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Skiing Humor Essay (esp funny if you have kids to get ready)

RachelV

Administrator
Staff member
I've had multiple conversations recently about what a pain skiing is. :rotf: "The delicate balance of misery and joy that is skiing" is right on.

One of the ways I know I'm getting old is that the primary way I pick ski days now is by how easy they'll be. If the effort required is more than maybe a 6/10, I'm not dealing with it. I'm missing a powder morning right now because no way am I dealing with powder-starved Saturday morning hordes to wait in 20 minute lift lines during a pandemic. You know what will be 90% as fun and 10x easier? Rolling into a sweet parking spot at 1pm and skiing leftovers with zero lines.
 

newboots

Angel Diva
I don't have kids to prep and I still find it arduous! It's a LOT harder now that I live farther out, and the boot bag gets heavier every year.

But the essay was hilarious! and great photo!
 

Iwannaski

Angel Diva
On our first outing this year/kids’ first time skiing, daily rental equipment, daughter in boots and skis way too big and way too heavy (they gave my 67# 9 yo adult skis - do NOT recommend), when we were walking back to the rental return, my daughter had already handed me her skis, and my son tried to shove his at me. I did NOT respond with aplomb.
:boom:

But... get this, despite that, we figured it out... and I think for this group and that essayist, that’s the thing... there’s a gorgeous high to some good skiing, and even BAD skiing (which is 100% what my daughter experienced that day) was enough to keep her coming back. That and some kickass growth mindset, tbh.

We did, however, go to get seasonal rentals for the kids the next day so that we could have reliable equipment and not have to deal with equipment stupidity again. And I swear that has gotten us skiing so much more this season.

Point: the equipment hassle sucks, but the actual equipment makes SUCH a difference, right? I don‘t do anything else in which the hardware is SO important to enjoyment.
 

Iwannaski

Angel Diva
We were super lucky to have a good store near us that could fit and execute a seasonal rental (new skis) fairly late in the season and get my boots adjusted and new skis for me really at the drop of a hat. DD’s experience has been an absolute education on the importance of equipment in skiing.

It’s always good when kids get a good appreciation of the magic they get from mom’s prep. ;)
Although with a 12 year old boy, I deal with a lot of uneducated mansplaining. :doh:

This week’s uneducated lecture was about how I made his boots harder to wear because I buckled them for storage. I wish I could have laughed at him in the parking lot, but it was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

Thought the rest of you divas might appreciate.
 

Abbi

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
More than once I have said to other skier_sailor types that sailing is a lot less easier to do day by day. Nonskid shoes, gloves to protect the hands and a good raincoat will get you out there. Sunscreen and sunglasses are definitely suggested. But most of that weighs less than a pair of ski boots alone! And yet here we are still skiing!
 

KWlovessnow

Angel Diva
This was spot on. Especially the kids carrying the gear through the parking lot! Exactly what I experience. I have shown my son how to carry his skis on his shoulder so many times, but to no avail.

I do make my kids put their ski boots on at our house and wear them the 30 minute drive to the ski hill. This has made life so much easier for me.
 

Iwannaski

Angel Diva
Easy fix, just let him be in charge of his own boots and then have only himself to blame when they are harder to buckle up at the start. And do your best not to chuckle too loudly in front of him.
today, now that I had cooled down, that was our convo. I explained the science and told him to make his choices.

I am not gonna follow him around fixing poor choices his whole life, better he learns now.
 

KWlovessnow

Angel Diva
Ooooooooohhhhh.... solid. Do they leave them unbuckled or go totally buckled?

too bad we can’t really drive in them, huh?
They generally go unbuckled and then we buckle once we get near the lift. It's just so much nicer to put them on in a warm house (especially since I normally have to go gloveless while I help shove their feet into the boots). A lot of times they will even wear them home, but I generally bring a pair of shoes for them to change into if they want.
 

Emski528

Angel Diva
Anyone who knows me knows that I love skiing. But when people ask about taking up skiing with their young children (esp if they don’t ski themselves) my eyes glaze over and I start talking about all the crying that will be happening. Kids crying, parents crying, so much crying. For years. You have to be especially tough and dedicated to get kids ages 3-9 out on the slopes. Although I’ll argue that it’s slightly easier than childbirth
 

Après Skier

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I have the utmost respect for ski mothers and all the time and dedication needed to get kids on the slope. Hats off to you all!

I wish the convenient parking lot wagons at Keystone would become standard in the industry. Children are happy riding in the wagons, parents are happy for the convenience.
 

Iwannaski

Angel Diva
It’s just so much easier to learn when you’re short, skinny and bendy like they are. Without much of a prefrontal cortex to push you into the backseat.

:rotf:
 

floatingyardsale

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
It takes forever to get my kids (7 & 4) geared up in the lot. And they're both a little too small to carry their own gear up to the lifts. 7yo handles the 4yo's skis, 4yo takes my poles, and our little train heads up the hill to the lift.

Then I have to get them into the skis. They should be able to do this. (Narrator: but they don't.) If they have snow stuck to their boots they need help scraping it off, and 7yo is a great kid who has many fine qualities but balancing on one foot is not one of them, so imagine trying to shove a noodle into a pipe while the noodle is howling at you.

But then 4yo sings all the way down the hill and it's worth it.

Still, the days when I ski alone and deal only with my gear -- precious!
 

santacruz skier

Angel Diva
I have the utmost respect for ski mothers and all the time and dedication needed to get kids on the slope. Hats off to you all!

I wish the convenient parking lot wagons at Keystone would become standard in the industry. Children are happy riding in the wagons, parents are happy for the convenience.
Northstar used to have those - pre Covid.
 

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