Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Do you ski?

When I was younger, my mom would take me skiing. Sometimes she'd drive over 6 hours to take me to Mammoth Mountain in California. She would sit out on the deck and read while I did the slopes. Or if it was too cold, she'd sit inside by a fireplace and drink coffee. I was never a really good skier, but I had fun. Rick and I started getting into skiing and then when our girls were older we took them a few times too. We'd go to Snow Summit, which was a little over 3 hours away from home. I loved it, but my feet made it hard. I had surgeries on them and something about the ski boot hurt them, so that made it difficult and uncomfortable. When we moved to Montana, we brought our old ski equipment with us. Once we got here, we realized how outdated it was. Our skis were 15 years old. Looking at them, you would think they were cross country skis because of how skinny they were. Skis now are much wider. We took them to the Salvation Army and I'm sure they're tacked to a wall somewhere or turned into a fence by now. I highly doubt anyone skis on them. We did buy cross country skis when we moved here and we have gone a few times. I had never tried cross country up until recently. Since the equipment was so much cheaper and we have so many places we can go, we figured it would be a good investment. I am hoping we can start up with this soon so I can get a little better at it. It's different than downhill, but fun.

Rick still wants to get back into downhill skiing. We have 2 ski resorts right here, so we won't have those long drives like before. I'm a little nervous about it, mostly because of my feet. I had bunions growing up and had surgery to remove them, so now my feet are full of pins & screws. I love the sport, so maybe I'll be willing to try again. Our daughter Nicole went a few times last year and had fun. I'd love to get the boys into it. I think they would have a blast skiing or snowboarding. I was just looking at this picture and realized it's pretty old. Those are my girls, Nicole & Nichelle, who are 17 and 19 years old now. And to think about it more, the fanciest thing about my skiing is my Obermeyer hat. I can't remember how much I paid for that silly thing, but it was a lot for me to spend on a ballcap. I still have it.

Another thing I want to try is snowshoeing. In the winter, you can go into Glacier National Park and rent snowshoes to walk around. This is something I'm hoping to try. I think I could really get into this. Snowshoeing seems like it would be great for me because I could take pictures at the same time. Photography is a little hard when you're barreling down a steep mountain all out of control. One of the local sporting goods stores has snowshoes on sale right now from $69-89 and it's really tempting to buy some. I suppose it's best to rent them first, but I think this would be fun. There is one problem -- lack of snow. We're having a late season and the skiers are going crazy. It should be here soon. Think snow!

17 comments:

  1. Ok, my idea of the perfect winter sport includes a book, a fire and perhaps a hot tub.. not necessarily at the same time. The idea that because a person is from Canada, they automatically love winter is a fallacy. I may be a Canadian but I have the heart of a Antiguan or an Arubian. lol

    The one and only time I was ever on skis or snowshoes was a school trip in grade 8 where we went to a 'fun' camp in the winter for a week. (Now fun and winter don't usually make the same sentence with me!) But it was interesting - the week showed me that I have no prowess in any winter sport - except ice skating and confirmed to me that I need to stay inside!

    Since I have had children I have been tobogganing though and I have to admit, that is kind of fun.

    But while I wish you well with your skiing and outdoor fun, I think I shall continue to count down the days til Spring!

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  2. LOL Tracy! The book, the fireplace and the hot tub are supposed to come after the day of skiing. At least that's what I've been told. I'm usually too busy taking Tylenol for my feet to enjoy much afterwards. We do the sledding stuff though and fortunately we can do that right in the backyard. Coming from southern California, this is a really cool thing for us!

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  3. You are way too adventurous for me Rena. I tried skiing a couple of times and have decided, like Tracy, that I do not like it. Personally, skiing is awful, I don't like it and I NEVER will!! Snow shoeing I could probably do, but who knows. I think it's great that you all do this and do it as a family. I admire that.

    Nancy

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  4. I used to ice skate, but never tried skiing. My parents were not into anything like that, and it wasn't something I wanted to take up as an adult.
    Showshoeing sounds fun to me, too though.

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  5. Hi Rena,
    Love the picture! I used to ski years ago...but I never went enough to get good at it. Recently my husband and I started snowboarding, and we both LOVE it! We took lessons, and our instructor, who was no more than 18 years old, said to us "Don't feel like you're too old to snowboard (gee thanks...I wasn't thinking that, but obviously he was!), because a few years ago I taught a guy who was 67 yrs old, and he's still boarding!" Anyway, we started the boys skiing last year, and they really enjoy it. In a few years we'll start them on snowboards. We're taking our first family ski/snowboard trip to Vermont this year. And if I get over my fear of flying, someday we'll hit the slopes out west!

    *Fingers crossed* that you guys get some snow soon!

    Jeannine :)

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  6. LOL Nancy -- I guess it's definitely not for everyone. Not everyone even likes snow. But growing up in SoCA and living in MT now, it's a treat for us.

    Adrienne -- I've ice skated a few times before and had fun with that. Coming from CA, it's wild for us to see people skating on the lakes or in ponds in the parks. It's almost like a scene out of a movie for us still.

    Hi Neen -- That's great you learned how to snowboard. I think Nicole would really like that, as well as the boys. Where in Vermont are you going skiing? My mom took me to Smuggler's Notch in VT a few times during the winter. I loved skiing there because I didn't get high altitude sickness like I did in the mountains of CA. I hope you have a great time!

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  7. I love to ski but I'm not good! I only learned as an adult and it has been years since I've skiied again. Course the problem with East coast snow is the ice which makes it so hard for beginners. But I am really quite content going up and down the bunny slopes all by myself. But thanks for reminding me of something I must take my kids too this winter!!! I have been remiss!

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  8. Hello Ello! I hope you can get your kids skiing this year. From how you've talked about them on your blog, they sound absolutely adorable! :)

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  9. My sister and uncle are avid skiiers, but I could never get into the cold weather sports. I, too, prefer to snuggle in on the couch in the winter!
    The one time I did attempt to ski, I fell down the tow rope, knocking people off as I slid down. :0)

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  10. My stepmom got snow shoes last Christmas and loves them! That is a great idea for you so you could photograph the beautiful winter landscapes. I think the best part about winter weather is how pretty the snow looks! (but that's it! ;0)

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  11. I have never skied but then I can probably count the number of times I've been in snow (that was deep enough to ski on) on one hand. I'm not a cold weather person.

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  12. I have never skied...I'm more the sipping hot chocolate by the fireplace and staying warm kinda person...grin...

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  13. I used to ski once a year when we lived back in the States. Since I've been here, I haven't. Mainly due to pregnancy or having two little ones at home.

    But it sounds like fun! You sound like your up for some great adventures.

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  14. I've been skiing since I was a kid. If you can call it that. Something about soaring downhill on slick sticks has my muscles tense - and always has.

    I'm a pretty good water skier and wakeboarder but I'm not going down waterfalls :-)

    My kids love wakeboarding and snowboarding. Luke and Kara ski too - Jake's never liked skiing - only wakeboarding and snowboarding.

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  15. I've never tried skiing, but I'm sure I'd spend most of my time falling over.
    There's not much chance to practise where I live. But I know people who'll regularly cross the country to go skiing.

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  16. I've never gone skiing, but I have gone snowshoeing! It's very fun and a good workout. We went a couple of years ago, with some high school friends who (then) lived in Truckee, CA.

    Good point about photographing while snowshoeing. There's something else you can do that you can't when skiing - snowball fights! :D

    Gale

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  17. Cool Gale! I really want to try snowshoeing this year. It would be so pretty up in Glacier. Our neighbors down the road are originally from Truckee too.

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