With Skis On

Our first year in Utah, I talked to a friend about the intense winter.  She said that the best way to get through winter is to find a way to enjoy it.  She and her husband both did a lot of skiing, but other people enjoy snowmobiling, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, etc.  Over the next 5 years in Utah with only occasional moderate fun in the snow, I kept thinking about her advice.

And then as Christmas approached, we decided that our family was in need of a little adventure, so we finally gave skiing a try.  We did this whole thing for about as cheap as you can, and we were only at Sundance for a few hours.  I was really hoping to find out if skiing is something our family should actually make an effort to learn, or if we wouldn't enjoy it at all.  Well, I'd say that for most of us, we would enjoy skiing a few times a year.  For others of us, it might be better to have a play date with friends instead.

We asked Uncle Ben to teach us the basics, and he did a great job.  After some instruction and a little time at the foot of the mountain, the girls started climbing higher and higher to try to get the hang of this skiing thing.  They both really enjoyed it and caught on pretty well.

The boys were less enthusiastic.  It only took about 15 minutes before Jack was collapsed in a heap of protestation on the snow, adamant that we were inflicting the worst punishment imaginable.  Luke lasted longer than Jack, but ended up in a similar position with a similar proclamation.

As for Ben and me, we enjoyed the experience overall and I think we would have gotten the hang of the whole skiing thing if we hadn't been alternately trying to figure it out ourselves, helping the girls get going, and reassuring the boys that it wasn't the end of the world.