truax.org / Tom / Activities / Sam's 1st Ski Trip & Noah's B-Day

[Article Text] [Sam] [Noah] [Tom] [Photo Thumbnails]  [View All Photos]  ~ 1 MB total for 6 photos [Trail Map]

Sam's 1st Snow Ski Trip and Noah's Birthday
Activity Date 1/5/11, Article updated 1/6/11

Sam's Article  Posted Date 1/6/11

My first time skiing was a lot of fun.  The hardest part for me was getting past the mental barrier that if I crashed I would get hurt.  When we first started, I fell every 5 feet and my ski would come off.  I started getting frustrated because I kept getting snow all over my boots and my skies wouldn’t go on right.  Then I just stopped falling and understood the concept of skiing.  The scariest part was when I had to get on the chairlift because I was afraid I might miss the chair.  The most fun part was when you would get off the chair lift.  They had a little ramp you skied down.  Then you could just ski away.

Noah's Article  Posted Date 1/7/11

Dear Sam and Tom Truax,  I had so much fun with you guys!  I think Sam will make a great skier.  I hope we get a chance to do it again!  I remember when Sam first started he was falling all over the place, but by the end of the day was doing awesome.

Your friend, Noah Brooks Paule

Tom's Recollection  Posted Date 1/6/11

Have been wanting to get the kids on skies, but it hadn't bubbled to the top of priority list.  I was 11 years old on my first ski outing, getting pulled up behind Uncle Alfred's boat on a lake near Foxboro Massachusetts.  Didn't get on the water this past summer, and Sam is getting close to 12.  Also looking for physical activities to displace some of Sam's video game focus.  Had a lot of precipitation this season, and the last storm was cold with snow down to historically low levels in the desert.  Noah is always game for an activity, and skiing is one of his favorites.  He started at age 6 and turned 12 on Wednesday.  Mountain High offers a free lift ticket on your actual Birthday.  Was going to try and bring both Sam and Tess, but was advised that both of them would be unmanageable, so we offloaded Tess at Annika Mager's for the day, and also borrow their ski clothing.

We were planning to pick up Noah at 5 am for the 2 1/2 hour drive, but were running a half hour late.  Stopped for breakfast at 7 and got on the snow all suited up about 9 am.  Opted to dump most of the warm weather gear in a locker as temps got close to 50 midday.  Sam & I skied without gloves, an I only had a shirt and windbreaker.  It did cool down late in the afternoon, so we put on another layer at the end of the day.  Full sun in the morning but some clouds after noon.  No wind.

We stayed low all day, never ridding to the top of the mountain (used chairs 1, 2, & 3).  I had wanted Sam to take a lesson, but he preferred my fumbling instead.  We spend about 10 minutes on flat ground, then went up the hill (chair 2).  Sam was pretty timid initially, not knowing how to stop.  He fell a dozen times on the first trip down.  Took almost an hour because the snow would stick to the bottom of his boots and it had to be cleared to get his skies back on.  By the time he reached bottom on his first run he was starting to get the hang of it.  On his 4th trip down he made the full run without falling and by the end of the day he was zooming over a string of jumps.

Noah skies pretty good.  We stayed mostly on the lower beginner runs, but the boys did try a couple of intermediate routes.

Took a 20 minute lunch break and were back on the slopes about 1.  A light crowd midweek, but the lines did slow some between 2 and 3 o'clock.  By 3:30 we could ski right to the chair with no wait.  Finally quit about 4:45 because we wanted to get off the mountain before dark.  Another stop for chicken nuggets and dropped Noah off at 8 PM.