A Ski Trip - Whitefish, MT (2/2)

If you missed it, we took the train to Whitefish, Montana for a spring break ski trip. The train was so much fun and I loved it for a carefree one-day trek.

We stayed in a village condo halfway up the mountain. None of us had skied Whitefish before so we had to get familiar with the easy slopes - find the greens and blues.

Lucky for me, my kids are much better skiers than I am. All three play hockey and have great balance, so they are naturals. I can get scared standing at the top of a mountain knowing I’m supposed to somehow get to the bottom but I can’t see over the edge. Very intimidating.

Life is a lot like skiing though — it’s easy to get overwhelmed if you look too far ahead. The key is to start and focus on taking that next step, or when skiing, that next turn.

Our trip had its share of misadventures. One child threw up all over before we even got our ski gear rented. Another dropped a glove from the chairlift over an impossible mogul run. We had a brief scare when we lost Emily on a slope we had already been down. Just as the ski patrol was about to launch a rescue mission, I received a message from a kind mom who had found her and was bringing her back to us. Emily had taken a wrong turn and ended up on a completely different run. It’s moments like these that remind you there are still good people in the world.

Each evening, we eased sore muscles in the hot tub and then watched the Spuds play in the State hockey tournament, finally winning it all! On our last ski day, Emily and I rode all the way up to the summit to join the others. They assured us there was an easy way down, but we were both afraid to be up so high. But the views of Glacier National Park and the Northern Rockies were not to be missed and we recharged in the restaurant before braving our way down.  

There’s something to be said about being scared, but doing it anyway. My kids knew I was afraid on the mountain that first day. It was so high and they all burst over the edge while I stood at the top too afraid to go over. Luckily, Eric is a great skier and could keep up with them. I am slow and cautious, so it takes me much longer to get down, but I went and am glad I did.

Everyone is always waiting for me at the bottom with big smiles on their faces ready to go again.  I’m so grateful for that time in a beautiful place watching them do something they love. Adam would be proud. We left a little something for him out there.