Tuesday, February 1, 2011

SLC: Skiing Day 1


After arriving late Monday night in Salt Lake City, I stayed up late to write for the blog (you’re welcome).  That made it difficult to get up for skiing Tuesday morning.  Once we got to the mountain at Alta, we realized we shouldn’t even have gone skiing at all.  It was snowing really hard, but thankfully my sister's SUV could handle the weather.  The foolish mid-size cars that did try going up the steep incline slid and shimmied to no avail.

 Suckers.

Though Alta is my favorite ski resort, it certainly isn't the most beginner-friendly.  The altitude can get to people who are unacclimatized and the trails are poorly signed.  Ayk is new to skiing, so you can imagine how hard it was for him  - especially with the blustery weather.  It was snowing so hard that my eyes started watering because I was wearing sunglasses instead of goggles, which I decided to rent later.  I had a difficult time, even though I’ve done these runs before.  It was snowing so hard that if my eyes weren't watering from the snow hitting my eyes, then I would've cried anyway.  Yes, I'm a pansy.  It got even worse when we mistakenly took a moderately difficult run for an easy run.  He fell a few times, and I had to give him pointers on how to finish the run.


Seeing Ayk have difficulty with the run made me think of a painful experience when I went skiing with my family in Steamboat, CO:  I was 8-years-old and fairly new at skiing.  Despite our lack of skills, our dad insisted that my sisters and I go down a black diamond with him.  We all - including my mom - vociferously protested.  I guess my dad thought if he pushed us, then we would have a great time.  Not so.  The slope was riddled with moguls.  Nicole and I complained the whole time (I even cried), while Jessica just laughed.  I think it's her way of coping.  All three of us were forced to slide down the slope on our butts.  To this day I still have a fear of moguls and avoid them whenever I can.  At least we got down safely.


We decided to take it easy for a bit.  Eventually the visibility got so bad that I decided to call it quits for the day.

Dad and Ayk before hitting the slopes.  Figuratively and literally speaking, respectively.

Later after resting, we joined my family.  My stepsister Kayla has a boyfriend named Matteo, whom I prefer to call "Mah-taaay-oo".  His family was at Alta while we were there that day.  Aww, puppy love so adorable that they plan their family vacations together.

A dog (presumably in Dr. Petrera’s pickup) representing their puppy love. PWECIOUS! 

Mah-taaay-oo’s mom even asked me if I was the one with the blog.  I feel so famous.  Keep spreading the word, dear readers!

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