I woke at 715am feeling like I could use a little more sleep, but I fought off the desire for more pillow time in order to get a good start on our proposed ski trip. The slopes we learned opened at 9am, and our personal plan was to be there around 10am. After a few minutes snuggling, I jumped to my feet, pee’d, brushed my teeth, and headed downstairs to begin my exercise routine. Soon I was done and out the door with Ykraps. It was a beautiful clear morning albeit cold. The birds were singing like springtime.
Back at home I made myself a cup of coffee. It was delicious! Before readying for my run I spent the next ten minutes downloading and viewing photos from the Wexner Center. They turned out OK. Again, we had a tight schedule so my usual leisurely pace was not going to work if we were to remain on task. I got up and got dressed for running quickly. I could hear Mindy singing in the shower all the while I was downloading photos. It seems she thought that I was already running. Nope! I heard the whole song. Before hitting the door Mindy and I agreed on what we’d have for breakfast, knowing that a full belly would be important. I hit the road at 810am. My run was a good one. I was back by 845am and our bacon and scrambled eggs were ready to be devoured. I really appreciate coming home from a run and having a hot breakfast waiting – who wouldn’t?
Before getting a shower, I threw together a care packages for the slopes (candy bars and nuts). By 940am we were out the door on our way to Mad River Mountain. It was reported to be only a 45 minute drive from Columbus. As it turned out, it wasn’t much more. Nice drive too. Thanks Honda! Rt 33 North used to be a single lane each way through no man’s land. Thanks to Honda we now have a pristine four lane highway cutting a path northwest through Ohio with beautiful vistas and speedy access to venues such as Mad River. We unloaded and readied into our ski gear right there at the car. Good signage lead us right to the ticket window. After purchasing our lift tickets and rental pass we were all set to grab our gear. Turns out, that was easy too. It’s self serve for the boots after showing your pass. We next grabbed our skis and poles. By 1050, we were ready to hit it. Mindy would be doing the prearranged lesson. Unfortunately, they had just began one at 1030 and the next wasn’t until 1230. We had essentially 1.5 hours to kill. I asked the instructor if she could simply join in. He said no but gave me some things to work with her on. I did. I really hated to be the one giving her direction worrying that I might taint or worse yet, help develop some bad habit right out of the shoot, which is the whole reason for a professional lesson in the first place. Bob called while we were playing around (we were planning on meeting up) but I let it ring through for not wanting to detour the learning. I began teaching Mindy the finer art of pegging, ski skating, and stopping. She did pretty damn good too. We had a couple tense moments when she hit her first slight incline and could go nowhere despite all her effort to peg forward. Looking back it was quite comical. Being a definite intermediate skier myself, I must say that the tow bar and conveyer belt system they have for beginners is not easy to learn on. Hell, I almost fell on both. The conveyer belt’s cool but requires serious pegging to get up a very small hill to mount the belt, and then much like an escalator at the mall, it’s a herky jerky thrust as soon as your skis grab hold.
All in all, I taught her to stop and get up after falling. All good stuff for what the bigger hills are sure to deliver as she progresses. Come 1140 we went for something to drink before her lesson was to begin. There we met up with Bob for a brief moment while getting in our gear. Mindy went on down to her lesson. I went on to the lift to do some real skiing. I found Bob immediately. And while he was there with other friends, it worked out well because each of his buddies had their young sons with them. Bob and I went on for about 1.5 hours as ski buddies. I busted my ass on the first run. Not to make excuses, 'cause I was definitely a slacker, but the top 3 or 4 inches was loose, icy man made snow and my skis got caught up in it on a cut that I wasn’t mentally ready for. I fell moderately hard but was OK. I didn’t fall again until much later. The hills are OK. And as reported, better that Clear Fork and Snow Trails. But still, there disappointingly short. As much time on the lift as skiing, which is always the knock on Ohio skiing. Plenty of fun to be had though.
