Skiing diary: A New Yorker rediscovers his Utah roots

– January 14, 2011Posted in: Adventure, Destinations

Heading to the slopes at Canyons Resort.

On the day after Christmas, I narrowly escaped the snow storm that pummeled New York by catching an early flight to Salt Lake City. I was determined to spend New Years Eve with my family and take a break from the holiday crowds in Manhattan.

During my visit to Utah I spent a full day skiing at The Canyons Resort in Park City. It was the first time I had skied in several years, and at first I was a bit hesitant about how well I’d perform after such an extended break.

Fortunately, I discovered that skiing is like riding a bike. It’s easy to pick up where you left off.

Skiing in the East Coast

As a child growing up in northern New Jersey, I was fortunate enough to take frequent trips to Vermont every winter.

I learned to ski at resorts like Killington and Mad River Glen from the age of six. I always considered myself to be one of the best skiers in my elementary and junior high schools.

At most of the ski resorts in the East Coast, the toughest slopes one would usually encounter — the dreaded “black diamonds” — were usually nothing more than mildly steep, wide open, icy trails that I was able to fly down with relative ease.

Heading West

When I was 13, however, our family packed up and moved west to Salt Lake City, Utah. I eagerly looked forward to the first winter when I would be able to showcase my talents to a new set of classmates– this time on the world class Rocky Mountain ski slopes.

A trail at Canyons Resort

To my welcome surprise, I learned that every winter my high school would end classes at 11:00am on Fridays and shuttle all 250 students up to Solitude ski resort for a half-day on the slopes.

I quickly realized, however, that the standard of skiing excellence on the East Coast was on an entirely different scale out West.

Nearly every classmate, mostly native Utahns, was as good as, or better, than myself. They crisscrossed down the powdery slopes with complete ease.

Skiing the Rocky Mountains

The sheets of ice that I had grown accustomed at East Coast resorts were replaced by fresh foot-deep powder in the West; the machine-manufactured snow was replaced by tons of the real thing.

For someone unaccustomed to skiing in deep snow, it is an entirely different experience. Instead of sliding down icy slopes, you have to hop you way down in order to stay above the deep powder. It’s is a tough workout, especially when factoring in the thin Rocky Mountain air at elevations of up to 12,000 feet.

Over time, I was able to adjust; however, never again was I anywhere near the best skier amongst my friends.

Back on the trails

Since moving back East about ten years ago, I have been unable to ski with any regularity; this visit home gave me the chance to see if my childhood skills remained.

For the first half of the day at Canyons, I stayed by my wife Leslie’s side on the beginner and intermediate slopes, taking it easy both for her sake and for mine.

A large jump at Canyons Resort

Later that afternoon, however, she began to run out of steam, Her subsequent hot chocolate break allowed me to challenge myself with one of the half dozen or so “double black diamond” trails that Canyons offers.

I decided on Deshutes Trail, a double-black at the top of the nearest chairlift.

After passing through the imposing warning gates to enter the double black diamond, I began to work my way down.

Deshutes consists of a steep, unkempt trail littered with dense trees off to the side of the main advanced course. There were various ways to go down, all of them narrow chutes, giving the trail its name, and each bared exposed rocks and fallen branches.

To my pleasant surprise, I was able to make my way down without incident, albeit a bit slower and while breathing a bit harder than I once could have in my prime.

Back to reality

Now that I’ve headed back East, it’s a little depressing to realize that I probably won’t get a chance to ski the West again until at least next winter.

Still, I take pleasure in knowing that my ability is still here after all these years away from the slopes. Hopefully I’ll find a new challenge to take on next season.

***

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Tags: adventure, outdoors, photos, skiing, sports, travel, winter

About Jake Semmel

I'm a blogger and round the world traveler. I'm always on the lookout for new places to scuba dive, hike and ski.

