Sharing the Outdoor Fun

First, this: in case you haven’t checked the Bretton Woods website recently, we got THREE FEET of snow yesterday. I snuck out for a few runs this morning, and it was lovely. I headed over to West Mountain and hit Agassiz, Glade West, Boundary Line Glades and Little Tuckerman’s several times each. The snow is light and fluffy and I am still floating.

Now, more family adventures: we had been looking forward to taking some extended family members skiing with us at Christmas for quite some time. But as excited as Bridget was to ski with her seven-year-old cousin, Anya, I was cautiously optimistic. Just like the build-up before a big family holiday, I knew that things could go wonderfully, just as planned, or things could fall apart, like less than perfect weather or one of the children having an off day. If Bridget doesn’t have a wonderful time skiing on a particular day, we can always go in and try another time. But when you travel long distances for a short stay, there’s a lot more at stake. I would hate to have one bad experience ruin the chances for Anya to fall in love with skiing like we have.

Luckily, the sun seemed to be shining on us that day. Anya and my sister-in-law, Eva, were going to be joining us. Anya had skied once before with us last year and Eva hadn’t skied since 1989. The folks at the Bretton Woods Rental Shop started us off right. After getting their information into the computer system, the staff there quickly got them each set up with rental skis and helmets. We started off on the magic carpet in the Learning Area. The girls wanted to hug all the snow animals planted at the top of the magic carpet, and then we practiced leaning forward and traversing across the slope. I soon realized that I wasn’t going to be able to watch both girls at once because while I coached one, the other would just slide on down the slope, not worried about needing an escort. What a great surprise to see that they didn’t need me! Matt joined us and we headed up the Learning Center Quad with the two girls and Eva just behind us. They seemed excited to see each other ski, keeping them focused on the fun of flying down the hill.

In the time that it took us to ski down with the two girls, Eva had done two runs and was ready for more. We suggested she try a run down Range View – a wide, open trail with a gentle slope which is great for beginners. So while I took Bridget and Anya in for a brownie break, Matt and Eva headed up the Zephyr High-Speed Quad for a run down Range View. Again, I smiled cautiously, hoping that Eva’s enthusiasm would carry her all the way down.

Back out on the magic carpet, the girls already seemed more comfortable on their skis and more independent. Eva returned with a glow on her face, raving about the views of the Presidential Range and already clamoring to ski again another time, ready to make plans to ski at their local hill.

What a wonderful surprise. I hope they come back to ski with us again soon.