Skiing Article Preview
I recently finished an article on family skiing adventures. It will be hitting the shelves soon. Here is a preview:
When John Leguard first started skiing with his family, he devised a mischievous way of spending extra time with his kids.
He started packing M&M’s in his ski jacket.
“Unfortunately, ski lifts will only carry two or four people at a time,” he explains. “And we’re a five-person family. The first few times we skied together, the kids would all try to share a lift with their mother, Debra.”
Leguard gets a twinkle in his eye before continuing. “But it’s amazing what a secret stash of chocolate can do to boost your popularity as a parent.”
Chocolate, of course, is just a bonus. The real reason so many local families are hitting the slopes is for the sheer joy of skiing: From the height of the hill, blue skies seem to stretch forever. There is the thrill of being buffeted by the speed-swept breeze as you learn to accelerate through the carving of turns. There is the challenge of mastering moguls and calming pre-jump jitters as you challenge the hill and it challenges you. It is the night-before anticipation of trying out a run that you’ve never tried before.
Downhill skiing is addictive – in all the right ways. And it is the perfect family activity.
“The amount of time you spend with your kids on the ski hill – talking, joking, just being together – is different than with other sports,” says Leguard. “On the lifts, in the chalet, in the car going to and from the hill, it all adds up.”
“When we’re going up the hill on the lift, I have a captive audience,” he jokes. “I mean, how often do you get to sit beside your children and have nothing to do but talk? It’s a great family bonding experience.”
For the Leguard family, skiing represents a full day of fun. “When the kids were younger, they’d spend some time in lessons,” he recalls. “But then we’d have a tailgate barbeque, share some hot dogs, and all be together, skiing for the rest of the day. Now we spend the bulk of the day together.”
Look for the full article to be posted here soon.
