Sunday night before I crashed on the couch (after skiing all day with the boys) I agreed to ski again with Alan McQueen and his daugher Emerson.
He was going up to WP and was looking for another bunch to go with. It seemed like a great fit since all the kids could ride in back and the two adults up front. We agreed to meet at the SE parking lot at Morrison.
We got there a little late, but Alan was a little later because he'd forgotten his ski harness backpack. I played hacky sack in the parking lot and cracked up the boys by occasionally throwing it at their windows.
Alan arrived and we loaded up and headed off in his rig. It was a pretty fast drive, with fast moving traffic. Near the turn off to Empire it bottle necked, but not for long. We were over Berthoud pass quickly. We went to the Galloping Goose area of Mary Jane, rented skis for Luka, got the 5 and under passes and decided to drive to the same place Aidan and Luka and I had parked at the day before.
We rigged up, got on the bus and were at the slopes quickly. I talked Alan into going up the Zephyr first run, because of it's great green cat track. The ski harness he and Emerson were using added some complications though and Luka got tired of waiting. After waiting a bit, he urged us to move on, and we did.
Luka had dramatically improved since the first runs the day before and we were able to make run after run on the Zephyr lift. Aidan made a plan that was to ski down to the Prospector lift and ride up and ski those runs. We managed to stay together until Aidan took the family terrain zone. It turns out that went past where we wanted to go to cut off to "Mock Turtle". That run would take us to Olympia Express where we could get up to High Lonesome.
Since Aidan overshot the turn off to Mock Turtle, Luka and I continued on, expecting that Aidan would find his way back up to meet us. We Made it to the top of Olympia Express and decided to go look for Aidan at the bottom of Zephyr lift. On the way down we got a call from Aidan who had met a family who made the call for him. We met at the bottom of Zephyr lift.
We then all took the Zephyr lift up and made two more runs before calling it an awesome day.
At the bottom we called Alan and Emerson and coordinated our rendevous for apres ski hot chocolate and beers.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
MLK Weekend Skiing with the boys: Sunday
Aidan Luka and I skied at Winter park on Sunday January 17th and on Monday January 19th-Martin Luther King day.
We had two great days of skiing, with lots of helmet cam footage to show for it. Luka learned to ski this weekend!
Saturday evening we spent with Nick and Elizabeth and kids. I made a sortie over to Breeze Ski rentals to get Luka skis for Sunday. When we got home from visiting, we rallied all our gear together and Mommy got vittles for us to eat on the Mountain.
Sunday
Sunday morning we rallied early and made it up the mountain with no traffic. We got a good parking space at the Blue Spruce lot, geared up and were on the bus to the slopes. I showed Aidan how to bind his skis and poles together which seems to drastically help ski logistics frustration.
We started at the discovery park area and had some frustration with luka and turning. He would bail out by sitting down and sliding. We did a few runs there but Aidan was getting bored. We got separated at one point, but Aidan appeared at the top of the lift. He'd been waiting for us.
I decided to take Luka up to the top of the Zephyr since it services some nice long green runs and because Aidan could ski the big blues. I had Luka hang onto my ski pole while I pulled him along the too gentle cat track (it looks like "March Hare" but it's hard to reconcile memory with the map). This was very successful and he was able to figure out how to turn his skis to stay with me. Further down, where it was steep enough, he was able to figure out how to turn and control his speed by snow plowing.
We lost Aidan at one point, but I had made him memorize my phone number and I recieved a phone call from a ski patrol who had him at the top of Gemini Express. We skied down as quickly as we could and met them. We thanked the ski patroller who explained that Aidan had been helped by a ski racer who hooked him up with the ski patrol.
We met some parents we know at Docs Bar and had lunch. Their kids were in ski school so no hope of hooking Aidan up with any peers.
We did a bunch more Zephyr top to bottom runs. During one of the Zephyr runs, I was giving Luka a little push, and I sort of ran him over. When I did, his legs must have done the "splits" and the "edgie-wedgie" snapped. The helmet cam footage is pretty dramatic and audible!
Luka was kinda freaked out because "I needed that!". I assured him that he could make it down without them and he had to try. I pulled him down the track and he did very well keeping his skis straight and then snowplowing when he needed to, and turning just the right amount. In a few minutes he had it figured out and he was doing better than he had with the edgie wedgie!
It started snowing lightly and without edgie-wedgie, it was all very dramatically rapid improvement. We did run after run and Aidan was very proud of his little brother, and told him how well he was doing. I was pretty proud too.
