That Next Big Step

When your kid turned three years old, maybe you gave her ski lessons, like I did. Maybe you did it because skiing can be an exciting part of a great life. Or maybe you did it because you hoped she’d grow into an effortless, natural skier. Or maybe you did it because you wish you’d started at three years old.

Or maybe it’s a bit of all of the above.

We started our daughter in daycare at Gore when she was six months old. It seems that many ski areas don’t take kids that young, but I think it’s brilliant. If you can keep both parents skiing when the kids are really little, you might be helping to create another ski family.

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Plattekill: Gotta Go To Know

Skiers say “you gotta go to know.” The saying implies that the skiing is often better than forecasts indicate. If you’re a local, it’s pretty simple, go and you know. For a flatlander, it’s a bit more complicated: make an educated guess, go, and then you’ll know, for sure.

Plattekill parking lot

My new thing seems to be single ski day weekends. This has been cutting down on my days, but it has also helped me compete in real life, allowing me to get $hit done on Saturdays. My wife has sensed the new pattern. On Friday she said to me, “Where are you skiing Sunday?”

I always keep an eye on Plattekill, for a lot of reasons. For one, skiing there makes my life a lot easier.

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NYSkiBlog’s 8th Annual Meeting

This 8th Annual Meeting recap was not supposed to be authored by me. I’ve already got two front page posts in a row, how much more can you take? I’m posting this one because it’s personal.

shovel snow on the ramp

It was no coincidence that I went all out last week, with three day trips in seven days. Two of those trips were the farthest I’d ever gone for a single day. On Sunday Scottski and I round tripped Gore, and on Wednesday we did it again to McCauley.

As I turned the page on another year, the multi-faceted “birthday effect” was again in play. My motivation to chase snow is even higher on my birthday. At the same time, those who count on me at home are more understanding about my disappearance into the mountains.

view from Upper Face
The Face

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