The players:
Dad - High intermediate to advanced skier. Struggling with balance issues and inability to relax while in the fall line (washes out quickly)
Mom - low intermediate skier. Stuck in one pose and no lower body flexibility. No upper body separation from lower. Needs mileage.
Son #1 - 10 years old. Likes to ski fast. Will do the gaper tuck with the poles sticking straight up. Is just starting to explore riding on his edges, but more often than not - turns noodley. Loves the trees and jumps and terrain parks. This one makes me laugh
Son #2 - 9 years old. Does not like to ski as fast and gets nervous on steeper terrain. Can execute lovely parallel turns when badgered consistently. Loves the trees too. I am still building trust with him.
Daughter - 5 Years old. Runs the whole show. She can "make pizza" and "squash the bug." Will wedge turn down easy green runs and can control shape of turn when following a leader. Has abandonment issues caused by 'dumping her with the ski school or area day care.' Can paralyze entire family, day or geographic subdivision with one tantrum.
Supporting Cast:
Neighborhood Dad - Really cool guy - Champion of Royal Mountain - The guy who talked us into going here.
Neighborhood kid - Son of Neighborhood Dad. Good friend with Son 2.
College girlfriend of Mom - We knew she skied there and ran into her coincidentally.
Son of College girlfriend of Mom - pal to Son 1 - Big time gaper tucker. I had to bite my tongue to keep from laughing. A very nice and self assured kid.
The setting: Royal Mountain - Caroga Lake, NY.
Royal Mountain had her prom dress on today. She was covered in a couple inches of fresh snow and the cold temperatures had kept it and light and fluffy. They had been making snow for the week and had a handful of open trails.
Royal boasts classic adirondack terrain with rolling and winding trails that are interspersed with unexpected drop-offs in mid trail. This place has spirit.
The weather was cold and bright. Clouds came out in early afternoon and the temperature change was noticable, but it cleared up again later. The sun shined on Royal through the morning and into the early afternoon which would make her exposure eastern mostly(?).
The hardwood trees were still covered in ice from the storm the week before and my daughter said to me, "Ooooohhhhh Daddy!!! The forest is beautiful!! Are there any animals? What about bears?" It really was spectacular when the sun shone through the ice covered branches. I didn't change the batteries in the camera. Biggest regret.
Lift lines. During the aforementioned ice storm, a tree fell on the cable of one of the two double chairs that serve the top. They were still working on getting the cable back on the pulleys. This caused the lift line on the remaining chair to be about four minutes long. A bunch of season ticket holders left in disgust.
My personal favorite was the biker dude lifties cranking everything from AC/DC to the Alman Bros. Royal boasts three double chair lifts that are all in great shape. Local purveyors post their shingles on the lift towers which make for some entertaining reading with my daughter.
Lodge - three woodstoves and two dogs. Classic.
Bar. After a day of skiing with my youngest and getting a couple runs in with my oldest and his posse (College GF or mom and her son), I was granted liberty to ski a couple runs on my own. I returned and the whole entourage was in the bar. The grownups were surrounding the woodstove while the kids were lined up watching the Bears v New Orleans. I found that my oldest was indeed holding his own with the older football fans. Good to see all that Sports Center is paying off.
Skiing. Royal has about five main trails and two of them were closed. I think the vertical is about 550 feet. The day wasn't about never ending runs of steep and deep. It was about me spending some time skiing with my daughter and Mom skiing with her boys as well as some grown ups and the boys skiing with some buds and showing off in front of each other and embarrassing themselves and laughing about it.
I had a few good runs on some trails that had interesting terrain. The snowfall in the northeast has been so damned bad that I felt I was in a winter wonderland.
We were home in time to watch the end of the first playoff game, get chinese and have a fire in the fireplace.
Lessons for the family:
Dad - Take your time and don't be in a rush. In an effort to be early on the hill, you may loose the entire day.
Son #1 - Don't put on your ski socks until you are ready to put on your boots.
Son #2 - Pee when you first get to the lodge and whenever you come in from skiing.
Daughter - Don't take off your boots and run around the lodge in your ski socks.
Mom - I would never presume to offer a lesson for mom. She can keep her own counsel.
In the summer, Royal does not offer golf. It offers Motocross. Excellent!
