We were all set to take Emma on her first ski trip last winter, only to have the resort in our favorite part of West Virginia close early due to warm temperatures (unusual for their altitude). So this year we were eager to take her out! The weekend of March 15-17, we "hit the road" for the 4-hour drive to Canaan Valley. We stayed at the state park lodge and had a package that included two days of lift tickets. I made Emma wear my rain jacket over her coat since it wasn't waterproof. That coupled with the hat and helmet probably made a few people laugh at our expense, but Emma never once complained about being too cold (although she did complain about being itchy several times)! We took our time getting Emma used to her skis and using the bunny slopes. It also didn't hurt that I'd borrowed a ski harness from a co-worker to keep a tab on Emma's speed and direction while I snowplowed down about 10 feet behind her. With the harness on, Emma was eventually able to make a few runs without falling (and was, of course, tremendously proud)! She also enjoyed using the "magic carpet," a lift that was nothing more than a conveyor belt up the most gradual of the 4 beginner hills. She progressed to the beginner chair lift pretty quickly and even took one ride all the way down from the top (although I only agreed to doing that once since I had to hold her under the arms the whole way down)! As we expected, there were a few tears shed, but they were tears of frustration and lack of confidence, not injury. I thought Todd and I would miss being able to spend much time on the more advanced slopes, but on the few runs I did take alone I was anxious to get back to Emma, and Todd stayed with her the whole time! As physically and mentally exhausting as it was to be a 2-person ski school, we had a great time and are already discussing a return trip (or 2!)for next year!
We were all set to take Emma on her first ski trip last winter, only to have the resort in our favorite part of West Virginia close early due to warm temperatures (unusual for their altitude). So this year we were eager to take her out! The weekend of March 15-17, we "hit the road" for the 4-hour drive to Canaan Valley. We stayed at the state park lodge and had a package that included two days of lift tickets. I made Emma wear my rain jacket over her coat since it wasn't waterproof. That coupled with the hat and helmet probably made a few people laugh at our expense, but Emma never once complained about being too cold (although she did complain about being itchy several times)! We took our time getting Emma used to her skis and using the bunny slopes. It also didn't hurt that I'd borrowed a ski harness from a co-worker to keep a tab on Emma's speed and direction while I snowplowed down about 10 feet behind her. With the harness on, Emma was eventually able to make a few runs without falling (and was, of course, tremendously proud)! She also enjoyed using the "magic carpet," a lift that was nothing more than a conveyor belt up the most gradual of the 4 beginner hills. She progressed to the beginner chair lift pretty quickly and even took one ride all the way down from the top (although I only agreed to doing that once since I had to hold her under the arms the whole way down)! As we expected, there were a few tears shed, but they were tears of frustration and lack of confidence, not injury. I thought Todd and I would miss being able to spend much time on the more advanced slopes, but on the few runs I did take alone I was anxious to get back to Emma, and Todd stayed with her the whole time! As physically and mentally exhausting as it was to be a 2-person ski school, we had a great time and are already discussing a return trip (or 2!)for next year!
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