When does your family lose interest?

My kids are in the season long program at Gore, so much like the NYSEF families, we are at the mountain (almost) every weekend day starting in early December. By the time we get towards the end of February, the wife and kids are sick of waking up every weekend day to make the trek to the mountain. By mid March they are pretty much toast. This year I squeezed an extra weekend out of the entire family and then one more day out of my oldest daughter. I know some families are still going strong. I would ski until the end of April at least if it were solely up to me. Just curious when others wives/partners/kids start to lose interest in the season?

Given as often as you go, if your's are holding that long you're doing really well.

If it's every weekend or a routine I would even get bored unless they were deep powder days. As far as my kid goes well she doesn't like to be pushed or go when it's really cold and gloomy out. We go when there is fresh snow and sun or spring like skiing. We don't have a routine at all and we are happy to spend days in watching movies, going hiking, or whatever else we feel like at that moment. I think this approach for her is best to install the lifelong love or at least an enjoyment of the sport. She really has got into it this year more than ever and that happened mostly I think because I gave up on pushing her. My fiance doesn't ski, I love that. We both like our free time and independence from each other. I had the ripping girlfriend for a few years and it drove me crazy because she was always there. Skiing is my time to go hang with my daughter or rip around with my buddies.

If skiing is like a job than it's no longer fun for me, Cody seems to be exactly the same. But we are all different. Some people love routine and discipline. I hate that stuff, I have enough of it in the "real" world and skiing to me is about escaping reality or adulting and enjoying the freedom we had as kids.

That being said I'm amazed by people that are really motivated to ski every day in any condition. I admire it, I don't idolize it or desire to be like them but I fully appreciate their ambition.

raisingarizona wrote

That being said I'm amazed by people that are really motivated to ski every day in any condition. I admire it, I don't idolize it or desire to be like them but I fully appreciate their ambition.

As Sno would say - your just not "core"

Back to the OP, my wife is not an all day skier, she will go for a few runs and is done by lunch. That's OK, she is happy to stay home and sit with her cat and a book.

If you are looking to motivate the kids to keep going and get up early to be there for the first lift than this is another pitch for the race program, the coaches will ride their rears and you won't have to.

Good topic.

My family, much like myself, love Plattekill.  Like the OP, we're there pretty much every weekend all season long.  At this point, we've been skiing there for quite a few years and we have lots of friends at the mountain. Some we see off the mountain during the off season and others just in winters.  My girls each have their own "possees" at the mountain as well.  Plus, I think they really enjoy the family time we have together up there while skiing and not skiing. With all of that said, once spring sports start, my girls' interest starts to wxpand.  Although, they really do have the bug and would be into skiing more this season if the snow conditions warranted.  And, my little one is stoked for another spring K-mart weekend in a few weeks.

my racer, younger daughter, is looking forward to Reggae fest at Sugarloaf, then she will ski me at Kmart...my eldest, she has a knee issue but will go whenever she can...Kmart the smartest option, but she says she's willing to hike 
I lost the wife years ago
to golf

I wonder if the season-long program might be too much Mountain Adventure.  All kids are different, but mine really preferred skiing with the the family over Mtn Adventure, so we had them each do 2 years of the 6-week half day program and that's it.

Adding some variety by alternating WF or some other mountains with Gore also helps keep interest.  The Gore/WF pass is great that way, but Mountain Adventure can keep you tied to Gore only.  In fact season passes in general can turn into a set of handcuffs.  That's one reason why we're considering MaxPass / Mtn Collective for next year instead of Gore / WF passes.  

Last thing, let's face it, this winter sucked.  Limited terrain, no glades, week after week of skiing the same hardpacked groomers.  It's no wonder that a skier could lose interest.  Thank god for spring skiing!

Since I first began skiing in 2004, my dad has always been my skiing partner.  My mom joined us for much of the time earlier on, but pretty much lost interest after 08-09.  She skis less than 10 times a year now and got 5 this year.  I got 50 this year, my dad got 30.

Since I want to go to Clarkson next year, I won't be skiing with my dad all the time like I have up until now.  It kind of makes me sad.  We've spent a lot of time together because of skiing, but those years have come to and end.  Still I know I'll probably find lots of friends to go with (which I've never had), and I can still meet my dad at Gore on occasion if I go away next year.

I'm wondering if my parents will continue to ski once I'm at college.  I'm sure my dad is, but maybe not as much as before.  My mom might actually go more than with me around, so my dad doesn't have to go alone, or she might stop all together.  

