Skidog's Future: 50+ Day Ski Seasons or Apocalypse?
- Thread starter jamesdeluxe
- Start date
Patrick":35e093g6 said:
Well obviously theres no kids now, but.....im at 86 now...and while June isnt "normal" i still had 75+ into May...thats working 50 hours a week. Thankfully my jobs hours are frequently during off times so I get the advantage of taking time off during daylight hours...
As for whats what......we moved here so I could ski...simple as that...my S.O. knows what I enjoy and is very accepting of it. Heck I didnt catch much shit for doing the 86 I have in and im still skiing...I think we'll be just fine.
Like Crocker mentioned we'll just be swapping seasonal babysitting. My S.O. isnt a huge winter fan so shes quite content to stay in on weekends...I bet my summer activities suffer though ;-)
Only time will tell...im excited about it either way.
M
I'm posting mostly because I want to be notified about this thread. Love this stuff. Hard to believe Tony hasn't moved it to the apocalypse yet.
My two cents... I'm skiing as much as I was before Neve was born. But there are multiple factors:
CB never knew she wanted a baby until a few years ago and swore to me she wouldn't keep me from skiing. For the most part she's upheld her part of the bargain. I can say conclusively she's never kept me from sking anything major and fresh.
Daughter loves the cold, the snow, the cabin and the daycare at the mountain. That makes a big difference for my wife. Also the drive has become a great time for CB and I to talk. Baby seems to sleep a lot in the car.
My passion for skiing has only increased over the past few years, so I'm more motivated to make the drive alone. My previous totals weren't that big (30 days) so I'm hitting those numbers.
Here's a big one - there is a BIG difference between one child and more than one. On a weekend when I go solo - wife and baby have fun together. I think if she was handling more than one, it'd be a lot more like work.
In any case - so far so good. Hope I can keep it going until I can get my daughter addicted to skiing. Then I'm in like Flynn.
Wow I just had a great idea...."50 for 50." For the year when I turn 50 (this year) I get 50 days of skiing. I'm asking for it.
My two cents... I'm skiing as much as I was before Neve was born. But there are multiple factors:
CB never knew she wanted a baby until a few years ago and swore to me she wouldn't keep me from skiing. For the most part she's upheld her part of the bargain. I can say conclusively she's never kept me from sking anything major and fresh.
Daughter loves the cold, the snow, the cabin and the daycare at the mountain. That makes a big difference for my wife. Also the drive has become a great time for CB and I to talk. Baby seems to sleep a lot in the car.
My passion for skiing has only increased over the past few years, so I'm more motivated to make the drive alone. My previous totals weren't that big (30 days) so I'm hitting those numbers.
Here's a big one - there is a BIG difference between one child and more than one. On a weekend when I go solo - wife and baby have fun together. I think if she was handling more than one, it'd be a lot more like work.
In any case - so far so good. Hope I can keep it going until I can get my daughter addicted to skiing. Then I'm in like Flynn.
Wow I just had a great idea...."50 for 50." For the year when I turn 50 (this year) I get 50 days of skiing. I'm asking for it.
Patrick is correct on both of the above points. But the one day per weekend does seem a reasonable starting point. SInce LCC averages 28 "weekends worth skiing" per season I don't feel too sorry for Skidog. Can't say much about the midweek since each employment situtaion is unique, but 20+ midweek days seems a lot. Particularly if the S.O. wants a family vacation sometime during the year.
Last edited:
Tony Crocker":2lggxv8x said:
Well 28 2 day weekends only = 56 days total....im at 86...you do the math...i did a few extra days over holidays but there was either right on 20 or so weekdays mixed in there..
Like you said every work situation is different. I work for a web based co, so our sys admin duties are done mostly at night for big updates. This mean usually one shift every 2 months or so that you work pretty much straight through for 25-30 hours. Then you are allowed the next 2 days off or you can "save" them and use later (i.e. never eat into your true vacation hours)...I still dont know how ill use all the vacation time I have between now and October when it refreshes....with all the "comp" time I have now...
M
berkshireskier
Member
Interesting discussion. The addition of a child to any marriage (or relationship) definitely changes the lives of both people and can certainly change the dynamics of a marriage or a relationship. Sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse. I'm by no means an expert on child raising, but I was childless until age 40 and then my wife and I had our first (and only) child. I had been single for a long time before getting married and was used to living a very independent life - skiing, playing tennis and golf, biking, hiking, etc., basically doing whatever I wanted whenever I wanted, other than my job. Marriage definitely changed my life and the addition of our daughter changed my life even more. You certainly lose at least some of your freedom when a child comes along, but I think the key is to try to maintain an active life by including your child in your normal activities as much as possible. During the first two years of my daughter's life, I definitely did not ski (or play tennis or golf) as much as I did previously. However, once I started her skiing at 2 1/2 and as she got older, I actually skied more than I ever had done previously, as I was able to take her to the mountain every weekend with me and although I had to spend alot of time skiing with her on the beginner slopes initially, I actually did not mind it as I loved the time I was spending with her and I could see the payoff later on as her skiing improved. I never enjoyed skiing as much as I did when I was skiing with her, no matter the weather or snow conditions. For the last six or seven years, (she is now 11), I've skied almost every weekend in the winter at our local hill and we've have taken some longer ski vacations together. I'm sure I would have had a much different ski experience if she had not wanted to or had not enjoyed skiing. I'm only concerned that she will lose interest in skiing as she enters her teenage years. I hope not.
