Spring Skiing

For many people, a vacation needs go no further than a tropical escape to a summer-all-year destination.


Perhaps because I live by a Southern California beach, I've always been drawn to other types of vacations, too, including escapes to snow-covered mountains for skiing.

This year, our youngest daughter Amy and her boyfriend Lukas joined us for spring skiing in Montana.

They both skied great, as did Julie, and we had an awesome time!

My nephew Brooks, who sometimes lays down in the snow to shoot movies of his parents and us skiing --- though we rarely see the video footage or still photos --- said that consciously or unconsciously, we all seemed to be following the example of Jay.

I said that was probably because Jay had spent more time learning directly from him (LB) and his dad of the same name, whom he emulated, and the rest of us were trying to do the same, just a few steps further behind.

As I began to observe more closely, however, I realized our family has a distinctively upright stance that appears somewhat lackadaisical compared to hard core bending into the turns like Olympic skiers and the Giffords.

LB said that not getting low made us less stable in the event we should hit unexpected bumps, which probably explains why I've taken some hard spills that in retrospect seemed totally unnecessary.  As you might guess, however, not only does it appear to be a bit more relaxed approach, it is considerably less intense, which makes it easier to ski long days in ideal conditions, and I guess we all like to think we will buck up when conditions demand it.

In any case, we took significantly steeper runs at higher speeds than when Amy was a little girl who once inadvertently skied over a cliff on a sharp turn of a beginner run.  On what for her parents was a frightening ordeal, Amy kept smiling as her teen-aged cousin Brooks rescued her by taking off his skis and climbing down after her.

I managed to escape this time without a yard-sale crash leading to nearly dislocating my shoulders or other injuries --- something I hadn't avoided on my three most recent ski trips --- possibly because I decided to skip following Amy, Lukas and my nephew Brooks when they headed down the moguls of Heaven's Gate on the last afternoon.  We'd skied that hard-packed mogul trail once earlier in the trip, and I was considerably more hesitant than I had been when I was first learning to ski as a young man a few years younger than Amy and Lukas are now.

At Winter Park with some Air Force friends over 40 years ago, I remember tearing down the mountain as fast as I could, despite not really knowing what I was doing.  My friends and I foolishly would consider the moguls to be jumps if we lost control --- which inevitably happened shortly after starting down a run --- jumping from mogul to mogul until we wiped out.

Back then, Winter Park was a new ski destination still trying to break into the market.  Their bargain introductory rates that resulted in four of us paying $50 each for a condo with lift tickets for five days had lured me, but it took considerable persuasive power to find others to join me, and in fact it was only because Airman Ken Wright's sister flew out from Ohio that we had a foursome. We had booked a trip in November when few thought there would be snow, so we had the mountain seemingly to ourselves.

The snow base on that first ski trip in Winter Park may not have been great, as it was usually icy with some rocks showing, but we loved racing down slopes like James Bond.

No matter how many times we fell, we thought ourselves bullet-proof and got right back up.

We would be on the first lift up at 8 AM and often catch the final lift of the day at 4 PM, so we could be the last ones shushing down.

Spring skiing in Montana had similar sparse crowds, but we also had plenty of snow on the bright, sunny days with pleasant temperatures in the 20's.  That may not sound warm compared to a tropical beach, but is much better than below zero, especially once you're bundled up.

We always love apres ski, too, including happy hours and great meals.

My sister made a delicious spaghetti dinner, which brought consensus of being one of the best ever renditions of a dish which is a well-established family favorite.

We also had a couple of nice meals at the ski resort.  The best was an Asian meal, where I had Wild Salmon Poke Bowl.  I'd never had that Hawaiian dish before, but all the fresh vegetables along with the bright red salmon combined for a culinary treat.

On St. Patrick's Day, we enjoyed Wagu Beef Irish Cheddar Cheese Burgers and sweet potato fries at the Yurt on the slopes instead of our more usual snacks or soup at a "sugar shack."  Actually, Amy had a veggie burger, since she's Vegan, and we also had an order of regular fries.

I should note this was not the first year Julie and I have gone spring skiing in Montana. We've gone several times.  Last year, Jay and Sasha came with Sasha's mother Libby, and we had a terrific time then, too.

Amy, Lukas and I managed to find the self-service bar hidden in the trees of Marty's Party that Jay found last year.

We had a shot of a mulled whiskey that proved to be quite tasty.


Our evenings back in the condo were mostly s
pent recovering physically while watching new episodes of "The Simpsons" and occasionally playing cards.

We also had a rousing game of darts one evening, which Amy won, so I guess she's the reigning champion.

Julie and I stayed a few days before and after the kids came up, which Julie and I spent hiking, skiing and binge-watching season two of "24."

We also rented "The Jazz Singer" starring Neil Diamond, a movie my mother long ago recommended I watch, and it was indeed a flick worth watching.