March 31, 2010
Highs and lows of family ski season
by Heather Burke/
The author and her daughter ride the chair at Big Sky. (photo: Greg Burke)
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Skiing with my family brings me the biggest highs. Obviously, by chairlift or gondola we are elevated – literally. The views atop ski mountains, from Sugarloaf to Wildcat and Stowe, I treasured every time I ski.
I think taking your kids skiing, introducing them to the natural beauty of New England’s snow-covered mountains and sharing with them a lifetime sport is arguably one of the best things you can do as a parent. But it’s not without its clouds, complications, costs and long car rides.
Our family’s ski season had lots of ups and downs, literally. The official season started off Oct. 14 when Sunday River opened, with the discovery that the kids had grown (shocking) followed by the sticker shock of new gear. Why does it always surprise me? But along with new gear comes new smiles on our kids’ faces. Can you put a price tag on that? You sure can.
But things went downhill in November, when we didn’t go downhill. We canceled our late November ski weekend due to mild temps and lack of snow; most resorts did not open as anticipated.
When we hit the slopes in early December, we were all stoked for Okemo’s manmade snow. Thumbs up!
Our daughter returned to the slopes with elation (along with a dose of trepidation). You see, she had broken her knee skiing the previous season, then underwent two surgeries and PT (which she dubbed “pain and torture” – not physical therapy). Those first few turns of the season are always anxious – but more so when you are returning from a related injury. So I am certain she was ecstatic to be back on the snow again. We all were.
My son started the season with a twinge of disappointment because he could not teach skiing, as he had the previous season at Sunday River. We could not justify a season’s worth of ski resort lodging so that he could ski instruct part-time; the economics made no “cents.”
The upside, he turned his energy toward his school race team, training and racing at Shawnee Peak a few evenings each week. He did not have the fancy skin-tight speed suit or a quiver of Slalom and GS specific gear. What he did have was a ton of fun. Turns out his team placed exceptionally well in southern Maine, the girls won, the boys ranked third! While he missed his small paycheck from teaching little kids to ski, he received the MVP award from his ski coach.
Watching the X Games and the Olympics this winter as a family was uplifting – and rewarding to watch so many New Englanders haul medals. Our kids had met Seth Wescott and Bode Miller, so to see both hometown heroes get Olympic gold made them proud. And having the recessive ginger gene (red hair) in our family – we were stoked that fellow carrot top Shaun White was so hugely victorious.
I was excited to receive the Harold Hirsch honorable mention for my ski writing, my delight was followed by disappointed that I could not squeeze a trip to Sun Valley for the award ceremony at NASJA (North American Snowsports Journalist Association).
While the snow quantity seemed down this winter, there were a few huge snowstorms, the New Year’s dump and the late February storm stand out. Ironically, we didn’t get to ski in either storm but we got to drive home in both – my husband chuckled at the irony. That’s the thing about skiing; it’s full of ups and downs that taunt you.
You can’t ski in deep snow without driving through some of it. You can’t have your perfect powder days without a few bumps. You are going to risk injury, run into schedule conflicts, and find your ski trips a little chaotic. But when the sun, snow and your family come together on a beautiful ski mountain – that’s a high you can’t find elsewhere.
For more family ski articles by Heather Burke, go to www.familyskitrips.com.
