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.

Xuân and I are transitioning slowly back to the skatepark. Xuân is catching up to his skills from last year on his scooter. He’s a bit more careful now than before. He takes less risks. That’s good. I don’t want to have to go to the ER.

As for me, my routine is the same on rollerblades. I am not learning anything new. I am not dropping in from the deep end of the bowl. I am not interested in grinding. I am pretty much stalling. I am losing motivation.

I have been wanting to try out skateboarding because I love snowboarding so much. In fact, I have been missing skiing and snowboarding. I have been spending a lot of time searching for a board for Xuân and one for Đán, yet I keep wanting to buy one for myself. I want a dedicated carving board, but the price range is from $800 to $1,200. I can’t afford that.

I am still keeping my hope up for one last spring skiing and snowboarding week in the second week of April. We’ll see. I am still waiting for my wife to book a spot.

Today was the season finale. I couldn’t believe it was over. Since it was the last day, I didn’t want to teach. I snowboarded in the backside and then watched pond skimming. Five of my co-instructors joined the contest. Four of them were snowboard instructors. It was such a fun event. I didn’t participate because I had never done it before and I didn’t want to embarrass myself.

After enjoying a veggie bacon cheeseburger with fries for the last time for lunch, I felt sleepy. Again, I passed the lesson on to other instructors. I went carving some more in the backside. Around 3:00 pm, I called it the day. I returned my uniform and said goodbye to my wonderful co-instructors.

I must admit. I was getting a bit sentimental. Even though this was my first season as a snowboard instructor and I only got to know other instructors for a couple of months, I found a little bonding with them. We shared the same passion. None of us was here for the money. We weren’t paid enough. We were here because we loved skiing and snowboarding and we wanted to welcome more people into these winter sports.

I didn’t get a good sleep last night. In addition, I had to wake up an hour early because of the daylight saving. I didn’t participate in the ski clinic.

I didn’t have a morning lesson; therefore, I joined the snowboard clinic. The trainer went over torsional flex, which was fine. I had to discipline myself to stay in the close position so my body would align with my board. I wanted to hear his take on open position, but he didn’t have much to say.

I didn’t have class in the afternoon either; therefore, I joined another snowboard clinic. This time the trainer went over rotation, which was almost the same as torsional flex. Again, I stuck to the program and keep my body closed. I brought up open position again and we had a bit discussion. The trainer didn’t see the benefit of riding open position. I didn’t want to take up too much time so I let it go.

After the clinic, I went riding solo. At 3:00 pm, I was so tired. Next week will be the final week.