Sharon
New member
After a frigid weekend with little snow that had preceded with very warm winds and rain, there was no question the ski areas would be more like skating rinks. I gave Greek Peak 3 days to make snow and ventured out on a sunny yet brisk monday morning.
When I arrived at 10am at the Chair 5 parking lot, I was just the 6th car in a nearly empty lot. I put on my telemark boots. I could only find one knee pad. I like wearing knee pads 'just in case'. My knees are too important to risk. With free heels, the chance for beating up the knees is great with just one fall. I put that one knee pad on anyway. I went to get my skis out of the back of the truck. There were 2 pairs of alpine skis and just one lonely telemark ski. Bubba tranfered the skis out of the rocket box on the Subaru to his truck when we dropped my car off at the mechanic that morning. Unfortunately, he only put one telemark ski in the back. I was furious.
So I took off my knee pad and my telemark boots. Luckily I had brought my alpine boots with me. I slipped them on and grabbed my Volkls and headed out on the hill. At least I had the means to ski and didn't need to drive back to get the other ski.
The snow was crisp and firm, still mostly corduroy. The skiing was surprisingly quite good. They had made snow overnight and you could tell where the new snow landed. Where it didn't land, you might find ice and death cookies, but at least there was something to sink edges in at various places on the hill.
The blazing sun was deceptive as it was still very cold. After 4 runs I wasn't warming up, so I went back to the truck to get another layer. I called my friend who lives near me and was heading to Greek Peak in the afternoon. He was kind enough to retrieve my ski from my Subaru, as the auto shop is only a mile from his house. He was bringing his 3 yr old for his first day of skiing. Another friend was to arrive around 1pm with her 5 yr old for his 2nd day of skiing. So after a few runs to myself, I went down to the Magic Carpet to meet my friends and their kids.
First thing I did was send Katie, Alex's mother, off to ski while I took him on the Magic Carpet. Alex really got into it and begged me to take him on the chair lift. I told him he had to be able to snowplow and turn before going up there, so he quickly figured it out with some basic instruction using Pizza slice to slow down and French Fry to go fast. He prefers french fries over pizza, but he had to have pizza too. I told him that the edge of the ski will slow him and turn him if he put pressure on it. He totally understood that and made it work immediately with a nice wide snowplow stance. In 3 runs he was ready for the lift, which was quite a thrill for him. Katie caught up to us as we were riding the lift for the 3rd time. She yelled up to us "don't let him fall off" like any worried mother. Alex was just fine and enjoying the ride. He couldn't wait to get on the snow and show his mother what he could do. He loved going fast and we could hardly keep up with him. It is really great that kids under 6 can ski for free. I'm sure by the time it will cost $ for him to ski, he'll be hooked. I just hope his parents don't hold him back. They are not real big skiers and don't want to have to pay a lot of $ for skiing. Greek Peak is affordable, but even at $23 for night skiing, $41 for day skiing, it can add up for a one income family. At least she got him skis and boots at the ski swap. They are Ninja Turtle skis. Green and cute with little Salomon rear entry boots. He can go for free for 2 or 3 more seasons.
When Tom arrived with his 3 yr old Ian, the kid was not too excited about the prospect of skiing until Tom called the ski area a "snow playground". As soon as the kid heard "playground", he decided to check it out. Luckily, the childrens center had large colorful soft building blocks outside as well as Snowflake the Snowsnake. All this was right next to the Magic Carpet. Ian was intrigued. When he saw his friend Alex skiing down the hill he said he wanted to try it. So Tom took him in to rent skis/boots (just $8 for tykes). We all made it fun for Ian, and he really got a rush from skiing down the small hill. He decided he no longer wanted to ride the Magic Carpet and wanted to play with the blocks. I let Tom go for a run while I followed Ian all around. He refused to ski again. He wanted to see the snowmobile, something he had never seen before, so I followed him over to one that was parked nearby. When Tom returned, Alex and Katie came over to see how Ian was doing. Alex asked Ian if he wanted to try skiing again, and Ian obliged. It was great that the kid encouraged the toddler, as the 3 yr old would not do anything his father wanted him to do. Forget about "terrible 2's", three is worse from what I can tell and what the parents say. They really are developing their own minds, and this brat has become a real control freak. I helped Ian get his skis back on and his father took him back on the Magic Carpet. Tom was trying to teach his kid to snowplow. I suggested he just let him slide while Tom guides him, as he may not yet have the motorskills to make a wedge and understand what a snowplow is other than a big truck on the road. If you say Pizza Slice, the kid just wants to eat pizza. 3 is a tough age. Tom didn't like my suggestions so I took off and let him be frustrated on his own.
After another run with Alex and Katie, I took 2 runs on my own and headed back to the car. The trails were now getting pretty icy, as it was 4pm. It never got very busy. None of the lifts had lines more than 5-6 people. There were a lot of kids, but it surely could have been a lot more with the holiday. Greek Peak did a great job of keeping the learning areas snowy.
