I'm so hungry I could eat a Pig!

Alright so now is this my life or my son, seems to be a little grey area!
Friday night was a benefit auction for his school, kids not allowed - both food and drink BYO. One parent was very eager for big numbers and he brought with him a small keg of beer. The silent auction began and the raffle tickets went out and the big ticket items brought some large numbers. Winners took house in Hawaii, ski house at winter park, massage tables and day spa and clothing and and and the drinks helped. Get them drunk and they will buy! I hear today that 18,000 was raised.
While my wife and I went with intention of not getting anything we did buy 8 raffle tickets and my wife put her name down on multiple items at tables. I too saw a little pair of skis and a coupon for ticket to use at Vail/ Beaver creek, good for the year. In this case the year was 2 days. This was Friday night, and mountains close on Sunday. Two days to go. I have a friend that has a place in Beaver Creek, I jump on the phone and he was there with family for last weekend of the year. I bid on tickets 30 dollars to ski, two tickets. Thats back to 15 dollars days not seen since the 70's I am sure, I won both. All other tickets we had were out bid- thank God, so now to ski this weekend- with Jack. I wanted him to ski at age 3 now this was going to happen!
Jack had a soccer game saturday, there was a YMCA healthy kids day after the soccer game, and then we quickly went home, packed and Jack and I head up for the drive into the mountains. Jack was asking - where I we going skiing? Which mountains are we going too? and then telling me he wanted to start at Scott Carpenter park, Scott Carpenter is where we go sledding, I had told him, and Rhonda had also said that is where I should start him off, He remembered and that's what he is now wanting. Scott Carpenter is all of 45-60 feet run off, 2 1/2 sec ride, jack is seeing the continental divide and THATS TOO BIG! He ask again where we are going I say Beaver Creek, he ask if there are Beavers there? (I knew that was coming) I tell him no it's just a name, but he still tells me he is going to hit the beavers with his skis and KILL them. I don't know how I got such a violet son. I think it is just a boy thing, I just don't remember wanting to kill , shoot, and sword fight everything. So here is Jack, looking at the rocky mountains, talking about a 60 foot hill that we should be going to, and now throwing in beavers that not only is he going to have to ski around and over, but he is ready to hit them with the skis and kill them. I really don't think I have much of a pray of getting him on the hill/ mountain tomorrow to ski. So, I'm I pushing him to my expectation? Some where in the back of my head I had always wanted to have my son ski by age 3, this was his age and this was the last weekend. This year saw epic snow fall, Sunday was going to be 60 and as I drove through the tunnel at Eisenhower out the west side it was snowing, and not just a little but a winter wonderland had presented itself. So here I drive, Jack now asleep in the back seat and I am not sure if he is sleeping because of the car ride or so overwhelmed with the thought of NOT starting off at Scott carpenter park and all those beavers chasing him down the hill that he has just shout down into the over load sleep zone. Now am I giving him my experience or his?
We arrive to the Lieber, our friends house and Jack is very happy, he walks in and all seems fine. In fact John my buddy says that he has tickets to an outdoor show and his wife is done in so he is taking me. Ben Harper is the show and, it is out doors. We have to go to east Vail, it is packed and we park only 2 miles away, to walk to the show. LOL. Oh baby, night time, snow is coming down we are walking and I am in sneakers. Dam I must be from Texas! So I sketch my way into the show, slip sliding on the new snow, over the old snow and show my ticket as I slide past the gate keeper. At least I think he saw it as a skidded past him Show had not started as we met about 10 others from Boulder waiting and grabbed a beer. In line I saw such a sight. Poor kid was caring in 8 bags of ice, Mind you it's 28 outside, snowing, with snow piles all around the beer tent, and here is this poor sucker caring in ICE, well that is just the poorest joke you ever saw. Ice into an area of snow, cold and still snowing! I bet summertime he is caring a stove into the lava crater too! Or something to that effect. Now show is starting, the area is pack, hell it's just a parking lot converted into a band shell and all 16,000 of us huddle close to the stage area. Very cool show, no play on words there, it was cool.
John Lieber and I stay for hour and 1/2 of show and then he ask when I want to go. I said anytime and we where gone. As we left there was just as many people going as coming. It was a little disconcerting to those avails but for those of us leaving, we had seen a good part of the show and snow was a driving force to us leaving. Plus last day of skiing tomorrow and we wanted to be up for that day. That day which I was still not sure if it my drive or Jack really want to ski too!