Sno it great you still like skiing with Snodad

Part of my reason to get one last weekend away for me is that I probably have less than 10 runs with my son all yr and some of those were carrying slip skis or clothes down from the courses.  he loves skiing with his team mates which is great but he had been my best ski partner so I'm skiing much more by myself.

As my son gets older his season and fire to keep skiing extends.  Conditions certainly have an impact on this from my perspective.  This yr things got skied off by noon so I had little interest skiing on afternoons much of the season.

After re-reading my initial post I realized it could be interpreted a few different ways. Just to clarify, the part that starts to wear on us is the week after week trek to the mountain, not the actual skiing (which everyone enjoyed even in this lean season). This is the double edged sword of the season long program. It forces you to go ski every weekend. This is a good thing IMO because especially this year there are lots of days we probably wouldn't have gotten up and out the door if we didn't "have" to. I am kind of like Suds in that I can honestly say I didn't have a "bad" day this year. I also know that my wife doesn't have quite the same passion as me and we would probably ski half as many days if we didn't "have" to go. The "downside" is that we are at the mountain almost every weekend. We do take days off here and there through the season. My kids love both of their groups and their instructors. As Jeff said, every kid is different. If our kids just skied with us I think they would get bored. We make sure to ski with each of them solo (or along with their group) every weekend. Part of the appeal of the season long for them is that they get Independence and they get to ski and screw around with kids their own age. Part of the appeal for us is that we get to meet some great other ski parents and end up skiing with them. I got my wife back on skis this year after many years on a snowboard and she ended up loving it. A big part of that was having some other wives to ski with. For us anyway, the social aspect of skiing is a big part of it. Also, at our kids ages it is much easier to do the routine at a single place. I could see when they get a little older and more self sufficient it would be more appealing to jump around a little. That max pass looks pretty fantastic if you are open to travel.

So to sum up my ramble, I am not complaining at all. I feel really fortunate that my kids love the sport and that my wife likes it enough to go every weekend. I was mostly curious as to when others get to the point (if they do) where they are ready to call it a season. After our trip to sugarbush a few weeks ago my wife said "I'm ready to work in the garden". I said, what if we get a foot? Her reply "I'm ready to work in the garden":)

We are usually ready to quit by the last weekend of Mountain Adventure.  The 4.5-5 hour trip each way for us is really draining, especially when the kids' spring sports seasons start in early March and we have to wait until practice is over on Friday night before we can even get on the road.  We rarely, if ever, ski after Mountain Adventure ends. One of the things we have done to break up the monotony of the season is to plan a trip somewhere else (skiing of course!) during February break. This seems to give us a second wind to keep going into March.  We used to try to use spring break as the ski trip, but we always felt a little burned out by then.

This year was a total bust for us.  I think even if the weather had been more cooperative, we would have skied a lot less - once the kids hit high school, there's a whole set of other considerations. My daughter aged out of Mountain Adventure and was too busy with schoolwork to be an instructor, so she had no motivation to go. My son will probably not do the program next year either. I see this as the end of our every-weekend trips.  Without Mountain Adventure though, I doubt we would have had the stamina to last this long.  My kids really really loved the program, and got so much out of it, both in skiing ability and the social aspects. When the kids are out of the house in a few years, I see CMR and I going more often, as we have a lot of friends at Gore and really enjoy it.

We love skiing , it IS important BUT is is just one facet of our life ,not central to our happiness or sense of self worth .i purposely cultivated a myriad of other interests over the decades  to enhance my own enjoyment and VERSATILITY .

 THat said this is the first season in over 50. Yrs i could NOT ski ( hip replacement ) . I imagined it would be horrible to my attitude , but frankly that has not been the case at all. Yes i dearly missed skiing with my adult son and son in law and the grandkids ...there is no greater joy than 3 generations all whizzing the white gold together. I miss skiing with The Queen of the Hop , but frankly she only skied to support my addiction .

So next season will be different , hopefully a sucessful rehab ( hip is fine but still having some issues with a balky ILLIOSOAS Tendon i.e. Groin ache ) which should resolve thru. Ultrasound and other related therapy and continued FOCUSED stretching routine . I plan ro be back up on them but it WILL be different .

When conditions get sloppy , mank laden and there is equal amts of fast rocks and slow grass , its TIME TO BIKE ! GOLF ! HIke and play even more guitar jam sessions ........

Versatility for me is key .. Never put all your eggs in one basket , boys !!

Well if you had to skip a season, this wouldn't be a bad one to miss.

That ,my young friend is TRUE !!  I lucked out i guess.

BTW : wish you the best at Clarkson school .

Several in our extended family did their undergrad degrees there and have done quite well .