Come 200PM I skied over to the beginner area to find Mindy. She was just wrapping up. She reported doing as good as anyone in her class and certainly better than most. She attributed that at least in part to the private lessons I gave her prior to the group lesson. Before resuming our quest for the hills we grabbed something to drink in the lodge. I had a Sam Adams, Mindy had ice water. While relaxing, we took notice that Indy was losing rather handily to the Steelers. Too bad! At this point I wasn’t sure where Mindy’s head was at. I wasn’t sure if she was brave enough to try the “real hills” After all, it’s a huge step going from the meager bunny slope to the mountain. She hadn’t even ridden a lift before. But she was game and ready. We decided to do the triple chair for a number of reasons. Most notably because I felt it provided the easiest access to the green slopes. She did good getting in line, moving forward, and mounting the chair. All seemingly easy tasks unless you’ve never done it before. The dismounts are not the best and Mindy paid the price I think each time. But regroup and upright she did quickly. She was about to embark on her very first hill. She was doing extremely well. I was impressed and all smiles! She fell twice, I think, on her first run. But still, not bad. She still needs to learn how to turn. We repeated that hill three times, however taking a slightly different route each run. She said one more, so I asked if she wanted to try the quad and the blue hill. She was game. I prodded her to ski to the edge of the hill and to follow my lead traversing the hill rather than down hilling it. Secretly, I thought that there was no way she’d commit herself to the seemingly daunting task, but she did. Sure, she fell a few times but kept getting back up. Before she knew it, she was home free – free at last, free at last!
We threw in the towel at approximately 430PM. The turn-in is an easy process too. We were in our car heading home by 445PM. Our destination was Mindy’s mother’s for Sunday dinner, and we were both extremely hungry. We arrived shortly after 530PM. Happily, she was having lasagna, one of my favorites! All of Mindy’s siblings were there with their significant other’s along with Mindy’s children who had been there since their father dropped them off around 130PM. We enjoyed our dinner and visit with the family. Always exciting news and stories when you have twelve people gathered around the dinner table. Soon it was 700pm and time to head out. We buckled the children into the Trooper and headed to my home where Mindy’s vehicle was parked. A little reorganization of our gear and we were both on our way. Mindy and kids home, me walking Ykraps. He needed to go badly! After addressing Ykraps needs, I too headed to Mindy’s. her kids really wanted to spend some time with me and me with them. I ended up falling asleep there waking around 1230am and heading home. I was tired but still felt really good. It was a great day and a wonderful weekend!
I woke at 715am feeling like I could use a little more sleep, but I fought off the desire for more pillow time in order to get a good start on our proposed ski trip. The slopes we learned opened at 9am, and our personal plan was to be there around 10am. After a few minutes snuggling, I jumped to my feet, pee’d, brushed my teeth, and headed downstairs to begin my exercise routine. Soon I was done and out the door with Ykraps. It was a beautiful clear morning albeit cold. The birds were singing like springtime.
Back at home I made myself a cup of coffee. It was delicious! Before readying for my run I spent the next ten minutes downloading and viewing photos from the Wexner Center. They turned out OK. Again, we had a tight schedule so my usual leisurely pace was not going to work if we were to remain on task. I got up and got dressed for running quickly. I could hear Mindy singing in the shower all the while I was downloading photos. It seems she thought that I was already running. Nope! I heard the whole song. Before hitting the door Mindy and I agreed on what we’d have for breakfast, knowing that a full belly would be important. I hit the road at 810am. My run was a good one. I was back by 845am and our bacon and scrambled eggs were ready to be devoured. I really appreciate coming home from a run and having a hot breakfast waiting – who wouldn’t?
Before getting a shower, I threw together a care packages for the slopes (candy bars and nuts). By 940am we were out the door on our way to Mad River Mountain. It was reported to be only a 45 minute drive from Columbus. As it turned out, it wasn’t much more. Nice drive too. Thanks Honda! Rt 33 North used to be a single lane each way through no man’s land. Thanks to Honda we now have a pristine four lane highway cutting a path northwest through Ohio with beautiful vistas and speedy access to venues such as Mad River. We unloaded and readied into our ski gear right there at the car. Good signage lead us right to the ticket window. After purchasing our lift tickets and rental pass we were all set to grab our gear. Turns out, that was easy too. It’s self serve for the boots after showing your pass. We next grabbed our skis and poles. By 1050, we were ready to hit it. Mindy would be doing the prearranged lesson. Unfortunately, they had just began one at 1030 and the next wasn’t until 1230. We had essentially 1.5 hours to kill. I asked the instructor if she could simply join in. He said no but gave me some things to work with her on. I did. I really hated to be the one giving her direction worrying that I might taint or worse yet, help develop some bad habit right out of the shoot, which is the whole reason for a professional lesson in the first place. Bob called while we were playing around (we were planning on meeting up) but I let it ring through for not wanting to detour the learning. I began teaching Mindy the finer art of pegging, ski skating, and stopping. She did pretty damn good too. We had a couple tense moments when she hit her first slight incline and could go nowhere despite all her effort to peg forward. Looking back it was quite comical. Being a definite intermediate skier myself, I must say that the tow bar and conveyer belt system they have for beginners is not easy to learn on. Hell, I almost fell on both. The conveyer belt’s cool but requires serious pegging to get up a very small hill to mount the belt, and then much like an escalator at the mall, it’s a herky jerky thrust as soon as your skis grab hold.
