Henry is in his fourth year up at the mountain and I'm fully aware that neither Dan nor I stand a chance of catching up with his skiing abilities. But Alice is just starting and I promised myself that I would learn to ski when she learned to ski. She'll be starting ski lessons in mid-January and I knew I had to get up there to practice before then as I'll be helping out in her class. Henry was invited to go skiing today with some friends from the Race Team so we all headed up to Mt. Baker. Turns out, it was a perfect day! 25 degrees and blue skies.
It's been 16 years. Do the math... I was 24 years old last time I skiied! Back when I was in grad school in Bozeman, I went quite a few times with friends who taught me the basics and I loved it. Then Dan and I moved to Colorado, skiing was expensive, and I just never went again.
I was anxious this morning and signed up for a lesson to gain some confidence. Before the lesson, I took the tow rope a few times and surprised myself with how my skiing skills came right back to me. I was snowplowing and making parallel turns on my first run down the hill. Woo hoo!
This was Alice's first day on skis and she did great! Dan and I are so incredibly proud of her. She kept a positive attitude and really tried to master that bunny hill.
When I went for my lesson, Dan stayed and helped Alice. Look at that snowplow!
I was beaming, from ear to ear. It was such a wonderful day. My instructor took me on Chair Two and I had a great time skiing down the bowl, zooming down Heather Cliffs, and enjoying the feel of being on skis once again.
Alice and I will be ready for her ski lessons.
Not to be left out, Dan tried skiing today too. He stayed on the bunny hill and he did great. We're all tired and a bit sore. But very, very happy. The only thing that could have made it better was if Henry would have graced us with his presence and gone down a hill with me... but he was having fun skiing Black Diamond runs with his friends and I'm glad all four of us got to experience such a beautiful day at Mt. Baker.
We knew the day was over when....
Look at that.. the second day of January and I already accomplished my two New Year's resolutions! I created my own happy and I re-learned to ski.
3 comments:
Looks like you had a great time! I'm planning to go snowboarding sometime this year...likely my next birthday. I've never been, but it looks so fun!
What a great report, Michelle. Thanks for sharing! Looks like skiing came back to you way faster than snowboarding is coming back to me! Although, I'm having a great season so far, and it is feeling more natural (and more fun). Of course, it is all thanks to the new board Jay bought me for my last birthday!
Love you much -
Elise
I'm pretty sure that if I got back on skis I would break something well not the getting on the skis, the going down a hill faster than I want to, thus turning on my panic mode of complete freakoutidness and complete lack of what to do mode....but glad you had a great time! Can't believe Henry does black diamond runs - amazing how fast kids get good when they start something young!
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