Two years ago, Zach and I bought equipment for the slopes (he got skis, I got a snowboard) after the snow season. Needless to say, last year, the snowfall was miniscule. We went to the slopes once last year, right after a snowstorm... the only snowstorm of the year. It just didn't seem worth the effort to drive all the way up, pay for lift tickets just to be disappointed with few open runs and sloppy snow.
This year has almost made up for it though. We've gone to the snow two separate times now (Kirkwood). Both times we drove up the day before, rode for one or two days, and then drove home after a good night's sleep. It's been so nice that Sandy has even bought a pair of skis and boots and loves shooshing down the mountain at her own pace.
The really fun part is watching the kids take to skiing. Zach has a natural kinesthetic ability with any sport he tries, and Phoebe is so fearless they are both going to be much better than I will ever be.
Phoebe's taken 3 lessons so far and is really taking to it. She loves going up the chair lift with the instructors and has gotten so she can really zoom down the mountain. She also enjoys throwing snowballs at her instructors and loves, loves, LOVES eating snow. Turns out the dirtier it is the better she likes it... sigh.
We bought her goggles and a helmet, which she has decorated with stickers. You can just make out the stickers in the picture to the left. We'll get her skis after she grows just a little bit more.
Zach is about ready to take on the entire mountain. The first time we went, we got him a full day lesson. By the end of that day he was confident on the bunny slopes. The next time we went, we ended up putting him in a half day lesson. Then he spent the rest of that day skiing with Danny, Raul and me.
After Zach's half day lesson he was excited to show us a run off of the beaten path. "It's called the Ditch of Doom," he told us matter of factly. He led us towards a green (easy) run. All of a sudden, he drops into a tree lined gully. Not wanting to seem like chickens, we all followed. We wound around through this gully, up the sides, over jumps, ducking under trees... he really showed me another side to riding on the mountain.
Zach took a few faceplants that day and the next, but almost always came up laughing. He took some real chances, and was willing to go fast, take the big jump and wipe out if it didn't work.
Sandy went with us to the "Ditch of Doom" but stayed on the green run instead of going with us. That was probably a good idea.
Sandy did, however, go to the jumping terrain area, which she enjoyed.
I've found that having gone twice, and planning to go again means that I feel like I'm actually getting better at riding. Before, with my one trip a year, I spent most of the time just getting back to the level I had ended at the previous year. Now, I'm definitely moving forward and learning more each time I go. And with Zach to push me into new areas, I can't help but feel really excited for our next trip.
See more photos of our snow trips this year.