Jacob Goes Snow Boarding (mostly on his ass)

I rolled out of bed at 6:45am despite craving at least another hour’s sleep. If Jacob and I were to be at Mad River by 9:30am I simply had to get moving. I wasted no time whipping out my sit-ups, push-ups, and curls. I was walking Ykraps by 7am. Any yes, it was very cold. According to weather.com it was -1 – not exactly the best weather to ski in, at least temperature-wise, especially the first time. But it was what it was. Cold! I sipped coffee then readied for a run. I hadn’t occurred to me yesterday, but all of my premium extreme cold running gear was dirty. Crap! I use it for my ski base layer. I’d have to figure something out. As for my run, no big deal. I ran in my stinky stuff. Always do. I shortened my run to three miles knowing that I’d be getting tons of exercise skiing. I was back by 7:50am. It was cold but the sun was already trying to warm things. I woke Mindy and asked that she help get Jacob ready for our outing. She willingly agreed. I mentioned my running clothes dilemma to her too. I later learned that she personalized it. I didn’t mean for her to feel blamed. I was simply frustrated with myself for not thinking about it Friday. I got in the shower right away. I was fast. I was out, dressed, and gathering gear by 8:10am. I ended up wearing the base layer I wore last weekend at Holiday Valley. At least I hadn’t run in those. I systematically gathered what Jacob and I needed not only to survive but also to maintain our comfort all day out in the cold weather. I double checked his attire and gear to make sure he had all he needed. Mindy understands what it takes to be comfortable. I tend to take it to the next level. I always think ‘what if’? As a result, I will often take an extra layer, extra gloves and socks, and an extra hat – just in case. We also packed personal care packages stuffed with chocolates, cheese, and slim Jims. We left the house at 8:35am – only five minutes off schedule. We only had a half tank of gas, so I decided to stop now rather than later. I filled up at Thornton’s just before I-270 for $1.69 per gallon. We were on the freeway by 8:45am. The drive to Mad River is all freeway these days, and except for a brief stretch through Marysville proper, the speed limit is 65mph. We made great time. The other thing about Mad River and Rt 33, it’s rarely if ever crowded. We arrived at Mad River at 9:25am. It was a lovely morning but the temperature was still in the single digits. I was only slightly stressed knowing that I had to get Jacob signed in by 9:30am. There was a short line extending to the parking lot to get our lift tickets. It moved fast, thankfully. I bought Jacob an Adventure Place package that included the snow boarding gear (board and boots), a two hour group lesson, and an all-day lift ticket for $58. My lift ticket and ski rental was another $62. It was 10am by the time I had Jacob fully outfitted with his gear and our shoes back in the Trooper. Jacob’s lesson didn’t begin for another 30 minutes. I offered to show him a few things before hand. He agreed. Having never snow boarded before I was limited as to what I could show him. We rode the ‘magic carpet’ (in-ground conveyer belt) up to the top of the bunny hill. Jacob did pretty good cruising down. He had no idea how to stop or turn. I could help much. We did that like three times before heading to the lesson gathering point. While there, I ran into a fellow employee, who was there with his soon-to-be three year old daughter. This was her first time too. The group lesson began quickly. They encouraged all parents to go out and ski and not to worry about the kids. I took that as my queue to go have some individual fun. I phoned Bob & Mary Ann, who were just leaving their house. I headed up the quad lift and made my maiden run. I must’ve taken 5 or 6 runs before stopping to pee and check on Jacob. I didn’t know what time it was either. Turns out, it was only 11:20am. For me to check the time is a big hassle. I have to stop, fetch my glasses from my pocket, and then check my cell phone. Good grief! From afar, I watched Jacob in his lesson. I was surprised that they only took them half way up the magic carpet. I guess the idea was to get them acclimated to getting around with the gear as much as anything. They didn’t even have them securing their back foot in the board – much like when descending a ski lift. Whatever. I figured they knew what they were doing so I went back out to ski. I skied another two or three runs before phoning the Imber’s. They had just arrived slope side and would be a few minutes yet. I did a few more runs before heading back to the lesson area to retrieve Jacob. It was just about time to wrap up – 12:25pm. After signing him out of the lesson he and I headed to the lodge for some food. He said it was fun but that he was hungry. I’ll bet! We spotted the Imber’s on the lift just as we were heading inside. I let them know where we’d be. They joined us while I was waiting to order our pizza. I already had a Sam Adams awaiting me at the bar. Jacob went with a Lite. Kidding! J He was sticking to hot chocolate. It took a while to get my pizza order in. The young lady said that many folks called off due to the cold weather leaving her largely on her own to do it all. Since Bob & Mary Ann were with us, we opted for a table instead of barstools. Bob offered to take Jacob’s folder to his car for safe keeping. I also gave him a check to cover our share of last weekend’s Holiday Valley accommodations. Again, that was an absolute ball! Well worth the spend. We sat in the lodge bar eating pizza and sipping the one Sam Adams for about an hour. Just before 2pm we headed out for some more fun. I