Weekend in Idaho

We spent the holiday weekend at Silver Mountain in Northern Idaho. Roy and Mary drove up from Ririe via Montana, about seven hours, on Thursday, and spent Friday skiing without us. We left Seattle Friday afternoon around 3:30, and arrived just before 10. The drive would only take five and a half hours in good conditions, but we stopped to eat our dinner after getting gas in Ellensburg, and then hit several patches of fog, and heavy rain after Coeur d'Alene, that slowed us down.

We skied Saturday and Sunday. Rachel had all-day lessons through "Silver Kids" on Saturday. Lydia and Colin were too young for that, so they each had a one-hour private lesson, instead. Roy and I skied two runs down to the chairlift and back while the younger kids were occupied, then spent the rest of Saturday and all of Sunday skiing as a group.

The Silver Mountain ski area is serviced by a 3-mile gondola ride from the town of Kellogg. Our hotel was right across the street from the bottom. The gondola lands at a lodge mid-mountain, and much of the beginner skiing is downhill from there.

All the kids' time on Saturday was spent at the beginner slope, serviced by a magic carpet ride. Rachel's lessons had her skiing down in a wedge with confidence and control. Lydia's went a different route, skiing entirely parallel, faster and less controlled. Colin spent his lesson in a harness, and didn't learn to make turns, but developed confidence in staying upright, which we struggled with in our afternoon at Stevens Pass.

Sunday we warmed up on the beginner slope again, and then Rachel and I headed down the cat track for her first run to the chair lift. Chair 5, which Roy and I had ridden the day before, was not operating, so we continued on around to Chair 3. Rachel had so much fun that after we returned to the beginner slope looking for Lydia, she took off down the mountain again. So we made two runs before lunch.

After lunch, Lydia, Colin, Nicole, and Roy joined us for another run. Lydia and Colin each skied using a pair of poles tied together as a harness. Rachel's instructor had showed Roy this trick on Saturday. I kept Colin from skiing off the boundary this way. Lydia probably could have skied by herself, but wasn't confident enough.

We went back to the lodge for a bathroom break, and then Colin called it a day after a couple more magic carpet rides. Finally, Rachel, Lydia, Roy, and I made one more run down before closing time. We went down a slightly steeper green run under the gondola before joining up with the cat track. We convinced Lydia to ski without the harness for a short spell, but she seemed a little frightened by the speed she got as a result, although she managed several turns and didn't fall.

Late afternoons and evenings were spent in the hotel pool and dining at restaurants. Our rooms didn't include kitchens for cooking. We departed Kellogg a little after ten this morning after filling up with fuel. We arrived home just before five, having stopped for a slow lunch in Ritzville.

The skiing was a great success. Everyone had a good time. We're planning to make another trip to Stevens Pass this coming Sunday. The choice to meet the Taylors halfway also seemed a good one. Six hours of driving is much more manageable than twelve, for either family. I suspect this won't be the last time.