Kid Stoke!

I gotta get in on this. I think getting them skiing with other kids in their age range is key. My older son has got four freinds from his old school that get out together a few times a year. They call themselves "the ski squad". I'm looking for a  similar crew for my younger son.

I had a blast yesterday.  I skied Shawnee with my wife and son (almost 5) with my 2 yo daughter in day care.  It was my son s third day this season.  

I got to take a chair lift with my son for the first time!  Last time he skied (in a kids program) he really, really wanted to take a lift, but it was the lift servicing Iroquois at Belle, so given his skill level the instructor rightfully didn't take him.   At Shawnee s much shorter bunny lift, I explained loading and unloading and off we went.  He got on great, asked why no one was riding the lift down, and downloaded like a pro  (well he didn't fall so I ll take some license).  

We skied down with me backwards and him in a wedge, with him holding his arms straight out.  One slo mo fall and bunny hill descent later, he said he really liked skiing down the mountain (even more than the chairlift!).  And yes', "mountain" is a quote.  

I'm glad we did it.  I didn't think he was ready, and frankly kind of gave in to him ( part of it was my fault - I had told him that next time I would take him on the bunny slope and forgotten the promise when the bunny slope was wide open).  

Ps- I must be getting used to our lot as EC skiers- multiple people, including my wife said the conditions were terrible.   I didn't think they were ideal but had a ton of fun anyway on the few 'challenging ' trails open .....

First lift ride is big!  Nice work Dom.

Virtual high five, Dom. In another five years may he be better than all of us.

Thanks Harvey and ML!  We got another run in today and then he wanted day care.  Then, when we are all leaving and the 5 yo is carrying his skis, my 2 yo grabbed my guy s skis and kept trying to step into the bindings.  She may have to hit a small small) side hill.  

I know there will be really challenging ski times but that was real fun.  

Good luck with those kids Dom.  It takes a lot of parental effort when you have one kid in daycare and one on the slopes.  I don't know if you have a "home" mountain, but look into a daycare season pass.  At Gore, it's like $80/day for daycare or around $500 for the daycare season pass, so it's a no-brainer if you're going to the same mountain every weekend.  Only bummer with Gore's daycare season pass was that it wasn't good up at Whiteface.  Also, if you're considering a long weekend somewhere, some places like Jay Peak offer free daycare if you're buying a lift/lodging package.

Adk Jeff wrote

Good luck with those kids Dom.  It takes a lot of parental effort when you have one kid in daycare and one on the slopes.  I don't know if you have a "home" mountain, but look into a daycare season pass.  At Gore, it's like $80/day for daycare or around $500 for the daycare season pass, so it's a no-brainer if you're going to the same mountain every weekend.  Only bummer with Gore's daycare season pass was that it wasn't good up at Whiteface.  Also, if you're considering a long weekend somewhere, some places like Jay Peak offer free daycare if you're buying a lift/lodging package.

OMG..how the rates have changed over the years. Also, kudos to both the WF and Gore daycare staffs back in the day for doing such a great job of caring for my 3 sons and giving my wife and I the chance to ski many stress free days while the kids were in their care. We had no problems whatsoever over many years of patronizing their services.

We worked that daycare season pass down to like $20 - $25 per day, which is a pretty good deal for 6+ hours of babysitting.

Thanks, Jeff!  Yeah, our home this season is Shawnee.  Not perfect, but I am very impressed with the care and attention at the ski school and day care.  The concerns I have with Shawnee are more about when the kids are a bit older and out in the general terrain.  One green from the top can become an obstacle course at times.  Many of the blues and blacks stay empty.  In the next year or two, we'll need to pick another place.  I skied Gore one weekend last year for the first time and LOVED IT.  If I think I could handle the four or so hours with the two little ones on a regular basis, I would commit to it . . . .  On the bright side, Shawnee's day care is like $5 per hour (though no season pass deal).  Shawnee also has the benefit of being 18 minutes from my parents house.  Belle is a realistic medium term option and the ski school seems to have a good rep.  

PS - saw from the posts that your kids are little rippers.  Great job!  Very exciting.  

Adk Jeff wrote

We worked that daycare season pass down to like $20 - $25 per day, which is a pretty good deal for 6+ hours of babysitting.

Gore will take a child at six months too. Many mountains won't do that.

DomB wrote

...We skied down with me backwards and him in a wedge, with him holding his arms straight out.  One slo mo fall and bunny hill descent later, he said he really liked skiing down the mountain (even more than the chairlift!).  And yes', "mountain" is a quote...  

Nice Domb, treasure those moments, they go by fast! Reminds me of my some fun times with my own




she's now a junior English major, the one on the left!

So cute and congrats!  Yeah I try to remember how precious everyday is.  

So last weekend was a milestone in our family.  We went to Belleayre on the 'early-season-bad-conditions-apology' voucher, and two great things happened.  

First, my 5 yo son went down a real green run following me for the first time (as opposed to a normal bunny slope).  After putting my son in a lesson and asking the instructor ahead of time to see if my son would be ready for the seasonal program next year (and if not, to let me know what I could do to get him there), I did a few runs with my son on the carpet, letting him hold my pole palms up to get him to keep his hands out.  When he had that down, we hit Iraquois, the easiest green trail covering over 400 vertical.  My son loved it, as lifts are his favorite part of skiing, and the beginner lifts at Belle are both slow and high.  He only fell twice, and didn't seem to care about falling.  

Second, my 2 yo daughter got on skis.  Admittedly, I handed her over to a pro who was a clear toddler-whisperer.  While I didn't consider skiing at 2 for my son (a January baby), my daughter tried to take my son's skis and step into the bindings multiple times this season, so I figured on what will likely be the last ski day, why not let her have a go.  

I also provided lots of chocolate and colored drinks, two things that aren't frequently present for kids outside of potting training in our family.  

It was really cool for me, my wife, and I think the kids.  

Sorry no photos - I tried to upload them but got a message that the file was empty. . . .

Somehow I missed My Backward Skiing Dad.  That's a classic.

Neve is starting to dig hoops.  I got back from my biz trip in Charleston and picked her up from the last day of school. We headed out to the court at the end of our street.

She's a chucker.  She can bang it off the rim pretty consistently from the foul line, but is 100% air ball from the top of the key. Still she insists "Dad NOTHING is out of my range."



My client down in SC is selling some hugely expensive oceanfront homes.  He said this morning, our customers are the rich wall street guys with so much money they don't know what to do with it.  (Just sold a mega lot to NASCAR's Harvick too).  "What they value more than anything is time with their kids. That's what we are selling them."

Kind of inspired me to come home and shoot some hoops instead of pass out in a chair with a glass of vino.  

Harvey wrote

Somehow I missed My Backward Skiing Dad.  That's a classic.

"What they value more than anything is time with their kids. That's what we are selling them."

Kind of inspired me to come home and shoot some hoops instead of pass out in a chair with a glass of vino.

I missed the backward skiing Dad story, too.  She's a keeper, Gorg.

And, your last bit, makes me feel good that I value time with my kids more than money.

 Time with family is Absolutely the FINEST investment of time you can make !!

 The ROI is amazing and only gets better when THEY become parents and YOU become a veritable adolescent with $$ and can be a free spirit with your grandkids and thrive on that special bond cemented over the decades .

I fully subscribe to the Peter Pan Syndrome in retirement ,,, life at that stage is amazingly satisfying BASED on the INVESTMENT of time with your family that you are joyously willing to make NOW

Neve rocked upper newtons today. So proud and happy.  Great snow in there, but we were probably 50th through and it was packed out.  It was so great to see her in there completely unafraid. Also she was absolutely unintimidated by the at times icy Hawkeye headwall.  And she thinks Uncas should be rated blue.  Very cool day so far.

Very awesome!  

Harvey wrote

Neve rocked upper newtons today. So proud and happy.  Great snow in there, but we were probably 50th through and it was packed out.  It was so great to see her in there completely unafraid. Also she was absolutely unintimidated by the at times icy Hawkeye headwall.  And she thinks Uncas should be rated blue.  Very cool day so far.

Know the code, bro!