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Skiing at Welch Village

mntrailfam4

Mason got to try skiing through a class trip where he quickly picked up on it and fell in love with it. I hadn’t downhill skied since 2 failed attempts, one in middle school and once again in high school. It was definitely not something that came naturally to me. Long since high school, I picked up cross-country skiing as one of my too many hobbies and through those experiences was able to gain some balance and confidence on skis. Although, I still wasn’t much for going down any hills, I agreed to take Mason skiing at Welch Village in March of 2022. I was on my way to the magic carpet and practice hill when Mason directed us toward the lift that accesses the bunny hill (aka Heidi’s Hollow), which feels quite high up but does have a nice gradual slope and has plenty wide clearance to maneuver safely around others. I was very nervous hopping on the lift and Mason reminded me that getting off the lift is the toughest part. The first time up and off the lift, I was very nervous but managed ok. Heading down the hill was also nerve wracking but I managed to ski back and forth practically the entire width of the hill while Mason was very impatiently stopping every so often for me to catch up. After a Google search, I learned the term for this is “traversing” which is great for beginners and is typically practiced before moving onto “carving".

After the first run, we hopped back on the bunny hill lift. This time coming off the lift, I managed to cross my skis and fall not too far from the lift. I tried unsuccessfully to stand up while I had my skis on and was getting nervous for others coming off the ski lift. I then decided the best course of action would be to crawl over to a tree and use the tree to hoist myself up. After failing to hoist, I finally decided to take off my skis in order to stand up; I would highly recommend always starting with this course of action. After laughing at myself, getting the skis back on, and beginning the decent, ski patrol caught up to me and asked if I was alright. They were told by the lift operator that a lady hit a tree coming off the ski lift and seemed disoriented. I explained to them my difficulties and assured them I was not disoriented, they kept their distance but definitely had a watchful eye during the rest of the downhill trek.


Thankfully, future lift exits went much more smoothly and after hitting the bunny hill a few more times I expanded my horizons and hit the majority of the other green trails on the West Slopes (check out the Welch Village Trail Map here) including Long Way Home to Paul’s Trail as well as Anna’s Alley and Nanny’s Knob to Paula’s Party. Although Fowl Play is listed as green, it looks much more steep and narrow compared to the bunny hill area. While I took some breaks, Mason hit the more difficult trails, as he always loves a challenge. I even watched him come down one of the black diamonds, Lift Face, that day; his athleticism and determination never fails to amaze me! In the future, I hope to expand horizons even further to the East Slopes.


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