Skiing with Boston

Saturday, we took Boston up skiing for his first time ever. I must say that I was impressed with his endurance, as he probably could have skied all day long if we'd let him. He was pretty upset when the resort closed.

We went up with Jenny's family to Snowbasin where kids under 6 ski for free (if only the same rules applied for airlines, no?). The night before we managed to find some little skis and boots at Pedersen's to rent for $10, so not a bad deal at all. We got up there first thing and got him on the lift up Little Cat shortly thereafter. At first, he was pretty tentative. I put him between my legs and let him get the feel of the snow. I showed him how to make a wedge and then Grandpa Ted helped us with a technique where we put the tip of our pole on the edgie-wedgie (the rubber band dealie that holds the tips together). This created a little pressure that forced the skis into a wedge.

By the end of the day, Boston was really good at making a pizza with his legs. Although he never really picked up on turning (you try explaining to a 2 1/2 year old the application of pressure on the right leg causes a left turn), he got pretty proficient at stopping and speed control. We encouraged him to "Stop the train", at which point he would force his wedge out and stop. It was pretty fun to watch.

He only got away from us one time. Jenny was helping him out and he started going pretty fast and got around her. He was panicked so yelling at him to stop the train wasn't working. He started heading straight for a pole where the Wildcat lift queue was, managed to miss the pole, but caught some air off the drift around the pole and crashed pretty hard. I thought he would be done, but after shedding a few tears, he was back up and we were headed down the mountain.

He still has a ways to go. He was constantly distracted by the people and equipment around him. He got a little scared when a snow cat drove by. When he would fall, instead of crying, he just picked up some snow and ate it as he cruised down the hill. He really had a good time, though. It's exciting for me that he enjoyed it that much. I've always looked forward to skiing with my kids. I hope that starting him young will instill a love of skiing and it will be something that he enjoys throughout his life as much as I do.

It was also Jenny's first time up in two winters. She was pregnant with Jae last year, so she enjoyed getting up and taking some runs. I give her credit for sticking it out because her boots were killing her all day and we didn't get any adult runs in until the end of the day. I'm glad I married a girl who loves to ski, too.