Ski Season Recap

As of last weekend, we are officially done with ski season for the year. I like to do a little recap of our season.

This year was characterized by snowy weather and challenging driving conditions. We were constantly checking the weather and Ontario 511 for highway conditions and were still sometimes surprised when the snow came down. That said, we safely made it back and forth and to all of our races without incident, thank goodness!  The first few weeks were also very cold, but it made for fabulous snow conditions so I am not going to complain. 

Dave and the boys went skiing once in December, then we skied at Blue Mountain on New Year's Day and after that were up at Mount St. Louis-Moonstone every weekend until March 7-8 (with some detours for races at other hills here and there). We skied in France for March Break and then were back up on March 28 and 29 for E's last races of the season. 

This was Q's second year as a U10. He had a core group of buddies that he enjoyed skiing with and coaches that we have known for a few years.  He got to participate in a few races at our own club, at Mansfield, and the Heights. He is excited to go into U12 next year when they get to start doing slalom and get a few more opportunities to race.

E was in the first year of U16 which is combined with U19 for training and race purposes, since there are fewer athletes at this stage. He had the same coaches he had two years ago, and they are the best coaches at the club (I'm not completely biased, Coach Gavin did get Coach of the Year at the closing banquet).  Sadly one of his good friends broke his leg right at the start of the season so he was missed, but hopefully will be back next year.  E enjoyed his year and even received the Most Improved Athlete Award, which he was pleased with. Not only did he improve his technique on the slopes, his coaches appreciated his help setting up the courses, taking them down, slipping the course, and just being a good teammate in general. He has one year of U16 left and then is interested in coaching.

We enjoyed hanging out with our ski friends. We stayed up at a hotel about every other weekend, visited a few different ski hills, and eventually got our volunteer hours in. 

It's a busy time of year for us but it's a great way to pass the winter. 

Weekend Recap

After a long work week I was able to take a bit easy on Friday. A friend came over for coffee in the morning and after a bit of work in the afternoon, Q and I hit the road for Orillia, after baseball. We had booked a hotel for the weekend but then E had plans with his friends so he and Dave came up on Saturday morning instead. 

Saturday was very warm, and the rain held off for the morning. I got away with wearing only my vest and sunglasses, a true spring ski day.

The end of season banquet was that night. The theme was Olympics (so there were flags from around the world) but of course most people were dressed in Team Canada clothing. 

E got the award for Most Improved Athlete in the U16/U19 group.  He had a great year and his coach noted that he asked for advice and applied it, as well as helping out with setting the course gates for training which helps understanding as well. 

Because of the expected rain (and it did come down in the afternoon), the time of the banquet was changed and it meant we were finished up by 7:00. It was nice to have an early night and get back to the hotel.

Sunday was Club Championship day.  All athletes and coaches get to race and parents are invited to race too (which Dave and I did not do).  

Q had a really great first run, but then hit a gate on his second run and got a DNF. He was really disappointed but got some encouraging words from his coach. 

And then he moved on and had fun playing in the snow with his friends.

E did well too and ended up 4th in his group.

The top 4 U16 boys.

Free Beavertails for the kiddos, I took Q and two friends over to get them.

The race format took a long time and the podium ceremony didn't start until 4:00.  But with the extra evening daylight, it was still light out when we were driving home. 

As much skiing as we did, it seems amazing that the season is actually over.  Good times spent with good people. 

Weekend Recap

If you're tired of the ski weekend posts, just stick with me for a few more weeks and then I'll be morphing into baseball and golf ;)

On Friday both boys went on school ski trips.  Q was with his school and E tagged along with one of his friends. The friend's dad is a principal at a school and he took his son and two friends.  It was a fun day for both kids getting to free ski with their friends. Their ski days are usually pretty structured with training and races, so it was fun to just do whatever for the day.

That night E went to a birthday party at The Keg. These boys love a Shirley Temple.

