Another first - Vermont - February 2014

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We have never been skiing - ever. Yep - no joke. I guess I have an excuse because I grew up in South Africa (no skiing) and playing tennis in college I was not really allowed to do any skiing. Nikkie on the other hand grew up in New Mexico with the fresh powder right there on her doorstep so she does not have that much of an excuse - I guess. So for some crazy reason we decided that we wanted to go skiing for the weekend. So we packed up and headed out to Vermont for the weekend in late February.

All we knew about east coast skiing is that it is terrible - so everyone says all the time. All we hear is - it is so icy and falling is not fun. So we were heading into this a little apprehensive as to whether we would enjoy this at all. I have zero balance and Nikkie generally hates activities where she will be cold and wet (don't we all). So this was gonna be fun right? Right!!

We started the drive up to LUDLOW. It was pouring rain and took forever. Well - we definitely were not gonna ski if it was raining like this. This skiing thing just probably is not gonna be our thing. I called the GOVERNER'S INN a couple days before and they were more than happy to put us up for the weekend. We arrived late and they were awesome in getting us checked-in and settled. Like most inns in Vermont - very historical inn in an old house where the floors creek and squeek wherever you walk. We got a great night's rest and were up early ready for BREAKFAST AT THE GOVERNER'S INN. Unfortunately we made some crazy decision to go on this whole 30 cleanse/diet/crazy eating thing for the month of February. Who does that? We do sometimes. So they were actually really great in accommodating us and getting us fed and ready for the day. We headed up to OKEMO MOUNTAIN RESORT located just outside town. We had no clue what to do or where to go. We parked and got onto a school bus with the rest of the snow-crazies. OKEMO SKIING here we come.

What a different world this is. Every make, model, shape and size of human being. The coordinated and the uncoordinated. The well-dressed and the not-so-well-dressed. Those who show up to just look good and those who show up to just have fun and not care what they look like. We walked around a little bit and decided to do it - sign up for lessons. They got us fitted and equipped and off we went. Out on the flats with the rest of the people who had that look on their faces - "what am I doing out here"? The instructors were great - we got a couple old timers who cared more about talking than really teaching. They were awesome though. You walk up a small hill with the skis and then you come down and do the whole exercise again trying not to face plant or completely mess up your ankle. All of this while 4 and 5 year olds just zip by you on their boards/ skis. We learned the "pizza" and all other methods to cope with skiing. It definitely took me a while. The skis just did not want to do what I wanted it to do. Even Nikkie got a little frustrated with me. I just laughed it off. I am not one for being taught - especially when it comes to sports activity. I like to just figure it out. I always do.

The instructor finally gave up on me and said it was time to head over to the bunny slope. Off we went trying to cross the bottom of the ski-slope with everyone coming in from their run from the top and trying not to get run over and staying out of everyone's way. We took the little conveyor belt up to the top of the bunny-slope. Just getting onto the belt was a process in itself, but we somehow made it. Down we went - the ski instructor kept staying with me - trying to get me going. We made it through the 2-hours of instruction, went down the bunny-slope a couple more times and called it a day. Did I mention that it was sunny and almost 40 degrees the entire time? Yeah - perfect ski weather I guess. Well we made it through the first day - definitely not terrible. Kind of enjoyed it. We headed back to the inn and got ready for dinner.

Solo Farm & Table was the destination for the night. The chef just won a James Beard award recently so this was right up our alley. We:
- we shared the octopus w/ roasted squash, cumin-scented yogurt, and green pipian sauce with serrano. This was very vinegary and really good.
- I got the chicken w/ couscous, braised vegetables, and soft-poached hen egg with a warm chicken jus. Another really good dish.
- Nikkie got the Vermont raised lamb that was also really good

Overall a really, really good meal and they were very accommodating with us being on the cleanse and and everything. The restaurant comes highly recommended. After a great night's sleep we were up and ready for lesson number 2. More of the same stuff. Nice warm day and up the conveyor belt and down the bunny slope. Up the conveyor belt and down the bunny slope. Confidence was growing and things were looking up. We were sort of getting the hang of this ski thing without really breaking anything. Easier said than done when you deal with the bunny slope. Around noon lesson time was over and what else is there to do? Go up the mountain I guess. Right? Are you supposed to go up the mountain when you have spent less than 4 hours on skis in your entire life?

I was a lot less stable than Nikkie on the skis. She was going slow and more surely than me. I was a little out of control so I had that going for me. It took some convincing, but I finally convinced her that we have to go down the slopes at least once. Up we went. Very nervously. Getting onto the ski lift was a pretty nervous experience in itself. The best was still to come. At the top you obviously are supposed to ski off of the seat (it does not stop). We got off alright. After that though we got tangled up somehow and fell down together. The guy at the top was probably wondering "Great - bunch of clowns thinking this is all funny until they ski off of the side of the mountain somewhere". We could only lay there and laugh at ourselves.

We definitely got off at the first stop and did not go higher up. This in itself was still a challenge for 2 rookies like us. I definitely went a lot faster and more out of control than Nikkie. She was slow and took it really easy. We made it down the mountain the first time without any accidents, serious fall downs or broken limbs. We definitely made frequent stops to survey the area ahead to make sure it looked ok and not too daunting. We actually had a lot of fun going down. I really enjoyed it. I convinced Nikkie to go up a couple more times. Finally it was time to pack up and head home.

A successful weekend for our first time skiing. Nothing serious happened to us. The weather was awesome. And we ate great food. The drive home was really pretty too. We made several stops for pictures of old red barns surrounded by snow. Frozen over rivers/ creeks. Snow covered trees. Right up our alley.

Likes
- definitely loved just being able to get out there and do an actual outdoors activity in the winter
- we love Vermont for the fact that most of the accommodations are inns and the hospitality is always great

Dislikes
- for now there is honestly not too much not to like. At first the whole ski thing is a little intimidating, but that passes quickly too
- on nice days the mountains are always really packed so you just have to deal with a lot of people

Advice
- the only advice here (as it is most likely with most other ski resorts) - make sure you book lodging in advance. Especially in this area I found lodging to be pretty scarce during ski season

We loved the skiing (especially since the weather was awesome). This is something we can definitely start doing more often. Just another quick weekend getaway where we thankfully did not break anything nor get discouraged from ever skiing again. Only 1 thing to add to our list of completing things - Okemo Mountain Resort. So still 259 down and 5,522 to go. Long ways away, but all good.

'Til next time from east coast ski country where it really is not as bad as they say but then again we have not gone skiing in the powdery stuff

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Photos

Vermont
Even though this was an out and out ski weekend we always find ways and time for pictures - even if it means being knee-deep in the snow.

Vermont
Just another one of those old historic inns

Vermont
This is what breakfast looks like when you are on the "whole 30" cleanse/ diet thing

Okemo
Out on the slopes

Okemo
Nice form Coetzee!

Vermont
The town of Ludlow and the river that runs through it

Vermont
Back-country Vermont and its barns

Comments

[frankardenas]

Useful
Thanks for the lovely tips, you seem to have enjoyed the trip very much so. Thanks for sharing