Liberty Weekend

Spent Saturday and Sunday at Liberty Mountain Resort from morning to late noon (around 4 hours each day). Had wonderful times skiing with the kids.

The weather is getting warmer and warmer. The season will end in a couple of weeks. We just have to ski as much as we can before the resorts closed up.

Skiing is a great sport. If you haven’t try it, give it a shot next season. It isn’t that hard, yet tons of fun and excellent exercise. I only started two years ago and skipped last year. This year I started off at the green slopes then moved to blue slopes, then black slopes, then double black slopes.

I have to credit my sons, especially Đạo, for encouraging me to take on the double black slopes. Once I watched him skiing down, I knew I could make it. Đạo and I were around the same level, but he had surpassed me. He can ski over moguls with ease. I navigate my way around them instead of flowing with them. He started off the season doing pizza, but I encouraged him to switch to parallel. It opened up a whole new world for him once he made the switch.

Đán is incredibly good with snowboarding. We took a two-hour lesson together. The instructor told us to stay at the bunny slope to practice, but he went on the green slope. He fell quite a bit at first, but eventually got it. I, on the other hand, gave up and switched back to skiing. My thumb is still sore a bit from the fall on the magic carpet on snowboard.

Once I switched back to skiing, I started to learn techniques on my own. I began with switching from pizza to parallel, then short turns, then hockey stops, then jump hockey stops, then hop turns. These techniques allow me to ski with confidence on any terrain. I am still working on my carvings. I have been enjoying skiing the double slopes so much that I haven’t spent the time learning carvings at the green slopes.

Xuân is doing quite well with skiing. He can do the blues, blacks, and even double blacks. He still relied on the pizza technique a lot. I am trying to teach him to ski parallel. Once he can make the switch, he will be a much better skier. He can already do the hockey stop. He just need to switch his mind.

Vương hadn’t taken any lessons. I just connected his skis with a Wedgie Edgie and strap him on a harness. He just skied straight down the slopes with me slowing him down or helping him to turn. He doesn’t know how to stop or to turn. He doesn’t do the pizza either, which is good. I hope to give him lessons next year.

My wife is also starting out this year. She didn’t have the time to practice because Vương kept clinging to her. He only did a couple of runs with me before asking for his mom. I hope next year he will be less attached to her so she can learn more.

We had a fantastic season. We used the crap out of our Epic passes. With the passes and our skis, we skipped the lift ticket and rental lines, which were always incredibly long. On weekends, people had to stand two hours in line just to get their rental. By the time we left around 1pm or 2 pm, the line snaked out all the way to the drop off area. I am glad we didn’t have to stand in that line.