Twofer Tuesday

I don't recall the last time I strapped on the old rental ski boots and hit the slopes, but I know it was before people started wearing helmets. When I was young and carefree, I desperately wanted to learn how to ski. So desperate that I paid a visit to my brothers who lived in Utah at the time, and begged them to take me skiing. To their credit they did, but they were poor college students and sure did not want to pay for a lift ticket and waste it helping me on the bunny hill all day. So they assisted me to the top of the ski lift and wished me luck as they zoomed away. I started down the hill with no idea how to stop myself. I'm sure for a few seconds I must have looked like an Olympic speed skier. It always ended badly, usually with one ski up the hill a few hundred feet, and my head slamming against the snow somewhere below. Where were these helmets then?

I swore off skiing until several years later when my long suffering husband took on the task of really teaching me how to ski and more importantly how to stop. I'm glad he did, because it turns out that skiing is quite fun when you are not screaming and swearing due to sheer terror on the way down at 60 MPH.

Snowbowl in Flagstaff has a Two for One lift ticket deal on Tuesdays, so we let the boys play hooky and enrolled them in snowboard school for the day, while Wes and I skied. When we caught up with them at lunch time they were all smiles and loving it. A couple hours later Wes spotted DB cruising down the hill on his snowboard. He is a natural. It was not surprising considering there is no fear anywhere to be found in that boy. We kept looking for Jake but couldn't find him anywhere. We finally found him laying on the wet cold floor of the ski school asleep. The instructor had tried to call us but the cell service was so spotty that we didn't get any of the calls. (Ironically, the insurance salesman did manage to get through -go figure.) Jake has a sensitive stomach, and the altitude coupled with the exertion was not agreeing with him. We cut the day short, but had a few great runs in near perfect ski conditions.DB (left), some other kid, the ski instructor, and Jake (right)
Why yes my ski jacket was purchased in the early 90s, thanks for asking. I said I don't ski that much!