All in all, I taught her to stop and get up after falling. All good stuff for what the bigger hills are sure to deliver as she progresses. Come 1140 we went for something to drink before her lesson was to begin. There we met up with Bob for a brief moment while getting in our gear. Mindy went on down to her lesson. I went on to the lift to do some real skiing. I found Bob immediately. And while he was there with other friends, it worked out well because each of his buddies had their young sons with them. Bob and I went on for about 1.5 hours as ski buddies. I busted my ass on the first run. Not to make excuses, 'cause I was definitely a slacker, but the top 3 or 4 inches was loose, icy man made snow and my skis got caught up in it on a cut that I wasn’t mentally ready for. I fell moderately hard but was OK. I didn’t fall again until much later. The hills are OK. And as reported, better that Clear Fork and Snow Trails. But still, there disappointingly short. As much time on the lift as skiing, which is always the knock on Ohio skiing. Plenty of fun to be had though.
Come 200PM I skied over to the beginner area to find Mindy. She was just wrapping up. She reported doing as good as anyone in her class and certainly better than most. She attributed that at least in part to the private lessons I gave her prior to the group lesson. Before resuming our quest for the hills we grabbed something to drink in the lodge. I had a Sam Adams, Mindy had ice water. While relaxing, we took notice that Indy was losing rather handily to the Steelers. Too bad! At this point I wasn’t sure where Mindy’s head was at. I wasn’t sure if she was brave enough to try the “real hills” After all, it’s a huge step going from the meager bunny slope to the mountain. She hadn’t even ridden a lift before. But she was game and ready. We decided to do the triple chair for a number of reasons. Most notably because I felt it provided the easiest access to the green slopes. She did good getting in line, moving forward, and mounting the chair. All seemingly easy tasks unless you’ve never done it before. The dismounts are not the best and Mindy paid the price I think each time. But regroup and upright she did quickly. She was about to embark on her very first hill. She was doing extremely well. I was impressed and all smiles! She fell twice, I think, on her first run. But still, not bad. She still needs to learn how to turn. We repeated that hill three times, however taking a slightly different route each run. She said one more, so I asked if she wanted to try the quad and the blue hill. She was game. I prodded her to ski to the edge of the hill and to follow my lead traversing the hill rather than down hilling it. Secretly, I thought that there was no way she’d commit herself to the seemingly daunting task, but she did. Sure, she fell a few times but kept getting back up. Before she knew it, she was home free – free at last, free at last!
We threw in the towel at approximately 430PM. The turn-in is an easy process too. We were in our car heading home by 445PM. Our destination was Mindy’s mother’s for Sunday dinner, and we were both extremely hungry. We arrived shortly after 530PM. Happily, she was having lasagna, one of my favorites! All of Mindy’s siblings were there with their significant other’s along with Mindy’s children who had been there since their father dropped them off around 130PM. We enjoyed our dinner and visit with the family. Always exciting news and stories when you have twelve people gathered around the dinner table. Soon it was 700pm and time to head out. We buckled the children into the Trooper and headed to my home where Mindy’s vehicle was parked. A little reorganization of our gear and we were both on our way. Mindy and kids home, me walking Ykraps. He needed to go badly! After addressing Ykraps needs, I too headed to Mindy’s. her kids really wanted to spend some time with me and me with them. I ended up falling asleep there waking around 1230am and heading home. I was tired but still felt really good. It was a great day and a wonderful weekend!
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