Skiing and the Family Bond

Here's me with my parents at Mid - a couple years ago.  My mom is still ripping as well.



And here's my wife and I at Gore - that's my current jacket the yellow one - so if you see me at WF/Gore say hey, would be nice to put face to a name kind of thing.

For our family, I (the wife) am the skier while my husband is a complete non-skier.  However, his younger brother who lives in the Midwest likes to ski and got his kids going with trips out west.  My skiing days picked up a lot after it was obviously my daughter liked skiing after first first day of ski school at age 4.  Took her to Alta for the start of annual spring break trips when she was 7.  We meet up with friends and family at Alta Lodge (kids are free in April).  Fast forward to this Thanksgiving weekend when we skied together at Whiteface with her oldest first cousin.  She's at North Country School in Lake Placid, where I learned to ski long ago.  Her first cousins are much older, but skiing is something they have been doing together for years.  I expect that to continue.  I know she will always be interested in going with me to Alta if I'm paying the bill.

For my whole extended family skiing is a definite bonding experience.  My family unit (wife and three kids now 16, 13 and 11) make the trip to placid a half a dozen times a season.  Everything from the car ride, to the hotels, to skiing time is pure family gold.  Sharing the love of outdoors and physical activity with your kids is one of the greatest things you can do.  Having them actually want to do something with embarrassing mom and dad at those ages is quite an achievement.  A lot of their skills came from the WF ski school staff, because it's actually pretty hard to teach your own kids, but I've imparted a bit of wisdom along the way.  One of the best hours I ever spent with my daughter was helping her conquer Slide 4 at the age of 14.  You can't put a value on experiences like that.

My extended family (my brothers, their wives and kids, and my aunt and [departed] uncle who taught us all how to ski) have been having the annual trip to placid for more than 20 years now.  I know, you can't pick your family like you can pick your friends or your nose, but we still have a great time.  The kids look forward to that trip all year.  We are truly blessed to have learned and to be able to afford to continue to ski and strengthen the family bonds.  God willing it will continue for years and generations.

If I ever let my daughter date the trick will be finding a BF that skis!

 

This my family in March 2012.   We each took 1st in our respective age group in a local mountain's unsanctioned race.   Sadly they didn't hold it this year.    We wanted a repeat!    









Kids and I climbing 9990 at Canyons.   I carried my 6 yo skis part way, she carried them the last quarter......now my son won't give her a break.  "No credit if you dont carry your own stuff."  

Hiked the same spot with my two older sons. The next trip out to UT, we were at Alta, (the three of us again), and we noticed while heading to the lift a number of ski patrol and rescue dogs heading out of the ski area. Turns out there was a avalanche at the Canyons in that very spot. As we flew in the day before, we were trying to decide where we would head our first ski day. Fortunately we went to Alta and avoided potential disaster. Talk about a frantic wife...once she heard of the avalanche on the news, she called us, hoping we were ok. She said she felt a pit in her stomach when hearing the news report regarding the avalanche and level of severity it was. We'll all never forget that trip.

Another shot from Alta when I Christened my new skis:


Recited my mantra....Feets don't fail me now!

It all started here.  My son was 2 in this photo.  He started skiing at 20 months.

Jon951 wrote

Recited my mantra....Feets don't fail me now!

slip them into some sailing shoes

My kids been at it since she was two, one if you count the couple of runs we did with her on my back. I love sharing ski culture with her. The kids here have half days at school on Fridays so there is a whole bunch of kids and parents that get together Friday afternoons on the hill.

You guys all look stoked as hell, very cool.

I took a picture with me and all my friends on the single (during a powder day)!