This year we took our first ski vacation! We visited beautiful Park City, Utah. Ruth and I haven’t been skiing in over seven years but we always felt it would be a great family vacation tradition for years to come if the kids enjoyed it. We told them we were going on a “Snow Vacation” and they were excited about that.
We signed them up for three days of ski lessons so we had some concern that they might feel overwhelmed or frustrated by having to learn a difficult skill on vacation. But all three kids had fun during their lessons and all enjoyed skiing. Kudos to Park City for making it fun and teaching them to ski. In fact, by the end of the week, I was able to ski with Chloe Jane and Cara. We were very proud of all three kids for committing to learn the skill. I know it’s not easy. I was happy to be skiing with them at the end of the week.
The vacation got off to a shaky start though because when we landed in Salt Lake City. There was no snow! The girls had been hoping to step off the plane to see everything covered with snow. I was hoping Park City was faring better. The slopes had snow but when we got to the town, there was very little snow. Fortunately, it began snowing that day so when we woke up the next morning, it was a Winter Wonderland.
The first day everyone had ski lessons. After the long hiatus, Ruth and I benefitted by the instruction. Chloe Jane was frustrated at first, but according to the instructor, after lunch, it just clicked for her. Cara was struggling some in a group of kids who were a little older than she was. She is at an in-between age in Park City ski school. She was going to be the oldest in Tommy’s Ski School or the youngest in the one Chloe Jane was in. After the second day, however, Cara was doing so well, they moved her up two levels.
Tommy took it all in stride. Chloe Jane mentioned to me that while her class was still putting on their skis, she saw Tommy zipping down the hill with his little group.
The Marriott Mountainside where we stayed was the closest resort to the ski schools and the base area so that helped us a lot. They also had activities for all ages so the kids decorated sugar cookies, made necklaces and played with trains. All of us enjoyed the outdoor hot tubs after skiing. Chloe Jane liked swimming in the outdoor pool, but I don’t know how she could stand it. It seemed so cold compared to the hot tub. So Ruth and I stayed in the hot tub.
The room we stayed in was a villa, really more like a suite, but it had a bedroom, living room, dining room and kitchen so we had plenty of space and we could make breakfast in the room before heading to the slopes.
Because this was a snow vacation and not just a ski vacation, we wanted to do some other snow related things. The girls and I got the chance to ride in a one horse open sleigh in nearby Deer Valley (Tommy badly needed a nap that day so he and Ruth had to miss it). We also took the kids to a snow park that featured tubing down a snow hill. Tommy didn’t like it at all and Cara preferred not to do it anymore after trying the tubing twice. But Chloe Jane loved going down the snow hill in the inner tubes.
One of the most fun days was also the simplest. The resort let us borrow a few saucer-sleds and told us about a small hill next to the library within an easy walk. All three kids (and parents) enjoyed sliding down the hill and playing in the snow.
The skiing was magnificent. Ruth and I skied all over the mountain. We did some runs from the summit–nearly 10,000 feet–with breathtaking views.
At the end of the week, Chloe Jane said she had “tons of fun!” Cara agreed. All three said they loved skiing. It looks like we may have started a tradition!
Special thanks to Holly who gave us a GoPro camera for Christmas this year. This was my first opportunity to take it out for a test run. I’ve never done much with video but this was a great opportunity to give it a try. I didn’t want to bring my big dSLR camera out on the slopes but the GoPro is so small I could take it every where. The GoPro allowed me to capture much more of the vacation than I otherwise would. Also, it can be used with a variety of mounts. One of my best memories of this trip is going to be skiing with my daughters for the first time. I don’t know how else I would have captured that without the GoPro. I was able to mount it to my helmet and capture it while I skied with them. Thanks, Holly!
Also, special thanks to Karen for her suggestions leading up to the trip and for her staying connected with us during the week by text and fb for encouragement and to share in the kids joy.
I tried to get the kids to sing a theme song for our Snow Vacation: “There’s no vacation like snow vacation like no vacation I know!” But I couldn’t get them to do it–not even once.
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