Mike and I went cross country skiing with all our children this afternoon. It was so much fun! There is a marvelous park 5 minutes from our home that offers tubing, sledding hills, and groomed cross country skiing hills. There were only 3 other people in the park this afternoon, so no one felt self-conscious as we learned or practiced our skiing skills.
Steve, Joe and Madelyn soon left everyone in the dust as they raced up and down the hills. They would backtrack to see how everyone else was faring throughout the afternoon. All three of them want to return again tomorrow for a longer time period.
Paige, Amy, and Katie made up the second group of skiers. Paige fell frequently, but was undeterred by her falls. She quickly jumped back up and moved forward to the next hill. Katie was pretty proficient, but waited for Amy to keep up. Amy fell on the first hill and was a little stiff and nervous on the remaining hills. She ended up sore, but trudged through the afternoon. Because she's such a good sport, I know that Amy will be willing to go again, but cross country skiing isn't her first choice for entertainment.
Mike, Allie and I made up the last group. Not because Mike and I couldn't keep up with the younger children, but because Allie was a lot slower than the other children. She did a great job. I was so proud of her perseverance. Each hill provided another challenge for her. Sometimes the hill was difficult to climb and she would fall several times before reaching the top. Other hills were more difficult for her to descend without falling. She was a little intimidated going down steep hills and tended to fall over, before she wiped out. Allie made it through the entire trail without giving up and said that skiing was "the best Christmas afternoon ever."
We'll probably do quite a bit of skiing this winter. I may try to break us into two different groups that I take skiing, so the older children don't need to wait for the younger girls.
3 comments:
Looks like you ALL had a wonderful time. Merry Christmas!
I've always wanted to try to ski, only the downhill kind, not cross-country. Was going down the hills basically like downhill skiing?
Downhill skies are clamped to the boots. Cross country skies are only clamped on the front of the shoe, so they have much more movement and flexibility than down hill skies. There are some similarities, but the feel is different and the skies handle differently. Cross country skiing is easier and less intimidating for beginners.
We've done both types of skiing. I love downhill skiing, but it's very expensive for my crowd. Renting skies and lift passes is around $50/person. Annual lift passes are around $300/person + the cost of ski rental. We just can't afford to do it with everyone very often.
By putting the money towards owning cross country skies, we can ski as often we would like for less than one day on the downhill slopes.
My two youngest girls would not have been able to downhill ski too long. I think the hills would have been overwhelming for them after a short period of time.
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