The next day, Jack woke up next to me. I had left him at the Lieber almost as soon as I got there. He is so good and a very easy kid, I love that about him. I ask him if he was ok that I was headed to the show and he was so involved with play that all I got was a wave, kind of and later Dad. Now he waked next to me and say- "I'm going skiing dad, today is the day. We grab breakfast at the Lieber and head to the bus for the ride to the mountain. A bus can be a big day, Here was a bus to the mountain full of beaver. At the mountain here where elevators, really escalators but Jack kept calling them elevator, and we ascend too ride up to the rental place. Jack got fitted for boots, skis and no polls although he wanted some. I thought it best not to give him a weapon to swing and take me out with them. I could just see him swing poles around, me laying flat out on the snow as the patrol arrives and Jack saying' He was not doing what I wanted so I hit him with the poles. , so no poles.
Now we see the lifts, the mountain and Jack looks at me and says- "Where are we going?" I say up there, and he looks at a flat area and says lets go here! Maybe we should have but I think that if we start there we may end there. Not much fun, as there is really no hill where he wanted to start out. Only two others walking in their skis and neither one looked as if there is even a hint of a smile. Skiing is to be fun, there was no fun there. I could see that. It processed only worried people, anxious moments and that was a long way from a fun time. We had no time for that, we press past and moved on.
Now the Gondola is fun. Beaver Creek has a Gondola and it is only for the beginner mountain. Before Jack knows it we are stepping into the Gondola, door close and up we go. Now this is fun, he looks around enjoys the ride, although he says we should ride it down too. LOL Not going to happen doors open out we go. I going to get him skiing? Is this going to be the wrong way to start. I take Jack by the hand and we put his skis on, I look for a smile on his face but, vacant is the best I can recall. Jack is void of reaction although I can see he has plenty of thoughts, just all bottleneck up and not one is making it to the surface. I start off trying to have him walk in the skis, NO he does not want that, I say lets just slide over here, NO not going to happen! Jack is not saying anything, but he is eyeing the Gondola, ride down I can feel this in his none worded way. So I grab both hands look him in the face and start off. I am going backwards, he is looking directly at me and I think I hear ASSHOOOOLE. Ok so we start down, I tell him to bounce on his skis, to stay over them and watch his balance. We are moving, he is skiing!!!! I take the hill skiing backwards the complete ride down as he goes forward and watches me. He is starting to breathe again, and we reach of this 1st hill and not the bottom of the whole hill we step onto the moving carpet. I believe that if we had reach all the way down I may not have any more to write. Although he likes what we have done he could have stopped then and there, being happy with what we had done. We get on the moving carpet, which is a moving lift that you just step on and it takes you to the top of the hill. Very nice, not the rope tow I had to deal with and we could relax. Jack ask how we get off, how we ski again, how we find are way back and how , well just how, I will never know how so many how questions are asked but they are. Now we are back on the top and backwards down the hill I go again. And it's getting better, we are picking up more speed, Jack is smiling and I am in a sever leg and back cramp, but smiling and telling him what a skier he is. We are a sight. Up again and this time I am going to hold him from behind, we are going faster, it is a bit easier for me and we turn. Back and forth and Jack is looking around, he is skiing and he is happier. Jon and his sons show up. we make some more turns we are skiers and Jack is asking about the elevator, which means chair this time around. Now Jack is very smart and he knows what a elevator is but I think there is such an overload of thoughts going on that words don't have much meaning, all oxygen and all action is used up, geared towards using it on this new adventure of skiing. So I take this op to say lets try the chair. Before he knows it we are we are in the air on the chair and he is riding his first chairlift. I think is height going to be an issue? Is getting on and the thought of getting off going to be hard. Well hell I just lifted him on and do the same getting of but NOW we can see more of the mountain and Jack says WHAT! Where! and why not ride the chair down. But now we start off, we are skiing down I am holding him from behind and we are doing a green trail from the mid mountains. We make it back down and now decide to hook up the poles as Jack stabilizer. We get duct tape from a patroller rig it for Jack and we are off. Down down down and speed has now entered our world. Jack is skiing faster, sometimes faster then I want, we are a group, and Jack is getting it. He has balance, he is making some turns, and he is now relieving me of all the work. I still have