Dad - High intermediate to advanced skier. Struggling with balance issues and inability to relax while in the fall line (washes out quickly)
Mom - low intermediate skier. Stuck in one pose and no lower body flexibility. No upper body separation from lower. Needs mileage.
Son #1 - 10 years old. Likes to ski fast. Will do the gaper tuck with the poles sticking straight up. Is just starting to explore riding on his edges, but more often than not - turns noodley. Loves the trees and jumps and terrain parks. This one makes me laugh
Son #2 - 9 years old. Does not like to ski as fast and gets nervous on steeper terrain. Can execute lovely parallel turns when badgered consistently. Loves the trees too. I am still building trust with him.
Daughter - 5 Years old. Runs the whole show. She can "make pizza" and "squash the bug." Will wedge turn down easy green runs and can control shape of turn when following a leader. Has abandonment issues caused by 'dumping her with the ski school or area day care.' Can paralyze entire family, day or geographic subdivision with one tantrum.
Supporting Cast:
Neighborhood Dad - Really cool guy - Champion of Royal Mountain - The guy who talked us into going here.
Neighborhood kid - Son of Neighborhood Dad. Good friend with Son 2.
College girlfriend of Mom - We knew she skied there and ran into her coincidentally.
Son of College girlfriend of Mom - pal to Son 1 - Big time gaper tucker. I had to bite my tongue to keep from laughing. A very nice and self assured kid.
The setting: Royal Mountain - Caroga Lake, NY.
Royal Mountain had her prom dress on today. She was covered in a couple inches of fresh snow and the cold temperatures had kept it and light and fluffy. They had been making snow for the week and had a handful of open trails.
Royal boasts classic adirondack terrain with rolling and winding trails that are interspersed with unexpected drop-offs in mid trail. This place has spirit.
The weather was cold and bright. Clouds came out in early afternoon and the temperature change was noticable, but it cleared up again later. The sun shined on Royal through the morning and into the early afternoon which would make her exposure eastern mostly(?).
The hardwood trees were still covered in ice from the storm the week before and my daughter said to me, "Ooooohhhhh Daddy!!! The forest is beautiful!! Are there any animals? What about bears?" It really was spectacular when the sun shone through the ice covered branches. I didn't change the batteries in the camera. Biggest regret.
Lift lines. During the aforementioned ice storm, a tree fell on the cable of one of the two double chairs that serve the top. They were still working on getting the cable back on the pulleys. This caused the lift line on the remaining chair to be about four minutes long. A bunch of season ticket holders left in disgust.
My personal favorite was the biker dude lifties cranking everything from AC/DC to the Alman Bros. Royal boasts three double chair lifts that are all in great shape. Local purveyors post their shingles on the lift towers which make for some entertaining reading with my daughter.
Lodge - three woodstoves and two dogs. Classic.
Bar. After a day of skiing with my youngest and getting a couple runs in with my oldest and his posse (College GF or mom and her son), I was granted liberty to ski a couple runs on my own. I returned and the whole entourage was in the bar. The grownups were surrounding the woodstove while the kids were lined up watching the Bears v New Orleans. I found that my oldest was indeed holding his own with the older football fans. Good to see all that Sports Center is paying off.
Skiing. Royal has about five main trails and two of them were closed. I think the vertical is about 550 feet. The day wasn't about never ending runs of steep and deep. It was about me spending some time skiing with my daughter and Mom skiing with her boys as well as some grown ups and the boys skiing with some buds and showing off in front of each other and embarrassing themselves and laughing about it.
I had a few good runs on some trails that had interesting terrain. The snowfall in the northeast has been so damned bad that I felt I was in a winter wonderland.
We were home in time to watch the end of the first playoff game, get chinese and have a fire in the fireplace.
Lessons for the family:
Dad - Take your time and don't be in a rush. In an effort to be early on the hill, you may loose the entire day.
Son #1 - Don't put on your ski socks until you are ready to put on your boots.
Son #2 - Pee when you first get to the lodge and whenever you come in from skiing.
Daughter - Don't take off your boots and run around the lodge in your ski socks.
Mom - I would never presume to offer a lesson for mom. She can keep her own counsel.
In the summer, Royal does not offer golf. It offers Motocross. Excellent!