berkshireskier
Member
LOL. I'm praying that she does NOT go over to the "dark side" and take up snowboarding. So far, she hasn't had much interest in it (although we own an old snowboard that her cousin had given to her). Of course, I'd rather have her snowboarding than not skiing at all. Time will tell.
I did catch Patrick's last reference there. 
You guys are making a big assumption that your kid is going to be chomping at the bit to get out skiing at age 2. 4-5 is more normal. And it's more likely to work at the very early ages when both parents are full participants, like JSpin and spouse. They are pretty much the models for engaging kids in skiing, and few of the rest of us measure up IMHO.
Your kid may have little interest, or only casual interest, in skiing, so you need to be prepared to adjust for that if necessary. You may want to talk to some other sports enthusiasts. Golfers, rock-climbers, windsurfers can't have their kids participating with them until much older ages. So how do they adjust?
We are lucky as skiers in this regard, because if your kid is interested he/she can start so early.
And I wouldn't look askance at snowboarding. Would you rather have a snowboarding kid or a not-interested-in-snow kid? No-brainer there IMHO.
You guys are making a big assumption that your kid is going to be chomping at the bit to get out skiing at age 2. 4-5 is more normal. And it's more likely to work at the very early ages when both parents are full participants, like JSpin and spouse. They are pretty much the models for engaging kids in skiing, and few of the rest of us measure up IMHO.
Your kid may have little interest, or only casual interest, in skiing, so you need to be prepared to adjust for that if necessary. You may want to talk to some other sports enthusiasts. Golfers, rock-climbers, windsurfers can't have their kids participating with them until much older ages. So how do they adjust?
We are lucky as skiers in this regard, because if your kid is interested he/she can start so early.
And I wouldn't look askance at snowboarding. Would you rather have a snowboarding kid or a not-interested-in-snow kid? No-brainer there IMHO.
Skidog":3qrzjk00 said:
I can't understand this at all. I was the most reluctant father ever. And I don't claim to be that good at it now. But Skidog, buddy, don't wish your life or your kids life away. And FYI - the first year kids are pretty portable - and they don't need much room to run. They're pretty functional if you keep them warm.
I have to say I am guilty of trying to brainwash my daughter at every turn to love the snow. (Heck her name is Italian for snow.) That may backfire, we'll see.
I've got no problem if she snowboards. I'm sure she can probably get financial aid for college. :wink:
Also...there's got to be some middle ground between 50+ days and apocalyse right? Still I'm rootin for Skidog to get the 50+.
Patrick
Well-known member
Tony Crocker":75t7942x said:
I didn't necessarily want to push my daughters to go skiing so young, but they really wanted to. Morgane and Tara started skiing when they were 2.5. I guess living in this house and seeing me skiing all the time is contagious.
Tony Crocker":75t7942x said:
The important note (I believed I've talked about this in a Kids skiing thread somewhere) is to let YOUR kid set the time and place they want to ski. If they don't at that age, it's cool, don't push it or it might have an adverse effect on them and it won't be fun for them or you. When they're skiing and they had enough, you'll know. No need to push them (I'm talking young kids here).
Tony Crocker":75t7942x said:
That's what happened to me.
jasoncapecod
Well-known member
This is so true.. Being a avid climber and windsurfer my kids are just not big enough to participate , until this year.
You might start your kids skiing at around 3ish. Reality is , it will be closer to 5-6. My kids weren't able to put in a half day on skis until they were 7/8.
I think the key to maintaining your ski day is to have a wife who is a avid skier...
I'm sure Skidog will still log many many more days then me...
Hitting the nail on the head here. If the spouse doesn't ski before you have kids, you can take it to the bank that maintaining a prior level of ski activity after kids will bring on the apocalypse.
My ex made a strong effort to keep skiing after our first kid, but not so much after the second. This may have made a partial contribution to Andrew's lesser interest.
This is another reality check. Skidog will be spending a few days on Albion/Sunnyside with his kid(s) while admin & co are making fresh tracks. Adam skied some full days at 5/6, but it wasn't until 7 that he was on expert terrain and doing 15-20K/day.
Again, read JSpin's reports as a guide. His kids are going down a somewhat different path than Adam, skiing much more challenging terrain/conditions for young ages, but typically only about 5K/day. If the ski areas are in your back yard (as with Skidog) this is a more viable and sensible strategy.