This Christmas we packed up the family (on Christmas day) and flew to Utah for a week of skiing and winter fun with the Brenner clan. We rented a house in Midway big enough for all of us. Our ski resort of choice was Park City. It was close to the house, was touted as having lots of beginner runs and most importantly, allowed snowboarding. I was really hoping to get over my fear of skiing on this trip, but that didn't happen.
I love everything about a ski trip...the cold weather, the snow, the hot chocolate, the clothing, lunch at the lodge...I just don't like the skiing part. I did make it onto the mountain for two of the three days we skied. On the first day, all the beginner skiers in our group where in lessons so I was stuck skiing with Helmut, Sam and the boys. Don't get me wrong, this should be great. The problem is, they are way better skiers than I am, so they are constantly trying to cajole me into doing runs that are too hard for my skill set. At one point, I found myself staring down a black run one direction and a blue run the other direction. All I could do was curse my husband and death wedge my way down. I even turned sideways and slid down the steepest part. I was not happy after that.
On day two, Sam and I opted not to ski and just hung out around the lodge. We shopped, drank hot chocolate with Luke and Will and made emergency trips to Walmart. I think Sam had fun and I know I did.
On day three, I got talked back onto the mountain by Sarah and Jennifer. We skied down the bunny hill for most of the morning and then decided to try an actual ski run. So Sarah, Emily and I (along with all the kids) headed up the mountain. We stopped to ask a resort attendant which run would be the best for a group of skiers with two and a half days experience. He pointed out which way to go and then showed us to the lift. I knew when the lift kept taking us higher, and higher, and higher and even higher still that we were in BIG trouble. Emily was sure Sarah was gonna give us an ear full when we reached the top. The first portion of the run was super icy and kind of hard to control your speed. Then when we turned the corner to the first steep section things got even trickier. The kids were doing great, so Sarah and I begged Emily to keep up with them while we figured our way down. We did eventually make our way down the mountain, but not before a lot of falling, laughing, death wedging and a bit of cursing.
I am not totally giving up on skiing (mostly because I can't since everyone else in my family thinks it is a fabulous vacation and can't wait to go again). But the next time we go, I will be sure to get myself into some lessons.
Here are some shots for the day I didn't ski. I figured if I wasn't doing to ski, the least I could do was lug my big camera up there and get some good shots.
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