When you know your kids can ski almost anything

[MsWax]

We finally hit that point 2 weeks ago when ALL the kids were proficient enough to ski just about anything on the mountain. There are still trails I haven't taken my 4-year-old on because they are steep and I don't think he'd like them, but he's been on other steep trails and skied them well enough that I know if he asked, we could do them.

This is a "nice to have" moment on our home mountain, but it's SO freeing when we are on less familiar mountains. I don't have to constantly look at a trail map before getting on a lift. We just go up and come down. It's great for me, and it's great for his big brothers, who get to ski whatever they want even when we all need to ski together.

Now it's just a matter of endurance (and making it past 2pm without getting cranky) and we'll be ready for a trip out west!

What's been your liberating moment?

 

[marzNC]

For me, it was a two-stage process with my daughter. First any blacks in the southeast, then any blue groomers at Alta during spring break trips.

My daughter started ski school at Massanutten (northern VA, 75 acres) at age 4. She could ski the two blacks from the summit by age 6. One she could do that, we explored ski areas in the southeast for a couple seasons. She was 7 when I took her to Alta during late season for a few days. After a day of Alta Ski School, she was happily skiing Alta blues, including hunting for powder on the edges of the groomed trails. That was the start of annual late season ski trips to Alta, which made both of us very happy. After the first trip it was up to me to work on my skiing in order to stay a better skier than she was becoming. She surpassed me by age 11.

One reason I started thinking about lessons for myself was because my daughter had become an advanced skier and I wanted to be able to keep up with her on ungroomed terrain at Alta.

 

[Moonrocket]

Now it's just a matter of endurance (and making it past 2pm without getting cranky) and we'll be ready for a trip out west!

My 8yo daughter is pretty solid on skis - had no trouble getting down the double blacks first time seeing them at Steamboat this weekend- but may also have been sighted yelling I am not having a melt down in the lift line at one point as we were trying to head back to the condo in the late afternoon :-)

ETA she was begging to go back for the mountain coaster after two hours of quiet time!

 

[Kimmyt]

Your daughter skied the chutes at Steamboat? Thats awesome!