Knitjenious
Angel Diva
Wise ski divas, looking for your thoughts. Mostly theoretical at this point, because our season is probably done after today, maybe one more weekend.
My daughter is 10 and this was her 4th season skiing. She did lessons for 3 years. We didn't do lessons this year in an effort to cut down on COVID exposure risks.
At the end of last season and early this season, I would have said she was an intermediate skier: she could do blues and on a good snow days easy black diamonds at our old home hill. She frankly was outskiing me, with control, mostly parallel turns, and having fun with it. She is generally a pretty risk-averse kid who doesn't overstretch her boundaries in terms of speed/terrain.
About 3-4 weeks ago, her rental boots were getting uncomfortably narrow. We swapped them out for new boots, right around the same time that we switched ski areas and the snow texture started to fluctuate. And she Just. Couldn't. Take it. She retreated to the beginner hill of the new area, could barely be coaxed onto the one main hill that is wide, easy blue top and green bottom.
Writing it out, it is a lot of changes at once. Gear could definitely be a factor. But it makes me despair of ever being able to travel to ski if the idea of new terrain is so overwhelming. And sad to see her struggle with this hobby she genuinely loves. Next year will be a new start, with new equipment, probably a growth spurt that shifts her center of balance (plus a dose of tween awkwardness thrown in...)
So, advice? Or just some commiseration and humor to help me keep my patience? For any frustration I might express here, know I am really working to just meet her where she's at and preserve her joy for skiing. And next year, BACK TO LESSONS.
My daughter is 10 and this was her 4th season skiing. She did lessons for 3 years. We didn't do lessons this year in an effort to cut down on COVID exposure risks.
At the end of last season and early this season, I would have said she was an intermediate skier: she could do blues and on a good snow days easy black diamonds at our old home hill. She frankly was outskiing me, with control, mostly parallel turns, and having fun with it. She is generally a pretty risk-averse kid who doesn't overstretch her boundaries in terms of speed/terrain.
About 3-4 weeks ago, her rental boots were getting uncomfortably narrow. We swapped them out for new boots, right around the same time that we switched ski areas and the snow texture started to fluctuate. And she Just. Couldn't. Take it. She retreated to the beginner hill of the new area, could barely be coaxed onto the one main hill that is wide, easy blue top and green bottom.
Writing it out, it is a lot of changes at once. Gear could definitely be a factor. But it makes me despair of ever being able to travel to ski if the idea of new terrain is so overwhelming. And sad to see her struggle with this hobby she genuinely loves. Next year will be a new start, with new equipment, probably a growth spurt that shifts her center of balance (plus a dose of tween awkwardness thrown in...)
So, advice? Or just some commiseration and humor to help me keep my patience? For any frustration I might express here, know I am really working to just meet her where she's at and preserve her joy for skiing. And next year, BACK TO LESSONS.