My memories of downhill skiing with my parents as a child are full of embarrassing moments. There's the time I skied into a tree. The end of my pole hit my eye and I had a shiner the rest of the trip.There's the time I wet my pants on the chair lift. And the time I fell off the chairlift and a boy from my high school happened to be in the chair behind me. Ugh!
I never took to the sport. I hated the cold, the scary downhills, the long lift lines, the crowded slopes. Yet, I was frequently dragged to the snow because my parents and brother loved to ski and they were good at it.
I decided to introduce my kids to the snow through a different activity: cross-country skiing. It's mellower, less-intimidating, and a much friendlier sport for kids (and I like it).
This past weekend, we made our first big trip to the snow. We rented a cabin with some friends in the Tahoe area that's only four hours from our home in San Francisco. And we planned to spend a full day cross-country skiing.
We opted to ski at Kirkwood, south of Lake Tahoe, because they have a cross-country center with 50 kilometers of groomed trails, equipment rentals, and lessons.
For $48, adults get an hour introductory lesson, a trail pass for the day, and ski, boots, and poles. The price for kids is $25. For our family of four, the total came to $150. If we skied at Kirkwood's nearby down hill resort and put the kids in half-day lessons, we would have spent $330.
Our family started the day with a one-hour lesson. We had the instructor to ourselves. She taught us how to hold the poles, glide across the snow, snowplough down a hill. Simple stuff. My husband and I had skied five years ago so the class was a refresher. The was the kids first lesson and after an hour they could cross-country ski.
After the lesson, a little practicing, and lunch, we skiied the 5-kilometer trail that circles a giant meadow. We glided over gently rolling hills through a snowy expanse surrounded by mountains. "Is this a winter wonderland?" my daughter asked.
The kids easily made it around the trail and near the end my daughter said, "I think I might like to try that downhill kind of skiing, Mommy."
4 comments:
Wonderful learn, I just handed this onto a colleague who was doing a little analysis on that. And he really bought me lunch as a result of I discovered it for him smile So let me rephrase that: Thanks for lunch! Anyway, in my language, there aren't much good supply like this.
Hey cool weblog, just questioning what anti-spam software program you employ for feedback as a result of i get heaps on my blog. Anyway, in my language, there usually are not a lot good source like this.
Daniel, yea I can see what you did there. I actually favored that part, however hehe I'm not that harsh like my dad with these things. He always tells me crazy stories again within the day and calls me a loser. I guess it is time I transfer out of my parents' basement LOL. Aaanyways, what about you? what does your dad think xD" Anyway, in my language, there should not much good source like this.
Thank you for your sharing. Supposed to attack these head-on and you will find a deep sense of gratification that will fuel your happiness.
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