October ski - put a fork in it!

Signed, sealed, delivered. Right out the back door.

Time to get the kids real XC skis, I think.

the excellence of adjustable poles

but first: snow angels

second: snowman

then skiing

we shall call him "Juniper Breath"

We bag our May 2017 ski...out the back door in Louisville?

Our family skis at least once a month year-round. Sometimes it's a struggle - by August we're driving and then hiking.

Not this month.

Here are some totals for the amount of snow that's fallen in Colorado over May 18th & 19th - Wow!

• Breckenridge - 16.5 inches
• Nederland - 28 inches
• Conifer - 17 inches
• Silverthorne - 16 inches
• Vail - 10 inches
• Genesee - 17.7 inches
• Estes Park - 31 inches
• Evergreen - 14 inches
• Allenspark - 36 inches
• Aspen Springs - 21.5 inches
• Eldorado Springs - 30 inches 
• Golden - 13.5 inches 
• Ward - 38.2 inches
• Bailey - 9 inches 
• Boulder - 3.8 inches
• Lafayette - 6 inches
• Larkspur - 8.3 inches
• Crested Butte - 6.2 inches 
• Fort Collins - 7.5 inches
• Colorado Springs - 3.5 inches 
• Loveland - 5.8 inches
• Louisville - 9.8 inches     <-     that's us!
• Superior - 10 inches 
• Castle Rock - 6.0 inches
• Broomfield - 4.8 inches
• Greeley - 4.1 inches 
• Arvada - 5 inches 
• Aurora - 2 inches 
• Lakewood - 5 inches 
• Highlands Ranch 3.5 inches 

Hell-o May ski!

foggy, wot?

first he wanted skis. we put them on. then he didn't want skis. we took them off.  he wanted to go. we went. he screamed bloody murder that he wanted to go back. now I think I know how a 30-something Trump was like.

getting used to poles

"i'm looking for a iceberg, have you seen one lately? pesky icebergs, never around when you need one"

lucky hawk, unlucky rabbit? no, probably just a goose taking off

I got a 2 mi tour in later

Took another tour - 5.3 mi - the next day out Davidson Mesa. Very nice!

Skiing with the little ones

Our plan is simple: do whatever it takes to get the kids skiing. Sometimes that means no runs for us. Sometimes that means driving for twice as long as we actually end up skiing.

We keep at it. Wearing down the their resistance. Yes, that's it...resistance is futile...skiing is fun...skiing is fun...skiing is fun.

And it's working!

good, weight forward turns - we told him to put his hands on his knees

weight back - plenty of time to fix that. I'll make it a part of the "stand on the sweet spot" lesson

wheeeeeeee!

getting the evil eye from O

By the end of the (lift served) season N was doing blue runs top to bottom without help. Next year we'll add some more lessons between our legs to help a narrower stance, get the feel of edging and introduce weighting and unweighting - the flow from turn to turn. And how to get up on his own. Especially how to get up on his own.
Next year O gets to go leashless.

great slush in the sun

Dilly Dally Alley

go N!

asleep. not kidding

O was asleep until about 1/4 way down Mary Jane run. Then he REALLY liked it!

A great day in the slush. The kids skied more than ever before.
The adults actually skied (we even got one good bump run apiece at the end of the day).

November Ski out the back door and secret rigorous training formula for the kids

It finally snowed in Boulder! Whew. We count on an easy November ski and it's been kind of a nail-biter. The Daily Camera said it was the latest first snow in recorded history.

For the record, I have no idea exactly why the kids wanted umbrellas. They saw them in the closet as we were fishing out our ski boots and... the rest is history. Apparantly.

O was entranced

N beginning to understand that carrying an umbrella while skiing isn't so easy.

I had to admit it was actually kinda nice having umbrellas.

The next day O got his November ski in. At first, he was more interested in the poles - and why not?

My turn: 5.6 miles on bike and open space trails. Started at 25˚F with excellent glide and a beautiful day. By mile 2.8 the temperature was rising and the skis were repeatedly caking with ice. Oh well.