In 2021, I bought my first pair of skis through Facebook Marketplace. I paid $35 for a pair of 2008 Head XENON Xi 5.0. Then I had to spend $55 to get it tuned up. To complete the set, I bought a pair of Lange Comp 80 Team junior ski boots for $40. I spent $130 on mine and multiplied that by 6 for our entire family, which was around $780. Then we had to shell out $3,000 for our Epic passes. Yes, skiing and snowboarding are too damn expensive.

When I took my skis to the local shop to tune up, they made me sign a weaver because my skis were old and my bindings were no longer indemnified. I signed the weaver. With my first pair of skis, I went from the bunny hills to the double-black-diamond slopes in two seasons. Not only saving money, I also avoided the hassle of waiting in long lines for to rent skis.

The tuning costs were expensive and the services took at least three days; therefore, I decided to learn to tune them myself. With YouTube and a few pairs of old skis to practice, I have become proficient at ski and snowboard tuning. I tuned all of our equipment. It turned out to be a good skills to have.

As we got serious about skiing and snowboarding, we decided to invest in new equipment—at a steep discount price, of course. Even then, they were still pricey. For newcomers who are still on the defend about skiing and snowboarding, buying used equipment is one of the cost-saving methods to try out.

I had been hunting for used skis and snowboards. Of course, the condition still had to be good. I cleaned them up and sanitized them with rubbing alcohol. I then removed all the rust and sharpened the edges. I then patched up the cracks on the bases and gave them a good wax. I then checked the bindings to make sure they still popped out and tightened up all the screws.

When people buy skis or snowboards from me, they can be reassured that the quality is still good and they are ready to ski or ride at the resorts. That is how I differentiate myself from other sellers. While people are trying to get rid of their old equipment, I am trying to give it a second life. Most people don’t take care of their equipment. They either stored them in their garage or shed. Most of the time, the edges were rusted and the bases were scratched up. There were even some kind of bug nests and eggs around the bindings and in the boots.

The efforts I put in were more than what I sold, but I found it gratifying when I revived old gears.

I updated my gear listing page. I am not trying to show off. I just want to keep track of our equipment. I also use that page often for reference. Here are our recent acquisitions:

• 2025 Atomic Maverick 86 C Skis ​(161cm) + Marker M10 GripWalk Bindings ($415). For Ðạo
• 2025 Jones Youth Prodigy: 140cm ($220). For Xuân.
• 2025 Nidecker Youth Prime Bindings: ($100). For Xuân.
• 2025 Burton Smalls BOA: 6K ($150). For Xuân.
• 2025 Public Research: 154cm ($350). For Đán.

Ðạo loves his new pair of skis. Xuân crushes it with his completely new snowboard package. I ordered the new Public Research board for Đán yesterday. He is very peculiar about his board. The board has to be black and the graphic has to be cool. This board fits his style. From my research, it sounds like a great board for carving and freestyle. I might have to check it out myself.

Damn! We spent $1,235 on equipment alone this season and we bought everything on sell. Skiing and snowboarding are freaking expensive.

Damn! I miss skiing and snowboarding. I can’t wait to get back to the mountains. In the mean time, I am back rollerblading with Xuân scootering. Although I am not making any progress, I am enjoying my time at the skatepark.

I have been yearning to get back to ice skating. None of my kids is interested in taking lessons. I want to get back to the basics, but group lessons will take forever. I can’t afford private lessons.

I mapped out my lesson plan. I can work on relearning the techniques. I just need to get my ass back to the rink.

As we wrapped up our spring break at Stowe, our 2024-2025 season had also come to an end. I spent 57 incredible days on the mountains skiing, snowboarding, and teaching. I am grateful for the opportunity to do what I love and to make long-lasting memories with my family.

