After multiple sessions on random slopes pre-season and in public areas, we have officially moved onto a proper serviced beginner’s slope.
After looking into our options among the local mountains near Vancouver, we chose Mt. Seymour to be our playground for teaching Junior to ski this year. I usually ski much more often at Cypress Mountains and Grouse Mountain, but I learned that the Magic Carpet at Cypress is only for paid lessons (which we are avoiding due to COVID-19), and Grouse Mountain has an unavoidably long gondola ride (which, again, we are avoiding due to COVID-19).
Mt. Seymour has a good set of social distancing rules, including face covering in lines, indoors, on chairlifts, and on the magic carpet. We also only go during the week to avoid crowds. The Magic Carpet at Mt. Seymour is 400 feet long and covered by a plexi-glass tunnel, which would have been very helpful except during the pandemic.
We only visit the slopes during the week to avoid crowds. There is usually minimal lineup and good spacing on the carpet.
The Discovery Snowshoe Trial actually follows the entire length of Goldie Meadows, so Tina, with her snowshoe season pass, was able to cheer from the side.
For our Lesson 8, we did lots of short runs several feet long. We were able to lengthen the distance slowly, but Junior didn’t quite know how to slow down yet so he would just reach out and throw himself at me when he got close enough. It was a relief that he loved the Magic Carpet, and even having several sudden stops on the carpet didn’t faze him at all.
What he really liked, though, is to be hugged from behind and “go super duper fast”, and “don’t stop to chat with mom.”
For our Lesson 9, Tina left the sideline and joined in on the action.
The day started with very heavy snow, so the slope was pretty loose and heavy.
In the afternoon, the weather improved significantly. We had a nice lunch break on the side of the slope.
To our delight, Junior made a few good turns. It’s been a while since Tina skied last time, so it’s a great refresher for her too. After a few hours of skiing, both Tina and Junior felt ready for a new challenge: letting mom do the piloting!
For a progress video:
Given the enclosed tunnel of the Magic Carpet at Mt. Seymour, we are hoping to progress to open air chairlifts ASAP. Now that we’ve learned that both Tina and I can pilot Junior, advancing to chairlifts seems reasonable soon.