My kids never did ski camps. My daughter was out of ski lessons by 7 and my younger son never took a lesson. between all the organized sports I thought skiing was a great way to spend time together as a family, less structured. so I just  taught them to ski myself. We spent our time skiing together with friends. We also moved around to other mountains during the year (gore, mnt snow, bromley, platy, windham and whiteface). Kids enjoyed exploring different places. my daughter bailed on us around 14. she had a big sports commitment during the week and wanted to hang with friends on the weekends. this gave my wife a reason to bail on skiing, she is not much of a morning person. my son hung with me until around 16 ,when I was deemed not that cool to hang with. we still all manage to ski together once or twice a year, usually in the spring or a snow day. my kids really enjoy the sport. my daughter is in college at suny Plattsburgh so I buy her a pass to whiteface. my son, a senior in high school now skis with his friends. I ski by myself which is fine. enjoy the time with your family and take the less then stellar weekends off during the winter.

My son is on our race team, skiing Sat and Sun from 7:30 to 3p, Dec-through March.   My daughter has no interest.   He also skis Tuesday and Thursday nights--gate training, which he loves.   To say that is a lot for a 10 yo is an understatement.    My girl hangs with mom every other weekend, so she is excited to ski the other weekend, my issue with her is "friends"   They can't keep up and there just are not a lot of 8-12 yo girls who just ski...to ski.     She is done, when spring starts.    My son was upset with me last weekend because I did not take him with me, to ski Twister, over and over.   He is 3 weeks into his LAX season and if he joins a sport, he must attend--except one game and 2 practices--our rules.    

What keeps him engaged?    Team comradely, love of the sport, going fast, bumping and jumping.  Not just racing.  Going tubing with friends, hiking, building jumps at the hotel at night.    However the number one thing in my view is.....the Hotel.     As an instructor, we get really cheap discounted rates at a local hotel with pool.   A few racers and lots of instructor kids join us.   About 10 kids.    From 3:30 until 9:15pm Saturday night the boys (no girls--sadly for my daughter) make up games, run, play soccer, wax skis--for spending money, swim and hot tub, and just hang.   We have birthday parties, parties and all coordinate food--which we eat together.   Its a party.   As we were taking a family vacation to Fla two years ago, we began speaking about money and cost.    He asked me what the hotel and skiing weekly cost.   Both he and my daughter advised if they had to pick a trip to Disney, SeaWorld and the Ocean over their "winter, mini-vacations" they would pick the latter.     So would I.    I am blessed with a good group of friends.  While our local ski hill is no mountain, my friends and our kids keep it fun, all season long.   Three day weekends (2 nights at hotel) and snow days are the best.....meaning in the DC/Baltimore area, when they forecast 2 inches of snow, the schools are sure to close so we head up the night before.    

Must also say that I ran a mountain adventure program for 9 years.    I have raised two groups of kids from 5 yo to 12 yo, in that group.   While we worked on good skiing, our focus was fun.    I hid drills and practice in games (not stupid kid games that I hate seeing instructors do all the time) My parents were forced by their kids to bring them both Sat and Sun to ski with me. They were upset if they missed a day of skiing with their friend and myself.     (we have a formal kids camp, but mine was informal for last minute parents and cost more.  I could have 3 or 10 skiers on any given day, only requirement was able to ski medium blues) When we had kids who could not ski blacks, we played on blues.  All the kids were happy because they were part of the team, which I constantly focused on.   I believe some of my success was in treating kids like kids.   Demanding respect and giving respect.    No false praise, true recognition of met goals and constant challenge.    Also letting kids be kids, when appropriate.     To this day, I get yells from the chair from my kids.....this season a few parents spoke with upper mgmt. trying to get me back in the program. Different instructors (while good instructors) do not seem to build team work, consensus and fun...the kids dropped like flies, the only ones who were there in March, were being forced by their parents.    

Danzilla wrote

After re-reading my initial post I realized it could be interpreted a few different ways.

Gotcha.  I mis-read your initial post as "why does my fam lose interest" rather than "when."

For us, the "when" is really dependent on conditions. If it's gonna be beautiful spring conditions, like Easter weekend, we're gung-ho.  If it's cold with re-frozen granular, we're on to other things.  We haven't put our skis away for good yet this year.

Sno - Enjoy everyday you have skiing with your Dad. Make it a point to invite your Dad skiing when you have the chance. My fondest memories as a child were my Dad teaching me how to ski at Mt Snow. I paid him back by taking him back skiing at Belleayre with his grandkids.

My last days were just before easter, and i was pretty much done. My wife was done early march.

Skiing mostly at gore, with the limited terrain just got a bit booring.

Tom