Ukrainian-language skills. Twenty-two campers earned merit badges in skiing.

The Burlaky Plast fraternity began organizing ski camps for Plast youths more than 50 years ago in Germany. They have also organized hiking and boating camps, and two years ago added mountain-biking.

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