Elizabeth’s Journal

Ski Trip, Part I

Overall, we had a spectacular time in Park City, Utah, on our ski trip, and I fully expect that our next few ski trips will be there as well. It’s only a 30-40 minute ride from the airport in Salt Lake City, rather than that two-hour slog in Colorado, and the Deer Valley resort—which doesn’t allow snowboarders—is completely awesome. They really take care of you there (even have tissues in the lift lines so you can wipe your runny nose before getting on the lift!), the trails are all groomed every night and have lots of variety . . . it was worth every penny. Even when Dale has skied everything there, there are over ten other resorts in the area, so plenty of skiing to keep us occupied for years to come.

Our friend Andy did absolutely fantastic. It was his first time on snow skis ever; he started off with about two hours of private lessons in the morning of the first day, and in the afternoon I took him down a green run that was pretty challenging for him. But by the end of the fourth day, he skied better than I did, dammit! It was fun having him along for me to ski with; Dale is just that much better than I that the runs I ski at the moment are a little boring for him.

For me, this trip (my third skiing) was the first time I really felt like I was a skier. I got the hang of where my weight needed to be and some mental tricks to make sure I did it properly, and I just skated down those runs on the first day. It was exhilarating! As the trip went on and I got more tired, I lost a little of that confidence and ability to just glide down the runs, but when I focused I could still get it back. I skied my first blue runs at Deer Valley this time, and I cannot wait for our next trip (next year).