Ski Baby Ski!

We live in Vermont and with that comes a certain need to find something to do during the long, long, long, and seemingly infinite winters. We've done a little ice skating, some sledding, and some cross country skiing and now it's time to check out the world of downhill skiing. I'd last skied about 12 years ago and I wasn't overly enthusiastic about it but after spending the last two winters trying to convince Ben to take Sam without success I figured I should just do it.

Our little local ski hill, Bolton, has a great deal on season passes that give us access to downhill and cross country skiing as well as their recreation center with a swimming pool and various other sources of entertainment. It is small, frequented primarily by locals, family-oriented, and only 35 minutes from our house. We got season passes for next year and as an added bonus we can ski the rest of this year too.

I took Sam for his very first day of skiing on Sunday. The weather was perfect; sunny, still, and warm. The snow was good and not at all icy. He took a class in the morning and we skied together in the afternoon. He LOVED everything about it. The lesson was on the nearly flat section of the mountain and was serviced by a tow rope. He learned a bit about the wedge, some basics of turning, and how to use the tow rope.

After his lesson I took him on the chair lift. I remember having severe lift anxiety when I learned to ski at the ripe old age 30. Sam had no anxiety. He did fine with the chair; less fine with the etiquette of waiting in the lift line. Hey, let's cut people off! Isn't it fun to ski right up on the back of some one's skis? How about I stop right here in front of where people get off the lift?

He was giddy with excitement as we went down. He doesn't really believe in turning; he likes to barrel straight down the hill. We took the easy green trails and he really really wanted to try one of the blue trails so we did that. He fell repeatedly and lost his skis on multiple occasions, both of which he loved. Still, after seeing how out of control he was I wouldn't let him go down another blue trail, much to his dismay.

We were there for about five hours and he didn't want to leave. It's the kind of day I wish I could bottle up and relive when I need to be cheered up a bit.

But of course I forgot the camera...