To skip right to the pictures, just scroll down to the link at the bottom of
the page.


Although we had a bit of rain Saturday, the forecast for Sunday was sunny
with highs between 50 and 60 in the valley.  With full sun, I expected the
slopes at Lost Trail to soften up nicely, so we decided to try out
lift-served skiing with Ty in the child carrier (since we heard it was
allowed).  We went late in the day, not only to let the snow soften, but
also to try and catch the slopes when they were close to empty.

The biggest complication of the day occurred soon after we arrived.  I’d
decided to have E carry my keys since I’d have the child carrier, and
somehow she managed to lock them in the car (along with hers).  Since it was
already after 2:00 P.M., we decided we’d better get skiing and deal with the
car later.  Fortunately, we had everything we needed to ski already out of
the car.

Lost Trail was operating in late season mode, which meant that Chair 1
wasn’t running, and we’d have to ski down to Chair 2 to get to the top.
This was a bit scary since it was our first time trying out the lift riding
with the carrier, and if it didn’t work out, we’d have to hike the 400
vertical feet back up to the main base.  But, other people had done it, so
we figured we’d make it work.  I’d skied with Ty in the pack before, so I
was used to adjusting my skiing to the extra load.  However, as I got a bit
of speed, Ty became grumpy.  It seemed as though the wind from our motion
might be bothering him, so I pulled into a snowplow, slowed it down a bit,
and tried again.  With this he seemed a little happier.  I’d never seen the
breeze bother him before, but we figured we must have caught him in just the
wrong mood.  The skiing was great, spring corn with only a few patches of
ice underneath.  I enjoyed working on my turns with the altered weight; it
really let me know where my balance point was located.

Once down at Chair 2, we asked the lift operator for advice on riding the
lift with the carrier.  He said that it seemed to be a matter of preference,
but his choice was actually holding the child in front.  I wasn’t too
psyched to do that, since the pack would push me forward, and then I’d have
to hold on to Ty, leaving me no option to hold on and keep myself on the
lift (no safety bars on these lifts).  Eventually I decided I’d ride with Ty
in the pack on my back, and I’d give E my poles to carry on the chair
behind.  With this method, the lift operator suggested I ride a bit
sidesaddle to make room for the carrier, so that’s how I loaded.  Once
loaded, I also continued to ride this way, and held on to the side pole of
the lift for security.  For much of the ride, I contemplated how I was going
to unload at the top, and worried about somehow getting caught up on the
chair.  Fortunately, the unloading went far more smoothly than I ever would
have expected, and Ty and I were quickly out of the way of the chair.  The
whole experience from load to unload was still stressful and required a good
bit of concentration (at least on this regular speed lift with no safety
bar).  I assume this will get a bit easier as I do it more, but it might be
nice to try a detachable lift to see what that’s like.

We decided to make our way back to the main base via Meadow Run/Meadow
Trail, which would give Ty a nice mellow ride.  I kept my speed way down at
first, but gradually I was able to pick up the pace as Ty became more
comfortable.  The snow was again in good shape, and soon we found ourselves
back at the base.  We contemplated heading back down to Chair 2, but decided
that we should start to deal with the locked car, and hopefully let Ty have
a chance to get on his own skis.  E placed a call to Triple A, but they were
unable to track down service for us since it was Sunday.  So, we got some
tools from the Lost Trail office (i.e. a Slim Jim and a wire coat hanger)
and broke our way in.  It was nice to be done with that problem, although it
was a little disconcerting to think that others could get into a locked car
the same way.

We finished off the day by taking a couple of runs with Ty on the bunny
hill.  We both got in a run with Ty between our legs.  He doesn’t have the
strength to keep his feet below him with his full weight, but with us
supporting most of his weight, he was able to glide along and get the
general idea.  We kept the session short since he’d already had a long day,
but hopefully we’ll get out for some more practice this spring.

I posted a few pictures from the day at:

http://www.JandEproductions.com/2004/28MAR04.html

J.Spin

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