While everyone is excited about spring, and leaves budding, and warm(er) weather… I’m over here writing about skiing, yes. I’m actually in Colorado as I begin to write this, and I think Dan told me that some of the ski resorts (oh, maybe in Utah) are still open. But I’m not here to ski – I’m here to meet my new baby niece! But I am going to write about skiing. (Note: I started this in mid April and didn’t finish til late May 🤦🏻♀️).
Because skiing was so fun this year! Actually, for me personally, it wasn’t amazing. I bruised my leg really bad my first day in Utah, which hurt and shook my confidence. BUT, Gabriel skied a ton, and loved it, which just made the whole season a blast. By the end of the season, he was basically as good as me.
But he didn’t start that way. Dan should be writing this post because he put in the lion’s share of the work. I don’t think he considered it work, though. As I wrote in a previous post, the foundation began to be laid when Gabriel was eight months old and Dan wore Gabriel in the Ergo while skiing through the neighborhood trails of our ski-in/ski-out rental in Big Sky. It continued the following winter when Gabriel was 1.5 and got to ‘ski’ on his toy Lucky Bums ‘First Tracks’ skis at Tahoe, and the next when Gabriel skied on the same skis at Snowshoe. Also, ski videos on YouTube of epic ski triumphs were part of his education as soon as screens were remotely allowed in our house.
My previous post about skiing was mostly about how WE got to ski despite having a child. This one’s about Gabriel skiing, because now we all ski together! Hooray.
Equipment
Skis and Boots: We bought Gabriel used skis and boots during the summer at the Baltimore Ski Warehouse. Dan did a lot of research, or at least a lot of perseverating, about whether to rent for the season, rent each time we went, rent in CO for the season, or buy. We decided to buy (used), and I think Dan decided it was worth it? I think so. I think Gabriel will be able to use at least the skis again next year, and it was just nice to have them and not worry about it.
Gabriel was just under 3.5 years when we bought them. I think his shoe size was a 9 or 10. He’s 36 lbs now and was about 40″ tall then. His skis are size 90 and the boots we got are size 11. I wanted to buy the boots a little big, but actually, Gabriel said the 9s and 10s he tried on were too tight, so I don’t know if they were actually too big. The boots probably won’t fit him still next year.
Dan also got a ski bag that holds two sets of skis.
Clothes: Last spring, when stores were having their sales, we (Dan) bought Gabriel a 4T Columbia snowsuit (bib and coat) and other ski equipment. This thing was AMAZING. Gabriel was not cold once. Dan also bought him a new, larger pair of the Snowstopper mittens. At some point we purchased a new pair of Smartwool ski socks. We have also had a Turtlefur balaclava for a couple winters now.
Other Equipment:
- Helmet and goggles: Dan also bought Gabriel a Smith Prospect Jr helmet and Smith Youth Rascal ski goggles in various sales around Memorial Day last year. The helmet has two stages. Stage 1 (which Gabriel is using now) is for head circumference 48-52cm. Stage 2 can be achieved by removing a liner from the helmet to increase the head circumference to 52-56cm.
- Liftie ski pass holder: because Gabriel was too short for the lift gates to scan his pass… this solved everything.
- Launchpad ski harness: This has one of those leashes, which we didn’t use, but importantly has a handle that makes pulling a kiddo up onto a chair lift or off the ground super easy.
Process
Process… you mean besides Dan taking him out on toy skis at every possible opportunity as soon as he could walk, watching countless ski videos, and talking about skiing all the time? Well, the first time we took Gabriel on real skis was in mid-December. We went to Eldora, which is a small resort in Colorado. It was quite cold and windy the day we went, and it started off not great. The magic carpet and bunny hill was A.L.L. the way on the other side of the resort from the main entrance, where we parked, and so we had to trudge in all our gear across the resort to get there. Gabriel trudged with us, carrying his skis for part of it, but by the time we got there, no one was happy. We could have parked closer to the magic carpet, but didn’t know that. We did a ‘run’ or two down the bunny hill with Gabriel holding Dan’s skis while he skied backwards before Gabriel started to melt down. I went and got the car and drove back over while Dan and Gabriel attempted one more ‘run.’ Then we took a very long break in the car, with snacks and cuddling. After that, we went back out for a couple bunny hill runs, and then drove back across the parking lot to get closer to the main lodge and had an extended lunch break.
Gabriel was still napping most days at that point, so we thought that might be the end of it. He’d be tired and cranky. But he rallied, and we made our way back toward the bunny hill. At some point, I think it was then, he said he wanted to go on the lift, so we took the lift up to a green run. He lost it and cried most of the way down, though I think I was able to calm him down by stopping and explaining to him that he was safe, we’d stay with him, and we’d get down slowly. But he picked up steam all afternoon and did the green run several more times and also the bunny hill a bunch. Mostly with Dan or me, and he couldn’t snow plow or stop himself yet, but baby steps. He had a lot of fun.
His next day or two out were with Dan at our nearby ski hills (Roundtop and Liberty), and he got better each time, learning to snow plow and stop.
Then we spent a week at Solitude for our annual ski trip with friends, and he skied 6 out of 7 days. Not full days, but some pretty full days and others at least half days. He got to ski a bit with our friends’ daughters who were 6, 6, and 8, all of whom had had lessons, and Gabriel wanted to keep up and be with the crew. He had a ton of fun with them. He also had fun with just me or just Dan, but I think the crew was most motivating. We tried to get him into the ski school, but the cutoff was age 4, and they were strict about it. By the end of the week, he was basically as good as me (not quite, but not too far), able to stop himself and do S curves.
Dan then took him one or two more times to local places to round out the season. Can’t wait for next year.
Pass
I really need Dan to write this section, because he again did all the work to figure out passes. This past season, Dan and I had Ikon passes, and I think Dan bought Epic day passes for the resorts around here in Maryland. He wasn’t sure if Gabriel needed an Ikon pass, but got one in case, and I think indeed it was needed. I think the Ikon pass for Gabriel was $100? For next year, we got Epic passes. Gabriel’s access is free, but he has an Epic pass from this year (with his age already verified) that he will use.
What’s Next
We’re really looking forward to next year. We’re planning to stay near Vail and ski at Vail and Beaver Creek. We might not need straight childcare any more… Gabriel will do ski school or ski with us. He’s already excited!
she eats and other things 