Lesson 1 Recap
Lesson 2 Recap
Lesson 3 Recap

 

I’m a graduate again! This time instead of a long ceremony and weird looking hat, I received a certificate and a season’s pass. 🙂

Canadian Sport for Life has skiing on their list of movement skills to teach children. It makes sense for Canadians, our winters are long and too often we opt to hibernate indoors rather than get outside.

Outdoor pursuits that get you outside enjoying exercise and fresh air is a great way to improve your mental and physical health.

I made the decision last winter that I needed to learn to ski in order to help TyTy when he’s old enough. I realized that it would be very hard to work with a little one on a snowboard and being able to ski would help me help him.

Enter Pass Powderkeg’s Learn to Turn Program. Skiing can get expensive and I anticipated I would take one lesson and then figure it out from there, man am I glad I didn’t do that!!

Learn to Turn

The Learn to Turn program at Pass Powderkeg is a super affordable way to learn to ski or snowboard. Here’s how it works;

  • Lesson 1- For $65 you get a 90 minute lesson, rental, and lift ticket
  • Lessons 2-4 (Progression package)- For $160 you get three lessons to solidify your skills
  • Free seasons pass for the 2018/2019 season!
  • 50% off season equipment rentals.
  • 25% off a 2019/2020 seasons pass

You can read the recaps of my past lessons if you like (Lesson 1, Lesson 2, Lesson 3) but to summarize, I was NOT ready to go off on my own after one lesson. I could have ploughed my way down the hill, but my technique and confidence was nowhere near ready. I don’t think anyone can pick up a skill like this in one lesson, unless you’re some crazy gifted athlete.

A few things I struggled with throughout the process included;

  • A bad habit of twisting my whole upper body when turning
  • Right turns or stops (I wasn’t confident on my left leg)
  • Hockey stops
  • Confidence

Lesson 4

Enter my fourth and final lesson. I had my lesson with Michelle who was so great! She was the perfect mix of Michael and Katherine- a cheerleader AND a pusher.

We started off on our own and she noticed right away I was still in the habit of twisting my upper body when turning. She had me do the tea tray exercise from lesson 3, but when I was still doing it she had me do another exercise.

She had me bend over and touch my outside ankle on every turn. When you aren’t a confident skier, this is pretty scary. We both had a laugh after my first set of the exercise when I screamed on every turn! Ha ha! This was the exact exercise I needed though because it showed me that I didn’t need to do a thing in my upper body to turn, it was all about the weight in my legs.

After this exercise, Michelle had to add more skiers to our lesson. The four others ranged in age from about 7-10! This was great because I didn’t want to be shown up by the kids, so it pushed me to take more risks and work harder throughout the lesson. I couldn’t let the kids show me up! Especially when we were practising our hockey stops, after a couple games of red light-green light I had my hockey stops on one side down. LOL!

At the end of our lesson, Michelle took us to the upper mountain. We went down the green run and it felt amazing to glide down confidently, knowing I could make it safely down. And it just felt so good to be in control of my skis as I went. My legs were jello, but I could have kept going and going!

At the end of the lesson, I received my graduate certificate and seasons pass for the hill. It felt so awesome to accomplish this goal!

Never Too Old To Learn

How many things do you not try because you think you’re too old? Or you’re afraid of looking foolish? You’re never too old to learn a new skill and if you can have great instruction like this to set a solid foundation, even better!

I can’t say enough good things about this program! If you’re serious about wanting to learn to ski or snowboard, this is an affordable way to really learn the techniques and skills you need to enjoy the sport.

About Pass Powderkeg

Pass Powderkeg is a non-profit hill operated by the Municipality of Crowsnest Pass that focuses on the customer experience more so than profits. They are super passionate about getting families out spending a day on the slopes and encouraging newbies to take up this fun winter sport.  Pass Powderkeg and I have the same philosophy- get outside as a family and enjoy winter!

I’m so glad I took this step because I plan to ski until I’m in my 70’s! I have such mad respect for lifelong skiers. I have a vision of Tynan and I spending our winters chasing snow and visiting other countries to ski together. Here’s hoping this kid loves the winter as much as I do!

What sport or activity have you always wanted to try?

Anyone want to go skiing?