We skied on Saturday but it was not a great day.  The snow was icy and it was very windy. We did ski but everyone agreed it was the worst day for conditions of the year. 

That night Q had his last baseball tryout and then we all got to bed pretty early.

On Sunday we hit the road extra early to head to Devil's Glen for E's last ski race of the season.  I sat in the back with Q for a change.

Devil's Glen is a private club and it is very nice and the snow conditions were 100 times better than the day before.  I had opted not to ski but Dave and Q did a bunch of runs. Devil's Glen is known for its steep pitch and Q had no issue zooming down. 

And E didn't have any problems either, he put in two good runs for his race, better than many people as there were a lot of DNFs and ended up in 17th place, a strong finish to his year. 

We made some frozen Costco pizzas for dinner and watched Mrs. Doubtfire with the kids. 

Friday Favourites

Happy Friday!

I happened to be near High Park one day this week and snapped this wintry photo of the ravine. We got more snow on Wednesday.  I think after this weekend it will start warming up and the melt will start. 

I just finished the book The Correspondent (reviews of my January and February books coming up on Monday) and then I got my own piece of correspondence in the mail! It was very timely.  This is from my former boss who hired me when I moved to Toronto, we get together about once a year. 

I put away our Valentines decorations and put up a few things for St. Patrick's Day. There is a shamrock banner there on the fireplace but it seems to be blending in in this photo.

Yesterday I mentioned my favourite easy breakfast was something from Tim Horton's so I thought I would treat myself! Bonus that Roll of the Rim has started.

Our trip is close enough that the first day is showing up on my weather app.  When we land in Brussels, it is supposed to be plus 13 degrees Celsius that day! 

Guess what we are doing this weekend - you guessed it, more skiing!

Linking up with Andrea.

Weekend Recap

I disappeared from here last week because I didn't have much to say other than I was watching the Olympics!! Haha. But as much as I love them, I am fine with them being over now.  That chapter is closed.  The Gold Medal hockey games for the men and women were disappointing for us, of course, because I think both teams outplayed their opponents for most of the game. Getting beat by the Americans always stings a bit more, but both our men and women's teams played well and we are proud of them. Same with the curling, men with gold, but Rachel Homan's bronze is nothing to sneeze at. Okay, enough about the Olympics for now :)

If you didn't see it, check out the CBC's final montage, you can find it in their reels @cbcolympics on Instagram. 

Our weekend was filled with skiing again. 

On Friday night Q and I played a game of crib, as a non-screen time activity. He beat me.

On Saturday morning the temperature was pretty good, and although the snow started out a bit icy, it wasn't that bad of a day.  It was quite busy though so I only skied for a little bit after lunch.  

Our ski racers, ready for the day.  They got report cards last week and they got excellent marks, E especially has really improved this year, his coaches have made a point to tell us in person how proud they are of his efforts.

In line for first chair up the hill (and I got on the second chair).

Q and one of his buddies. They have a great time together.

E's ski group had their potluck after skiing and we hung out for a bit with them to enjoy some good food and watch the men's curling finals. 

On Sunday morning, we had a snowy drive up north. Dave dropped me and E off at The Heights for E's race and he and Q continued on to our hill.  I had the hockey game on my phone with an earbud in one year to listen to the game while I skied.  And Dave had brought the Apple TV box to set up the club room TV. It was kind of fun sharing the experience in different ways on the hill, as I updated people around me or noticed that others were also listening under their ski helmet.  When Canada scored the tying goal, I was on the chairlift with some other parents, so we cheered and yelled down to the people below the Canada had scored. 

Ready to race.

It's quite the drop from the starting gate down to the course.  I am so impressed by these kids that can just go for it. 

E ended up having a good race with 13th place.  There were a lot of DNFs and disqualifications for missing gates so he did well to put together two strong runs. 

We got home late in the afternoon and chilled out.  I even got the electric blanket back out, it wasn't that cold on the hill, but after being outside all day I wanted to be extra cozy.