You can see in these pix how nice the snow was and the tots enjoying the day.
http://home.twcny.rr.com/goldbarron/Ian%20Skian.html
When I arrived at 10am at the Chair 5 parking lot, I was just the 6th car in a nearly empty lot. I put on my telemark boots. I could only find one knee pad. I like wearing knee pads 'just in case'. My knees are too important to risk. With free heels, the chance for beating up the knees is great with just one fall. I put that one knee pad on anyway. I went to get my skis out of the back of the truck. There were 2 pairs of alpine skis and just one lonely telemark ski. Bubba tranfered the skis out of the rocket box on the Subaru to his truck when we dropped my car off at the mechanic that morning. Unfortunately, he only put one telemark ski in the back. I was furious.
So I took off my knee pad and my telemark boots. Luckily I had brought my alpine boots with me. I slipped them on and grabbed my Volkls and headed out on the hill. At least I had the means to ski and didn't need to drive back to get the other ski.
The snow was crisp and firm, still mostly corduroy. The skiing was surprisingly quite good. They had made snow overnight and you could tell where the new snow landed. Where it didn't land, you might find ice and death cookies, but at least there was something to sink edges in at various places on the hill.
The blazing sun was deceptive as it was still very cold. After 4 runs I wasn't warming up, so I went back to the truck to get another layer. I called my friend who lives near me and was heading to Greek Peak in the afternoon. He was kind enough to retrieve my ski from my Subaru, as the auto shop is only a mile from his house. He was bringing his 3 yr old for his first day of skiing. Another friend was to arrive around 1pm with her 5 yr old for his 2nd day of skiing. So after a few runs to myself, I went down to the Magic Carpet to meet my friends and their kids.
First thing I did was send Katie, Alex's mother, off to ski while I took him on the Magic Carpet. Alex really got into it and begged me to take him on the chair lift. I told him he had to be able to snowplow and turn before going up there, so he quickly figured it out with some basic instruction using Pizza slice to slow down and French Fry to go fast. He prefers french fries over pizza, but he had to have pizza too. I told him that the edge of the ski will slow him and turn him if he put pressure on it. He totally understood that and made it work immediately with a nice wide snowplow stance. In 3 runs he was ready for the lift, which was quite a thrill for him. Katie caught up to us as we were riding the lift for the 3rd time. She yelled up to us "don't let him fall off" like any worried mother. Alex was just fine and enjoying the ride. He couldn't wait to get on the snow and show his mother what he could do. He loved going fast and we could hardly keep up with him. It is really great that kids under 6 can ski for free. I'm sure by the time it will cost $ for him to ski, he'll be hooked. I just hope his parents don't hold him back. They are not real big skiers and don't want to have to pay a lot of $ for skiing. Greek Peak is affordable, but even at $23 for night skiing, $41 for day skiing, it can add up for a one income family. At least she got him skis and boots at the ski swap. They are Ninja Turtle skis. Green and cute with little Salomon rear entry boots. He can go for free for 2 or 3 more seasons.
When Tom arrived with his 3 yr old Ian, the kid was not too excited about the prospect of skiing until Tom called the ski area a "snow playground". As soon as the kid heard "playground", he decided to check it out. Luckily, the childrens center had large colorful soft building blocks outside as well as Snowflake the Snowsnake. All this was right next to the Magic Carpet. Ian was intrigued. When he saw his friend Alex skiing down the hill he said he wanted to try it. So Tom took him in to rent skis/boots (just $8 for tykes). We all made it fun for Ian, and he really got a rush from skiing down the small hill. He decided he no longer wanted to ride the Magic Carpet and wanted to play with the blocks. I let Tom go for a run while I followed Ian all around. He refused to ski again. He wanted to see the snowmobile, something he had never seen before, so I followed him over to one that was parked nearby. When Tom returned, Alex and Katie came over to see how Ian was doing. Alex asked Ian if he wanted to try skiing again, and Ian obliged. It was great that the kid encouraged the toddler, as the 3 yr old would not do anything his father wanted him to do. Forget about "terrible 2's", three is worse from what I can tell and what the parents say. They really are developing their own minds, and this brat has become a real control freak. I helped Ian get his skis back on and his father took him back on the Magic Carpet. Tom was trying to teach his kid to snowplow. I suggested he just let him slide while Tom guides him, as he may not yet have the motorskills to make a wedge and understand what a snowplow is other than a big truck on the road. If you say Pizza Slice, the kid just wants to eat pizza. 3 is a tough age. Tom didn't like my suggestions so I took off and let him be frustrated on his own.
After another run with Alex and Katie, I took 2 runs on my own and headed back to the car. The trails were now getting pretty icy, as it was 4pm. It never got very busy. None of the lifts had lines more than 5-6 people. There were a lot of kids, but it surely could have been a lot more with the holiday. Greek Peak did a great job of keeping the learning areas snowy.
You can see in these pix how nice the snow was and the tots enjoying the day.
http://home.twcny.rr.com/goldbarron/Ian%20Skian.html