We finished up the day at about 3:30 or 4 and jumped on the bus back to the car. Everyone was pretty tired, but no complaining. The snow was picking up a bit, and so the drive over Berthoud pass was slow, but steady. Once over the pass it was dry as a bone and no traffic!! Both boys fell asleep and I listened to Physical Graphiti.
We were home by 5:30. The boys were excited to see mom and I crashed on the couch.
We had two great days of skiing, with lots of helmet cam footage to show for it. Luka learned to ski this weekend!
Saturday evening we spent with Nick and Elizabeth and kids. I made a sortie over to Breeze Ski rentals to get Luka skis for Sunday. When we got home from visiting, we rallied all our gear together and Mommy got vittles for us to eat on the Mountain.
Sunday
Sunday morning we rallied early and made it up the mountain with no traffic. We got a good parking space at the Blue Spruce lot, geared up and were on the bus to the slopes. I showed Aidan how to bind his skis and poles together which seems to drastically help ski logistics frustration.
We started at the discovery park area and had some frustration with luka and turning. He would bail out by sitting down and sliding. We did a few runs there but Aidan was getting bored. We got separated at one point, but Aidan appeared at the top of the lift. He'd been waiting for us.
I decided to take Luka up to the top of the Zephyr since it services some nice long green runs and because Aidan could ski the big blues. I had Luka hang onto my ski pole while I pulled him along the too gentle cat track (it looks like "March Hare" but it's hard to reconcile memory with the map). This was very successful and he was able to figure out how to turn his skis to stay with me. Further down, where it was steep enough, he was able to figure out how to turn and control his speed by snow plowing.
We lost Aidan at one point, but I had made him memorize my phone number and I recieved a phone call from a ski patrol who had him at the top of Gemini Express. We skied down as quickly as we could and met them. We thanked the ski patroller who explained that Aidan had been helped by a ski racer who hooked him up with the ski patrol.
We met some parents we know at Docs Bar and had lunch. Their kids were in ski school so no hope of hooking Aidan up with any peers.
We did a bunch more Zephyr top to bottom runs. During one of the Zephyr runs, I was giving Luka a little push, and I sort of ran him over. When I did, his legs must have done the "splits" and the "edgie-wedgie" snapped. The helmet cam footage is pretty dramatic and audible!
Luka was kinda freaked out because "I needed that!". I assured him that he could make it down without them and he had to try. I pulled him down the track and he did very well keeping his skis straight and then snowplowing when he needed to, and turning just the right amount. In a few minutes he had it figured out and he was doing better than he had with the edgie wedgie!
It started snowing lightly and without edgie-wedgie, it was all very dramatically rapid improvement. We did run after run and Aidan was very proud of his little brother, and told him how well he was doing. I was pretty proud too.
We finished up the day at about 3:30 or 4 and jumped on the bus back to the car. Everyone was pretty tired, but no complaining. The snow was picking up a bit, and so the drive over Berthoud pass was slow, but steady. Once over the pass it was dry as a bone and no traffic!! Both boys fell asleep and I listened to Physical Graphiti.
We were home by 5:30. The boys were excited to see mom and I crashed on the couch.
Ski day 1-8-2010 with Aidan and Luka
Aidan, Luka and I drove to Copper Mt. Sunday to spend a day skiing together. Luka would be in lessons for this day, but Aidan and I hoped to do a few runs with him afterwards.
We rallied early and arrived at Copper at about 8:30 so we avoided most of the ski lesson and ski rental lines. It was still a little painful, standing in (the wrong line) but we got him all set up with boots and skis, found his instructor and we said a tearless "byb, bye" to Luka. Aidan and I headed for the lifts.
Aidan and went up the High Point lift and talked about which runs we would do. We talked about ho slow the High Point lift was and decided to go up Excellerator to the top. We made 3 or 4 runs before going inside for lunch.
Although mom had set up us with good grub that morning, I had been so flustered about getting everyone together and on the bus from the parking lot, I didn't take any with us. Aidan and I stopped at the lodge to warm up.
Like my buddy Al says, taking your own lunch is the way to go, but that the "cool" people pay 5 bucks for a beer and 6 bucks for a hamburger. That recollection must have been from years ago.
$7.50 for a hot dog for Aidan. No, it didn't come with a
drink or fries or anything except a "7.50 for a freaking hot dog?!?"
From me.Does that make me one of the cool people?
