Tahoe Donner News: “Little Ski Grom on a Big(ish) Mountain”
This story was originally published in the Tahoe Donner News magazine, December 2021
What we learned in Tahoe Donner’s Youth Ski Program
The decision was made after numerous struggles, tears, and fits. My little 3-year-old wanted so much to be on skis—but not with her parents’ help. She cried and fought and fell and cried some more. From “skiing” on our street in the middle of winter to trysts of downhill attempts in our driveway, we ultimately made the call to enroll her in ski school. But where?
For a tiny beginner skier, Palisades Tahoe was just too intimidating. Norhtstar lacked the ease of lift access, and Homewood and others were just too far away from our Truckee home.
Tahoe Donner Downhill Ski Resort, dubbed the “Best Place to Begin,” seemed to hold the answer. We spoke with other parents, explored their youth programs, and ultimately signed her up.
It would turn out to be one of the best decisions we could have made for our very young ski grom and for me, a new ski mom.
Tales of a New Ski Mom
I’m not going to lie, the first few classes were rough—not from a resort or ski lesson standpoint, but from a newbie parent perspective. I didn’t grow up skiing—I snowboard, and didn’t start that until my thirtieth birthday. So lugging ski gear with a 3-year-old in tow in the early morning was a challenge at first—one that proved to be a wonderful learning experience for us both.
We got good at bundling up, checking ski gear off the list, loading up in the car and making our way to the parking lot where other little toddlers and parents were doing the same thing, steaming coffee in hand.
We made our way to the shuttle bus stop, located mere steps from where we parked. The shuttle bus runs on a quick schedule—it always pulled up 2 minutes or less after we arrived, ready to whisk us off to the ski lodge.
I was a rookie ski mom, but the ease of getting to the lodge from the parking lot, which is super close to the resort, made it much easier to bear. Eventually, I learned to put her ski boots on at home, helmet on in the parking lot, and finally got a giant backpack to hold it all.
Up the Magic Carpet
Her first ski days in the program were spent on the Magic Carpet, where future shredders got comfortable on their skis, learned how to stop themselves and practiced the age-old wedge or “pizza pie” position. Hayden’s instructors were patient, kind, and perfect models for the little toddlers. Any trepidation Hayden had at the beginning were soon replaced by delight when she stood by other little skiers she could see at eye level.
There isn’t really anything much cuter than toddler skiers, bundled up in their gear, standing with arms plastered to their sides, riding up the magic carpet. You can’t see their faces underneath all the warm gear and goggles, but you know it’s a magical moment to a 3-year-old.
While parents aren’t allowed to linger around the edges of the lifts to watch (accidentally coach) their new little skiers, I was able to get some peeks in from the warmth of the lodge where I worked on my computer, refilled my coffee, and even enjoyed a warm breakfast from the Ski Grill + Bar.
She practiced getting down the little slope of the Magic Carpet area, mostly learning how to stop and eventually learning how to make s-turns. Once they can stop on their own consistently, it’s a big day—they have graduated and are ready to head up their first real green run.
Up the Big(ish) Mountain
I didn’t realize it until a mom leaned over my computer to tell me, “Our kids are heading up the lift!” Excitement overload! I desperately craned my neck in the direction of the Snowbird Chairlift, to see my child and two others in purple Tahoe Donner vests making their way up the mountain for the first time with their instructor. It was a proud moment; one that may have brought some mist to my eyes.
The next thing I know, there she is, in fine wedge position, making her way down Snowbird Run with two other tiny skiers, her instructor in the lead. They made wide s-turns, back and forth, tacking their way down the steeper slope. It took a long time. There were plenty of falls along the way. However, there were no tears, no fusses, no wails.
Week after the week, the spills tapered off, and the group made their way down the slope in record time. When the lessons wrapped up, she would join me and her ski buddies in the lodge for hot chocolate and a warm snack.
A Major Award
By the end of the season, the confidence in Hayden had grown exponentially. She didn’t care if it was a white-out blizzard (yes, they still held ski school), she was ready to rip. Tahoe Donner Ski Programs were her favorite day of the week. As ski season came to an end, so did ski school, which resulted in visible disappointment, completely offset by the award ceremony held on the last day.
Each child was presented with their own certificate of achievement, and each skier was given their own cute “ski name” — Hayden was “High-Speed Hayden” — a name that she continues to live by.
The Lessons We Learned
Hayden is now 6 years old and skis down Mountain Run at Palisades Tahoe with ease. She still falls a lot, but instead of tears, it’s giggles and laughter. She loves skiing more than anything. All summer, she counts the days until the first snowflake makes its way across a stormy Tahoe sky.
As a snowboarder I found it difficult to get her on and off the lifts, so I picked up skiing to learn with her. She’s better than me and offers the encouragement to go down slopes that I don’t think I’m ready for.
One wintry mountain day, she looked at me in the eye as we rode up the chairlift and said, “Mom, I KNOW you can make it down this hill.” I was nervous, but tried anyway. I did make it down, with Hayden cruising confidently ahead of me.
This is the confidence that was born from her early days in the Tahoe Donner youth ski program. For her, and for me, it truly was “The Best Place to Begin.”