Brave Ski Mom

"It's January and I still haven't skied a single double black." My son and I were driving after school on a blue, unseasonably warm mid-winter day. "This is ridiculous," he continued as we watched a group of road bikers go by. And while the bikers may be happy this winter, we skiers have had a tough row to hoe, with a prevailing forecast of little snow, warm temps and lots of complaining.

Last winter, after a two decade hiatus, my husband and I found ourselves skiing Winter Park and Mary Jane. We hadn't stayed away from these mountains on purpose. We just hadn't been in the neighborhood, and from where we live, Winter Park is a bit of a haul. But as we found out, the "haul" is worth it.

Are your kids going to ski school this winter? Without a doubt, ski and ride school is the best investment a family can make in winter sports. Why? Because although there are parents out there who can teach their kids to ski or ride, most of us 1) don't have the patience, 2) don't have the training and 3) are way too emotionally invested in the outcome. Turn the teaching over to the pros and go enjoy yourself, alone or with friends, on the slopes.

Sometimes, the timing just works out. It was the first week of January. After sixteen (that's 16!) days with no snow and a relentlessly blue sky, the snow came on a weekend. 

I think La Niña must be a 12 year-old girl. Last year, we were BFFs and she shared her snow with skiers in Colorado and Utah. This year, I don't know what happened. Was it something we said?

“Why did you want to buy Powderhorn?” I asked owner Andy Daly. A veteran of the Colorado ski industry, with an impressive resume that includes President of Vail Resorts and ownership of Eldora Mountain Resort.

When we were in Utah last week everyone I talked to told me that the snow wouldn't be worth skiing, not only at Solitude, but anywhere. Still, I figure any ski day in Utah is better than a lot of ski days somewhere else. And so, my two sons and I adopted the preschool attitude, taking whatever we could "git" and being happy with it.

We're busy. If we're not running off to school before the sun comes up, we're getting ready to ski as the sun comes up (you gotta sleep in a little!). For years, I was one of those parents who not only prepared all of our food, but made it by hand. Gerber babyhood? I think not. Not when I can bake sweet potatoes and process them myself. And so it went. I even went through a stage of making homemade saltine crackers. Crazy. And then we got busy.

I've only been to The Canyons twice, last week and in March 2010. Let me tell you, in that year and a half, things have changed -- for the better.

The first time we skied The Canyons in 2010, we drove up from Salt Lake City along I-80. This is a fast and easy drive that takes only about 45 minutes. Smooth sailing, we thought. Then we got to the parking lot and realized that before we could ski, we'd have to take a cabriolet to the base. From there, we walked (and it seemed like a long trek) across the village to the gondola -- the single lift serving The Canyons base at that time. The line was horrendous and we spent the rest of the day trying to figure out how to escape the crowds. Happily, we succeeded, finding relative solitude and some rippin' terrain off of the Ninety-Nine 90 Express and Peak 5 chairs.