Skiing with Sage

Sage and I went up to Stevens Pass this morning so she could try skiing for the first time. I decided to take Sage first (versus Cyrus) so I could try and figure out what works and what doesn't with teaching a kid to ski. Sage tends to be a little more easy going and receptive towards parental mistakes than Cyrus is... I'll take him next week now that I have an idea of what to expect.

Sage did well for her first time. We did the little treadmill lift 3 or 4 times and she skied down between my legs. She then looked up at me and said that she wanted to go on the big chair lift. By then, my lower back was screaming at me in pain from holding her up by the handle of her ski harness. I figured the chair lift would give me a chance to rest my back for a little bit. Getting on the lift with her was a lot easier than I thought it would be. We got to the top, had a snack, and then proceeded to ski down in the pizza shape all the way down a green run. It was the most physically painful ski run I've ever gone down! My back, my quads, my gluts all hurt from having to hunch over and keep Sage from flying down the hill like a missile or from doing a cartwheel in her skis.

We made it down, had lunch, and then did one more run and called it quits. She did much better on the second big run and seemed like she was getting the hang of it, but we were both tired and sweaty. Here are some pictures:

Getting ready to ski:

Having a snack at the top of the chair lift:

Stevens Pass:

On the chair lift: