Skiing with Dad

So while my parents were here, my dad really wanted to try skiing, since he hadn't skied since before I was born, I think. He got himself outfitted with some ski clothes, rented some equipment at Outdoors Unlimited on campus, and we were off.

And let me tell you, it was an adventure.

First of all, we were planning on Alta, due to the lack of snowboarders and my dad having never experienced sharing the mountain with them. However, that canyon was closed (for avalanche control or something), so we made a quick change and went to Solitude instead. This was adventure one.

Sam was working, so we planned to met him there and I drove up with my parents. Well, their little California car has never been in the snow and has nothing like four-wheel drive, so when the roads started getting slick, my dad got out to put chains on the tires. This was adventure two.

So Dad hasn't put chains on tires for quite some time, so it took a little while for him to get the hang of it. And then the chains were too long and he didn't have the tool to cut them, so we were like, "Uhhh...what now?"

Here's my worried face:
Well, I'll tell you what now. Sam showed up (he'd been about a 1/2 hour behind us), and we drove up in the CRV, which handles the snow really well (because it was snowing buckets). Here is my parents' car getting left behind while we continued in our adventure.
In the comfort of the CRV, we finally made it to our destination. Then, as I was buckling my boots, this happened.
Yes, that is a ginormous blood blister on my thumb from where I accidentally buckled it into my ski boots. Talk about owwww. That was adventure three.

So we get our tickets and Dad, Sam, and I take a few runs down the tiny bunny hill while Dad tests the adage that skiing is "just like riding a bike--you remember how right away."

Dad started getting bored with the bunny hill and wanted something a little more challenging, so we took a lift up to a harder green. This was adventure four.
Here's Dad and I before adventure five happened.
Adventure five happened when Dad's body realized that he hasn't really been above sea level for the past 20+ years, and it punished him for his audacity in braving 9000 feet. He got altitude sickness really bad and kind of threw up a couple of times about halfway down the mountain. Eventually one of the ski patrol people took pity on him and snowmobiled him back to the lodge, where Mom was doing her homework.

Sam and I were a little worried that this unpleasant experience might ruin skiing for Dad henceforth and forever, but luckily he's a get-back-on-the-horse kind of guy, so he's looking forward to trying it again next year. Yay!