This season started my journey as an instructor and I had the great pleasure of introducing many newcomers to the world of snowboarding. No matter at what age they started out, my goal was to get them over the learning curve with the minimal amount of falls. I incorporated my own learning experience into the lesson to provide an enjoyable progression for my guests. By the end of my two-hour lesson, most of them could link their turns.

As for my own progression, I made the goals I set out for myself. For snowboarding, I carved better than last season. I nailed down my stance, balance, and turns. I could ride faster with better control. My turns were smoother and my edges gripped deeper into the snow. Last season, I struggled to ride down Liftline, the double-black trail at Stowe, but I enjoyed it so much in the last few days. I figured out the flow of dynamic turnings and the ability to get my board from toe to heel swiftly.

For skiing, I also carved better than last season. I could ski faster with more confidence. I had a much better control on my outside ski when I made my turns. My inside ski, however, couldn’t quite match up with my outside ski yet. I enjoyed carving on wide open trails leaving the train tracks behind. I still need to figure out how to switch edges without breaking the tracks.

My goals for the next season will be focusing on fine-tuning my carves. For snowboarding, I would like to get my edges higher, especially my toe side. For skiing, I would like to make better initiations and sink low. This season, I started going into the woods with my kids and doing a few jumps in the park. I will try to improve in these areas next season so I can hang out with them. Setting out goals will push me to get to the mountains and I won’t get bored.

I will continue to teach next season. I couldn’t pass up the generous perks as a Vail employee. Skiing and snowboarding are incredibly expensive. Being an instructor helped easing the costs for our family’s seasonal passes. Without a doubt, I love skiing and snowboarding and plan to continue to do both for as long as my body will allow. I love them even more when I don’t have to pay.

In retrospect, these sports paid for themselves. My wife made the initial investment when she forced me to learn to ski so I could go with the kids. Now she regrets introducing me to the game. She should have known better. Once I get turned onto something, I can’t stop.

With the weather reporting up to 60 degrees, I didn’t expect the condition to stay decent. We planned to hit the trails from 8:00 am to noon. Despite the warm temperature, the condition held up well. The kids, especially our youngest, wanted to stay until the lifts were closed, which was 4:00 pm. The day was warm but cloudy for the most part. Without the sun, the snow stayed soft.

After skiing and snowboarding 4 days straight, I felt the pain today. My knees, ankles, and feet couldn’t keep up anymore. I snowboarded today and I didn’t even focus on carving. I just wanted to ride smoothly down the trails. While snowboarding the double-black slopes, I improved my quick turns. I combined open stance, carving techniques, and body dynamics to get myself down the double-black slopes smoothly. Basically, I stood up to initiate the turns and sank down after I made the turns. I was having much better control of my board.

We are done for the 24-25 season. We will heading home tomorrow morning so the kids can have a day to rest before heading back to school. I will write a reflection for this season, but I am so glad that we picked this trip for spring break. At least 3 out of my 4 kids had a great time. Of course I had a fantastic time. I was also glad that we went with just our family. I managed to get the kids up and ready for the 8:00 am opening. That is when the condition at its best. It would be much harder with other families.

We made some great memories with the kids. I hope it will stay with them forever as it will stay with me.

I woke up early this morning. Đạo and Xuân wanted to hit the trails early. We went to the line 2 minutes before 8:00 am. The condition was phenomenal. Đạo skied. Xuân and I snowboarded. We went straight to the black trail then the double-black trail. There was so much snow, the double-black terrains where enjoyable. Xuân snowboarded without fear. We took another on the blue trail and headed back to the rental place to pick up the rest of the family.

We didn’t get back to the mountain until 10:30 am. The sun came out and the snow started to get slushy. I switched to ski and went in the woods with the kids. They went to the park and did a few jumps. By 2:30 pm, the condition was getting sticky. Xuân and I went on the black and double-black trails. We were exhausted trying to maneuver around chunks of packed snow.

