A Lesson in Cross-Country Skiing

This morning we filled our van with snow gear, skis and children and drove up windy switchbacks to the cross country ski course. It was going to be my children’s first lesson in skiing. They’ve been skiing before but my eldest has always been reluctant to go anywhere far on skis. Naturally, I was curious at how the day would unfold. As we arrived at the course the sun was shining and we quickly shed our heavy winter coats and tuques. It was a gloriously beautiful day but little sensitive blue eyes weren’t accustomed to the brightness of the white snow. Of course we failed to bring eye protection. Needless to say, after my daughter decided to lay face down in the snow and cry repeatedly “it’s too bight!!!” we started to search for sunglasses. The lost and found was empty but thankfully the rental shop had some spares to lend out which helped quite a bit. Next time we won’t forget our sunglasses!

Other than the initial meltdown, the lesson went really well. The children skied without poles, which is a must for beginners. My eldest enjoyed the skiing, and participated extremely well. Even my daughter had a good time after getting sunglasses and sticking close to my husband. We have one more lesson next week but we all agreed that we must go up more often. It was a refreshing change from the grey winter days in the valley and I’m thankful to my friend Eryn for organizing this opportunity for our Learning Circle.