When in the lodge we were waved at by two girls and their mom. It turns out that one of the girls recognized Aidan and the mom recognized me. She hand I had met mt biking along the cherry creek single track area back before they turned that section into a golf course. We both sort of acknowleged that we were right about how that section of trails was already under threat way back then and now has been taken over.
The girl (can't remember her name) works at Picolos so we'll have to visit.
Aidan and I made our way down to where the ski school was. We made several runs up and down Kokomo and the other beginner lift but no sign of Luka. We went inside to look for him at the ski school. They pointed to the magic carpet outside the school. That's where we found Luka.
...And we had luka in ski school at $150.00 for the day. When I got
there to pick him up he was playing on some dinasaur playset thing
instead of skiing. Another what the *&%^! moment.
I had him put his skis on and I took him up the magic carpet 3 or 4 times. It was clear that he had not learned anything at all. He couldn't turn or stop or anything. He would go straight down the hill and let us catch him.
Since we weren't supposed to be in the learning area, we got kicked out and Aidan and I took Luka up the Kokomo lift. We did one or two runs, but Luka was clearly at the earliest stages of skier-hood.
We decided to return the skis and hit the road.
When we left, ski traffic was at high tide, and so I turned off into
silverthorne to find something to do and to let traffic burn off. We
found a movie theater and were just in time for "Avatar in 3D". $8.25
for the two kids and $8.75 for me. I got the large popcorn and large
drink for me and Aidan and nachos (which he wouldn't eat) for Luka.
So, I was one of the fool people who spent somewhere around $200 for a
day in the mts.
Next weekend we do it again. This time I'm packing gatorade a bag of
chips and we're heading home at 2 pm. Ill teach the kid to ski myself.
We rallied early and arrived at Copper at about 8:30 so we avoided most of the ski lesson and ski rental lines. It was still a little painful, standing in (the wrong line) but we got him all set up with boots and skis, found his instructor and we said a tearless "byb, bye" to Luka. Aidan and I headed for the lifts.
Aidan and went up the High Point lift and talked about which runs we would do. We talked about ho slow the High Point lift was and decided to go up Excellerator to the top. We made 3 or 4 runs before going inside for lunch.
Although mom had set up us with good grub that morning, I had been so flustered about getting everyone together and on the bus from the parking lot, I didn't take any with us. Aidan and I stopped at the lodge to warm up.
Like my buddy Al says, taking your own lunch is the way to go, but that the "cool" people pay 5 bucks for a beer and 6 bucks for a hamburger. That recollection must have been from years ago.
$7.50 for a hot dog for Aidan. No, it didn't come with a
drink or fries or anything except a "7.50 for a freaking hot dog?!?"
From me.Does that make me one of the cool people?
When in the lodge we were waved at by two girls and their mom. It turns out that one of the girls recognized Aidan and the mom recognized me. She hand I had met mt biking along the cherry creek single track area back before they turned that section into a golf course. We both sort of acknowleged that we were right about how that section of trails was already under threat way back then and now has been taken over.
The girl (can't remember her name) works at Picolos so we'll have to visit.
Aidan and I made our way down to where the ski school was. We made several runs up and down Kokomo and the other beginner lift but no sign of Luka. We went inside to look for him at the ski school. They pointed to the magic carpet outside the school. That's where we found Luka.
...And we had luka in ski school at $150.00 for the day. When I got
there to pick him up he was playing on some dinasaur playset thing
instead of skiing. Another what the *&%^! moment.
I had him put his skis on and I took him up the magic carpet 3 or 4 times. It was clear that he had not learned anything at all. He couldn't turn or stop or anything. He would go straight down the hill and let us catch him.
Since we weren't supposed to be in the learning area, we got kicked out and Aidan and I took Luka up the Kokomo lift. We did one or two runs, but Luka was clearly at the earliest stages of skier-hood.
We decided to return the skis and hit the road.
When we left, ski traffic was at high tide, and so I turned off into
silverthorne to find something to do and to let traffic burn off. We
found a movie theater and were just in time for "Avatar in 3D". $8.25
for the two kids and $8.75 for me. I got the large popcorn and large
drink for me and Aidan and nachos (which he wouldn't eat) for Luka.
So, I was one of the fool people who spent somewhere around $200 for a
day in the mts.
Next weekend we do it again. This time I'm packing gatorade a bag of
chips and we're heading home at 2 pm. Ill teach the kid to ski myself.
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