The best time to hit the trails was the first thing in the morning. Unfortunately my wife isn’t a morning person. By the time we headed out to the trail, the condition was not good anymore, especially this late in the season. Tomorrow the temperature will rise to 60 degrees. We will only have a few hours in the morning. Saturday will rain and the temperature will go up to 66 degrees. It seems like we’ll have to skip Saturday and go back home.

It was a snowy day. The condition in the morning was powder on top and icy underneath. The kids and I went up the lift together, but Đạo and Đán left Xuân, Vương, and me behind. We went to the park. Xuân did some jumps Vương. When Vương got his skis stuck in the powder snow, Xuân took off his board and helped Vương popped off his skis. Xuân carried his brother’s skis to the flat area and helped him put them back on. I was already a bit down the slope. Xuân was such a great brother.

After lunch, I asked my wife to ski with me. I took on on Toll Road and she enjoyed it. The trail was narrow. I didn’t think she could have pulled it off, but she did. She also went down the blue terrain. Her skiing is getting so much better. I am so happy about that. Vương is also skiing really well. He enjoys going into the woods. Xuân is making his transition into snowboarding and he enjoys it more than skiing. Seeing his brother making the switch, Vương also wants to learn snowboarding. I’ll teach him next season.

Around 2:30 pm, the kids and my wife were tired and just wanted to relax a bit. I went up to the double black trail. Last year it was so intimidating, but I am loving it this year. I enjoyed making quick turns on my snowboard. I am getting much better control of my board. My ride feels much smoother than last year. I might just stick with snowboarding as well.

I convinced the entire family to wake up early to experience the groomed terrain. We left the rental house around 7:40 am. Since AJ’s Ski & Sports opened at 8:00 am, I decided to come by to pick up a snowboard and boots for Xuân. He outgrew his Burton board and boots. My wife and I had been searching online for a while, but we didn’t make the decision until today.

Xuân is getting pretty comfortable with snowboarding and preferring to ride more than ski. He is also growing rapidly. His boots went from size 2 to 5. His old board, which is 110 cm long, stood up to his chest. I decided to give him 140 cm, which is as tall as him. I didn’t worry that he wouldn’t be able to ride a 140-cm board because I am riding a 154 cm, which is as tall as I am.

We got him a pair of Burton Smalls BOA 2025 for $150 and Jones Youth Prodigy snowboard 2025 for $220. I warned him that a 140-cm board was going to be fast, but he adjusted to it quickly. He loved it and wanted to spend more time on it than his skis. I love it when my kids take advantage of what we got him.

The weather was warm today, but we still enjoyed it. I snowboarded all day. I am leaning more toward snowboarding myself. I could maneuver my way around the moguls with quick turns. I love weighed and un-weighed myself to get my board around. I am having much better control of my board when riding the double-blacks. I want to do more snowboarding tomorrow.

We are expecting to get another snow day. Can’t wait.

I am so happy that we are spending spring break skiing and snowboarding at Stowe. Yesterday we spent 12 hours on the road.

This morning, Đạo and I woke up early and made it to 8:00 am opening time. The condition was phenomenal. We both skied togther from blue to black to double black terrains.

At 9:00 am, we headed back to the rental house to pick up my wife and the rest of the boys. We didn’t come back to Stowe until 10:30 am. The temperature rose and the snow turned slushy.

I took my wife to the blue terrain and cut over to the green trail. She did well. Xuân wanted to switch to snowboard and I switched with him.

He, Vương, and I went down the moguls. I made quick turns and really enjoyed the method. I went back for two more runs.

Today, I enjoyed snowboarding a bit more than skiing. I just love being back on the snow. Can’t wait for tomorrow.

My arms are sore now after playing volleyball Cub scout dads for 3.5 hours. As soon as I dropped Xuân off for his scout meeting, I joined the dads. It was a great way to spend my Friday evening unwinding. I am not that good at volleyball, but I am not so bad either. These days, any physical activity is good for me. I am still hoping that we will head to Stowe next week for spring break. I want to do some more skiing and snowboarding.