On Friday, April 15th, most of our Sugar family including the Cinaders, Moatzes and Brian and Katie, headed to Vail for a long weekend of skiing. Notably missing were Lisa, Juliet, Grace and Lucas. Abigail and Joel (who joined us on our last ski trip) also came from Santa Fe with the boys to host us at Manor Cinader.
The first night, we went to Lionshead and had bbq for dinner. It was a pretty long walk from Golden Peak for adults and 4-year-olds alike. We smartened up and took the bus home. The girls planned a slumber party in the Cinaders’ room and Arthur was happy to lead story time for them. Everyone retired to their rooms and at about 9:30pm, there was a knock on our door. Katie and Olivia decided to sleep in their own room after all. Olivia was the last one up.
Katie already had a week of ski school under her belt from December, but Olivia was a little more apprehensive at drop off. To be honest, I was, too, given it was 8:30am to 3:15pm on Saturday. Olivia shed some tears and even a warm chocolate chip cookie couldn’t cheer her up. They asked if we wanted her “teacher” to come out to meet her and Olivia said yes. I don’t think it was a coincidence that they sent out the Asian one to greet her (Brian was actually the one who made this observation). Olivia reluctantly went with him and they disappeared under a rainbow without looking back.
We skied the back bowls and blue sky for most of the day, had lunch at Two Elk, and then skied a bit on the front until it was time to go pick up the girls. I went a little early to watch Olivia, but stayed out of sight. She seemed to be doing well. She told me she had fun, but I do think it was a long day for her.
Saturday evening, we prepared a big meal at home for everyone, which was great. It turned out to be another late night for all the girls.
The next morning, Olivia successfully negotiated her way out of ski school. We skied together on the bunny chairlift. Although she wanted to quit after two runs, we got over the hump and skied some more before having a snack with Sadie and Arthur, who were also skiing together. Olivia was making good progress skiing by herself, so we skied into the afternoon, before taking a break to head to Vail Village for lunch. It was really an excuse to ride the bus, which Olivia enjoyed. We had lunch with Heidi, Sophia, Sadie & Arthur at Pepi’s.
Heidi graciously offered to take Olivia with the girls so I could ski with Arthur, but I was determined to get Olivia back on the slopes after lunch. We ended up skiing until the lift closed at 4pm. Olivia’s goal was to ski from the top of the magic carpet by herself. On her last run, she was ready to try and did a great job.
The last night, we (tried to) enjoy a nice dinner out in Lionshead. Nate Dogg, and the girls were a little restless. Olivia, on the other hand, could hardly stay awake, so we cut out a little early. She crashed on the bus. We had some quiet time at home, but once again, Olivia was the last one up.
The last day was only a half day of skiing. Ski school was closed for the season, so Olivia already had an out. We all took the girls and Nate Dogg over to Lionshead to ride the gondola up to the top where there was a nice hill for them. We got in a few runs (including Nate) before deciding to take the girls all the way down and across the mountain to Golden Peak. Katie Sugar was amazing. She went down the entire way by herself and happily. Sadie made it about half way down with help from her dad without a complaint. Olivia, on the other hand, was scared. Although we were skiing the roads and switchbacks that were not different from her hills, she was understandably scared by the imposing view down the mountain. She was not happy. Arthur called me a tiger dad (low). Half way down, I just picked her up and we went down the rest of the way together. At the top of her hill, she skied the rest of the way down herself to finish the season strong.
We had a nice ride back to Denver before flying home. It was smooth sailing until everyone boarded except Krista, Nate, Olivia and me. Alarms went off, announcements were made, and all the doors were closed. There was a “security breach.” After about 30 minutes, the all-clear was given and we resumed our trip home.
This was a special father-daughter ski trip. Olivia was an awesome travel partner and a good sport throughout. She had a great time with her girlfriends, Nate Dogg, and all of her aunts and uncles.
Hope we can do it again next year. Brian and I already got our season passes for 2011-12! Thanks, Cinaders, for putting us up.