to be there, but not as much. I am not sure he even knows that he is doing much of the work. I give him signs, people, trees to look at, which makes his head turn, that make his body follow, that puts him in the position of following his body and turns. Nice, it is really going well, No more, why are we here, when can we go down, Now it is, can we ride that chair? can we go here? and when are we going to jump? Jump!, hell 40 mins again it was jump ship, now he wants a jump. So he we go up, he we are skiing faster, here is the epic day. Not a cloud in the sky, 55-60 degrees and snow that is white white white. Jack is smiling and well so is my heart, Done I have created a skier. I have introduced my son to this world I love so much, and it is no longer my dream, it is his love. He wants higher, he wants faster, he wants turns he wants the top of the mountains. So up we go, green runs are the way down and the way down is just to get back in the chair to talk about the next run down. We go to the top, top of Beaver Creek, all of three years old and he start his skiing on a beautiful day, a great area and the rocky mountains. I think I got freezing wind ice and a sore ass for my 1st day. I grew to love it, I wonder what is in store for him. We take the ride down from the top, stop at mid mountain and he goes inside for a lunch as Jon and I take a few turns on stepped and bumpier runs, We do Birds of Prey, which maybe the steepest down hill course in the country. I have my fun, fun on skis, and I did say skis. This is the first time I have been on skis in at least 15 years. I have turned to the dark side of snowboarding and have not even owned a pair of skis in 20 years. I knew that I had to teach Jack on skis and I was looking forward to that and curious about the shape skies which did not even exist when I stopped skiing. It was interesting, skis, down hill corse and I was making turns. I told the girl setting me up I had skied and was a good skier but had not done so in some time. She gave me her suggested skies. Now skiing on this slope and picking up speed I can hear the skis start to chatter, and shift under me. I need to break and slow down. If I want to let myself go I would need to get a better pair of skis and longer ones. No matter these skis works very well for Jack and this is his day. As we head back to the mid mountain lunch spot I am still not sure if Jack is going to want to go back out of stop for the day. But as we get there he is ion his skis and is asking where we are going and he is not even remotely wondering when the end of the day is. He wants up, he wants turns, he wants that chairlift. By now it is a chairlift and by now he his wanting me to hold the poles under his arm for support as he skis but I am doing more breaking to slow him down then to hold him up. I am doing more talking of ski towards that sign then steering him with the poles and we are going faster then I am starting to feel comfortable at times. I and breaking he is skiing and I am using poles to hold him back not up. He wants blue trails, we do 2 or three I am now working harder, holding him up more and I see a jump. I say want to do a jump and before he answers we are jumping over a mind you small jump but we are in the air. I land and find out that I have no back left, my legs are tired and I ache. I am tired but so happy that Jack is loving this day. This makes most of the pain go away, but I only have one run left in me. I get Jack all the way to the bottom and it is 3:30. I pul my phone out, take skis off and start to do the same for Jack, What he says, we are not done, cant we do another run Dad? Just one more, the chair is still going!
I am done, I have made Jack a skier and be no means did I ever think we would do so much, By no means did I believe that we were going to the top of the mountain and by no means did I think Jack was going to make turns, last so long and so just one more PLEASE DAD. Dad is toast, this dad was done but very happy.
I tell him how proud I am of him, I let him know that many people have not done anywhere as well on there 1st day of skiing but not many have done better. He has scored a perfect day of skiing. Man what the hell have I done! I think I need to find how to pay for this now. I will pay I know but what a great way to start. Jack is so a happy, he ask as we pull out of the parking lot. WHEN ARE WE GOING AGAIN DAD? On the drive home we talk about the day, we talk about what was the funniest, and how we started on a little magic carpet and then took on the whole hill. The top of the mountain. I call home to tell Rhonda how well it had all gone. She let me know that she had picked up some ribs, was cooking them with her girl friends on the BBQ and Jack said he was so hungry he could eat a baby pig.
When we go home had just ran around in circles or being proud. He ran outside, around the couch, around the rooms, he was dizzy with being proud of himself and could not talk about it that much. His emotion was in his moving and dancing feet. He danced his way to bed and woke next to me this morning, a skier woke that day and a look of a peaceful I i did it Dad also with the sun kissed face to prove it, A true skiers tan.