Friday morning we woke up, got our stuff all ready and then took off for the slopes. We rented helmets for the kids in St. George, rented skis/snowboard in Cedar City, and then drove up to Brian Head Resort. In January, the boy scouts had gone skiing at Brian Head and everyone was given a 2 for 1 pass when they left. So we were going to use those.
While Bryan got the kids ready, I went in and bought our ski passes. If we would have gone skiing on Tuesday, it would have been $25 Tuesdays. But we only ended up paying for 2 lift tickets because of the 2 for 1 passes. So it was okay.
Brian Head was EMPTY!! It was like this last year when we went tubing there over Spring Break. We had thought it was going to be packed and this time was the same. I thought we would be fighting with a crowd because it was Spring Break, but it was empty. I never had to wait in line all day!! And I was never nervous that I would hit someone going down because there weren't that many people to avoid (which is probably good for all the people).
Bryan, being the smart man he is, took pictures of Courtney and me before we started skiing, just in case he never saw us smile the rest of the day. hahaha
Ethan got on his snowboard and went up the "carpet" (the thing you ski onto then stand on as it pulls you up the hill) on the bunny hill so he could practice. Bryan helped Courtney and me into our skis. Lessons were really expensive so Bryan decided to just teach Courtney on his own and she was a natural. We had a bit of a rough start. I am not a huge fan of skiing but I was looking forward to trying it again. But the minute I strapped on the skis I remembered that it wasn't that much fun. After Bryan showed me a few things I told him to just go help Courtney and I would be fine. After he took Courtney up the "carpet" to the top of the bunny hill, I was able to get the hang of things. I just like being left to figure things out and not be pushed to do things I don't feel comfortable with. I like being with my family and having them around. But I do much better if I am just given small suggestions and then left alone.
After a while Ethan was really bored of the bunny hill so Bryan left to take Ethan down the runs while Courtney and I kept practicing on the bunny hill. I actually did really well and had a lot of fun going down with her. I started to relax and we were having fun! Ethan and Bryan went down quite a few runs before we decided to break for lunch.
See?!? There is proof that I went down the bunny hill.
Here is the video proof that I did ski and I did okay. I didn't fall once on the bunny slope!
So I went up the chair lift with the family so we could ski down. I don't like chair lifts. I always fall. And it is probably because I am sure I am going to fall that I always fall. But in any case, I fell! ;) And thus it began. But when you go up the chair lift, you have to get yourself back down the mountain. So I started out and Bryan had me follow him so he could show me some turns. But I can't turn as sharply as he can and I went down. I got back up and made it down the rest of the hill okay.
I decided that I wanted to try it again. After all, I had been watching 4 year old go down that hill all morning and they were doing fine. I should have stopped while I was ahead. I went up the chair lift and actually stayed on my feet! Yeah. I got down the first pitch (where I had crashed earlier) and I started to feel very confident. Then I got to the second pitch which I had done beautifully the time before and I got going way too fast and couldn't slow down. I fell hard and twisted my knee and ankle and I was done. I took off my skis, walked down the hill and went to the van. It had been fun but my feet were tired and I was finished for the day.
As I bent down to take off my ski boots and I was very grateful that I had decided to call it a day. The zipper that went up outside of my snowsuit on my left leg had busted. Yup! It was completely open from the ankle until mid-thigh! haha! I tried to get it to zip up so I could get to a spot where the teeth would meet but it didn't work. After having a good laugh and trying to figure out how to sneak into the lodge to change without anyone asking questions about me flashing my thermals, I got to a bathroom and changed into my jeans. Cheap snow pants!
Here is a video of Ethan snowboarding:
Here is part 1 of a video of Courtney going down the slopes:
Bryan and the kids kept going for about another hour and half while I sat in the lodge and people watched. It was fun. Then Ethan got cold and was tired so I met up with him and got him out of his ski stuff. At about 3:40-ish, Courtney decided she was done for the day and she found us at the van. (Because it was so empty, we parked right next to the bunny hill so she didn't have far to walk.) And Bryan spent the time until the lifts closed at 4 p.m. to ski the runs he wanted to as fast as he wanted to.
This was Courtney's face when she finished. Can you see the black marks from the lens-less goggles?
We all loaded in the van and drove back to Cedar City to return the ski equipment. We drove back to St. George to return the helmets and then we went to Golden Corral for dinner. I figured that we burned a lot of calories skiing so we could afford to eat there. It was crowded because there were baseball tournaments, softball tournaments, tennis tournaments, college track meets, and a bunch of other activities in town for the week. But Ethan still got his shrimp and fudge. And Courtney got her mashed potatoes and ice cream. So it was a success.
I think it was a great day! The kids certainly want to go again. Courtney wanted to go back up on Saturday. hahaha!
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