thought that I’d take Jacob to the beginners’ area to practice more. From what I saw, they taught him very little in the way of maneuvering. Bob rationalized that we might as well take him up the quad lift since one can access virtually all of the slopes/hills from there. Made sense to me, and Jacob courageously agreed. We got ourselves into position for Jacob’s first ever lift ride. Mary Ann graciously asked the lift operator to slow the lift a bit to aid in Jacob’s loading. That went without any problems. Great job, Jacoby! He had lots of questions, just as you might expect. He worried that the dismount would be like the steep hill we were ascending. Very quickly it came into view. He was in the middle. He did an excellent job dismounting. Hey – he didn’t fall. Bob, somewhat jokingly, pointed Jacob over to the large trail map offering a lesson on the reading/studying the mountain trails. He poked fun at me for being clueless when it comes to navigating ski trails. By the way, it’s entirely true. I guess I’ve never bothered to study the trail map since I’m almost always with someone who is intimately familiar with the trails and acting as the guide. Bob, on the other hand, is exceptional at figuring out and mapping out an actual strategy. As promised, the backside hill is a pure green trail with a long, gradual descent. Still, to Jacob’s eyes it must’ve seemed daunting given that he’s never boarded anything beyond our backyard hill. J My guess is that the bowl-like contour was scarier than the incline. We had nothing but encouragement for Jacob as we started down. Bob wisely skied ahead while Mary Ann and I stayed back in case he fell. Fall he did, but we expected that, at least I did. He must’ve fallen 6-8 times in total. It was obvious that he either didn’t know how to or couldn’t stop or turn, at least without falling over. Each time he’d get up some speed he’d fall on his ass. No problem. That’s to be expected. We practiced that drill most of the way down. Bob would ski ahead, turn and call for Jacob. However, on one occasion Jacob got turned around and took a pretty hard spill backwards and head first. I saw his helmet slam against the snow. He laid motionless for a few seconds. He was crying when we skied up. Bob made him move his limbs just to demonstrate that he had body control. He stopped crying after about a minute, but I could tell then that he was ready to bag it. Problem is, you can’t bag it halfway up the mountain. We eventually coaxed him down the rest of the mountain slowly but surely. I really appreciate Bob and Mary Ann being so gracious with their valuable ski time. Somewhat surprising, Jacob still wanted to practice on the bunny hill after reaching bottom. In hindsight, he probably should’ve started off there, but if he had he’d never have gotten a feel for what it’s really like. At least now he has a good base knowledge. After falling a few times on the bunny hill he expressed his desire to bag it for the day. And actually, I’m glad that he was forthright because both Bob & Mary Ann were considering renting ski boards, too if Jacob was gonna stay after it. I would’ve felt terrible had they done so only to have him bag it minutes later. I asked Jacob what he wanted to do – lodge, game room, or home. He wanted to go home. Mary Ann even offered to hang in the lodge with him for a while, but I didn’t want him to feel abandoned by me. Granted, I came to the mountain expecting to ski all day and night but realized later that that was unrealistic. I thanked Bob & Mary Ann for their patience and encouragement and wished them well. Meanwhile, the sky had completely cleared to a deep blue and the sunshine raised the temperature into the low 20’s - ideal skiing conditions. I hated to go but knew that I had to. While Jacob waited inside the rental return door, I went to the Trooper to fetch our shoes. Inside the rental building we ran into my old neighbors, the Willets, who were on a family ski outing. They just took it up last spring. Jennifer admitted to only skiing the green slopes so far. Jacob and I were on the road by 3:05pm. I had already phoned Mindy while retrieving our shoes. I wanted her to know we were on our way home. She was just preparing to head for the grocery leaving the kids at home with Courtney. She asked if she should wait for me. I said no, go ahead. Jacob slept the entire drive home waking as we turned onto Wilson Rd. By then, I was tired too. Courtney kept an eye on the kids while I got settled. They were watching the Cars DVD, I believe. I snuck to the living room where I took a nap in the recliner. Jacob soon joined me in the other queen Anne chair. Mindy got home around 5pm. Courtney was chomping at the bit to go. She left as soon as the groceries were carried in. I walked Ykraps at 5:30pm. It was a fabulous sunset. I got some cool pix of the sun setting on what appeared to be the end of our street. Nice! Sunday’s weather forecast was looking good. Sunny and mid 40’s. We’ll see. For dinner, Mindy brought a roasted chicken home from Wal-Mart for her & I. For the kids, she brought home popcorn chicken. We snacked on chicken all evening. Both of us were beat. And because of that, we opted to allow all the kids to skip a bath. Jacob had to take 2 Ibuprofen to help with his aching knee, headache, and stiff neck. Welcome to the wonderful world of snow skiing. We lounged quietly on the sofa watching some program on the Science channel. I’m quite sure that we were in bed by 9:45pm. I remember my dad calling sometime after 9pm to check on our status for the family breakfast. He already knew that Bobby canceled due to a cold. Mindy asked me my preference. I was eager to sleep in. Mindy called my dad back to cancel.