View From The Glen

Saturday, March 8, 2014

A Personal History of Downhill Skiing

Mont Tremblant, 2014

New Year's Eve, 1988....I had gone to the Junior Ranks Mess at HMCS Brunswicker for a party with my reserve friends, and somewhere around midnight, someone mentioned they were going downhill skiing for the day the next morning. I had never been skiing, so they insisted I try it out and tag along. 

New Year's Day, 1989....On about 4 hours of sleep, I joined Todd and his friends for a day out on the slopes, where they patiently taught me how to get down the hill in one piece.


January, 1992....Living in Halifax. New boyfriend. Did I ski...he'd like to take me away for the weekend? Of course I ski. Well, sort of. But that was the first of many ski weekends away, and evenings of night skiing over the next few years, and though I am not sure I got much better, I certainly did enjoy it.

January 1996...My first time meeting my now-husband's family and we went for a ski week at Owl's Head in Quebec. My mother-in-law was worried I wasn't enjoying myself, Andrew convinced me to try a black diamond, and what I really remember from that week was one of the deepest and most pleasant afternoon naps I have ever had in my entire life. After two days skiing, a good sleep is easy to find.
Kids at Mont Rigaud, Winter 2008
Winter, 2003....After years (it seems) of pregnancy and babies, I went skiing again. Or rather, we took the children to Mont Rigaud where we skiied and they tried boarding (except for the three-year-old, who skied with Andrew, almost breaking his back in the process). That was our pattern for a few years. Saturdays at the mountain as the children took lessons ("Sturdiest legs on the hill" was what they said about my youngest who started boarding at 5)

Mont Tremblant "Village", 2014
Winter, 2008-present...Downhill skiing or snowboarding for those hip, cool youngsters, has become a family affair. We often go to Rigaud, which is not far away, but on weekends now, can try out bigger mountains, and have tried numerous of the fantastic resorts and hills throughout the Laurentians, including a fabulous week at a condo in 2012 up at St. Sauveur where we went skiing and tubing.

St. Sauveur: Curled up with Dad after all that fresh air, 2012

February, 2014...We finally took the kids on a mini break weekend to Tremblant, where we had a fantastic time, staying in the old village, exploring the new, enjoying the gondola ride and an incredible view from the top, the invigoration of the long ski back down, and fine restaurants where the kids discovered they have gourmet tastes and were willing to try escargots, duck, and naturally top it all of with absolutely fabulous desserts.

Chocolate Mousse Cake, L'Hotel Mont Tremblant, 2014

1 comment:

Sasha said...

Hey Denise. Long, long before we were contemplating kids, we used to watch the little ones go fearlessly bouncing down the hill. This year we finally went skiing again, after being busy with babies :). We took the easy way though, and left them with a sitter while we hit the slopes. Definitely want to get everyone signed up for lessons next winter, they'll be 4 & 6 by then.