We spent another fun-filled day at White Pass. This time the conditions were much more pleasant. It was only slightly overcast with nice little sunbreaks, and not nearly as windy as last time. Up to this point Angel and I would take turns skiing down with Alec between our legs and just let him go when we got the flat part at the bottom, but we both decided it was time for him to really do it on his own.
We hooked on his "edgie-wedgie" to keep the tips of his skis from going every which way, and while Grace, Dallas, and I went up the lift, Angel stayed on the bunny slope with Alec so he could work with him on turning, stopping, etc......you know, the skills that are pretty handy when it comes to skiing down a mountain. After one run, we met them at the bottom and Alec says, "Look Mom!"
We realized that by having him ski with us, we were hindering him from really learning for himself. Because once he was given the opportunity, he totally got it!!!
The next step was going down the big hill, so we hopped on the lift and off we went. It was so gratifying to watch him ski down the whole mountain by himself. And he had the time of his life! He just kept saying "Whoa! This is so cool!" Here's a little video of his first run down after his "training session". (you might want to turn the volume down, the wind noise is pretty loud)
After a lunch break at the lodge we went back up the lift to take some scenic pictures. Mind you, this is RIGHT after we just left the lodge, which takes a good 15 minutes to go back and forth to. Alec conveniently tells us that he {really} has to go to the bathroom and graphically illustrates his point. In his defense, he DID drink hot chocolate, which....enough said.
One of the kids' favorite things to do was skiing through the trees. It was a little trail that wove it's way in between the trees with ups and downs and turns back and forth and right at the end where you come out there's a little jump that Grace kept trying to jump over and catch a little air, but she never could quite do it. Finally near the end of the day, I took a little video clip and caught her excitement as she was finally able to jump it. She was so excited!
At the end of the day, we waited in the lodge while Angel went to load all the skis, etc. into the car. We were all sitting on the bench and talking and waiting, and when Angel pulled up with the car, I said "come on guys, let's go!" and this is what I saw....
He was all tuckered out and didn't even wake up as we took off his boots and bibs and buckled him in. I guess all the {real} skiing wore him out! He slept for a good bit and missed the cool wildlife we saw on the way home. {the mountain pass is literally right next to Rainier national forest so the wildlife is everywhere!}
These elk were literally right off the freeway in this family's yard. It was crazy to see so many of them just grazing away like no one was watching.
And these were some eagles we saw a little ways down the road, {I was bummed cause I couldn't get a clear shot since the stinkin fence was in the way!} The one on the right was also a bald eagle, but was much younger so his head hadn't turned white yet. So, So, Cool!
We had so much fun this trip but we also know that the season is almost over, so we're keeping our fingers crossed that we get to go back one more time before they close the lifts for the year.