25 Comments

Reply

Jeremy B

Posted January 14, 2011 at 5:19 PM

Good story Jake. I learned a lot about skiing I didn’t know. Frankly I suck at it but didn’t realize there was such a huge difference in the snow and how you ski. That’s pretty cool that kids got out early on Fridays to go now in the winter! Do they still do that there now?
- Reply
  
  Jeremy B
  
  Posted January 14, 2011 at 5:20 PM
  
  By the way, there’s always Tahoe! 🙂
- Reply
  
  Jake Semmel
  
  Posted January 15, 2011 at 10:36 AM
  
  Yeah it was crazy that we got to skip half a day to ski! no clue if they still do it anymore, that was a loooong time ago 🙂
Reply

ciki

Posted January 14, 2011 at 7:12 PM

oh Jake, i am sure you’re still in your prime and just being modest 😛 haha. am sure you nailed the slope! (Leslie! Happy to have met you husband on ur blog.. hopefully you two in real life soon! LOL ) Great post.. awesome slope shots!
- Reply
  
  Jake Semmel
  
  Posted January 15, 2011 at 10:43 AM
  
  thanks ciki, but I definitely wasn’t being modest 🙂 Do you guys ever travel over to the US?
Reply

Dave from The Longest Way Home

Posted January 15, 2011 at 12:37 AM

Skiing is one of the few things I’ve never tried! Though, I will admit to wanting too.

Hard thing to do is find an affordable skiing resort or area. USA, parts of Europe all seem very expensive. Maybe I’m wrong. I’ll keep looking!

I guess that’s why I keep seeking out articles about the slopes! Likewise, good to see Leslie’s other half!
- Reply
  
  Jake Semmel
  
  Posted January 15, 2011 at 10:44 AM
  
  yeah it is a pretty expensive hobby i agree, though its a lot cheaper in the Utah than it is around the east coast, not to mention much better.
Reply

Elle

Posted January 15, 2011 at 9:02 AM

Glad you made it out west to give those slopes a go. I have never been skiing but I’m sure I would be on my ass a majority of the time if I tried. Floridiots and snow just don’t mesh well together.
- Reply
  
  Leslie Koch
  
  Posted January 15, 2011 at 8:38 PM
  
  Yeah, I suppose there aren’t many ski opportunities near FL! I’d recommend a ski lesson… I haven’t mastered skiing yet but I’m having fun learning 🙂
Reply

Ted Nelson

Posted January 15, 2011 at 9:57 AM

Great article Jake. I will be going to Utah in February. I have similar misgiving as you. I have actually never downhill skied although I am quite an experienced cross-country skier. I will try downhill for the first time in February. I will definitely start off slow, but I am wondering if I will be able to transfer my skills and become a fast learner or if I will get frustrated and head for the hot chocolate after a few spills.
- Reply
  
  Leslie Koch
  
  Posted January 15, 2011 at 10:20 AM
  
  I’ll defer to Jake for the technical skiing questions… but I assure you, hot chocolate is an excellent way to deal with skier’s fatigue 🙂
- Reply
  
  Jake Semmel
  
  Posted January 15, 2011 at 10:47 AM
  
  I think having cross-country experience definitely will give you a bit of a headstart over others who have never tried downhill. Though the two are really different I think just being comfortable on skis will help you out. just make sure to go gradually and stick to the easy stuff for the first day to avoid getting frustrated!
Reply

Erica

Posted January 16, 2011 at 6:31 AM

I’ve never skied but I have tried snowboarding. Hubby picks up everything within a few hours. I’ve gone twice and had a mini celebration after I made it down the bunny slope without falling.

It is really hard to find good slopes when we live in Austin, Texas. 😉
- Reply
  
  Leslie Koch
  
  Posted January 16, 2011 at 1:28 PM
  
  I can relate! I feel a sense of accomplishment when I finish an intermediate run 🙂
Reply

iamthewitch

Posted January 16, 2011 at 10:42 PM

Amazing story and gorgeous slope pictures. I used to ski ones in the mountains of northern China.. but it ended up to be a near-death experience for me! Lost control of the skis and glided down full force. I was just a beginner being too ambitious, really. Luckily all’s well now. 🙂 Hope to learn it properly some day. 🙂
- Reply
  
  Leslie Koch
  
  Posted January 18, 2011 at 4:59 PM
  
  Wow- that sounds like a frightening experience! During my first ski lesson I crashed into a fence and other people. The trick is staying on the bunny slopes until you get your confidence back 🙂
Reply

Iran Travel Blog

Posted January 19, 2011 at 7:29 AM

Deshutes seems to be quite challenging due to the narrow chutes and trees on either sides of them. Yet, the setting, as you’ve described it, must be something everone likes to disappear into.

Thanks for sharing it with us.

Rahman Mehraby
Destination Iran
- Reply
  
  Leslie Koch
  
  Posted January 20, 2011 at 12:36 AM
  
  Thanks for your comment. I didn’t realize Iran had ski resorts until I visited your website. Looks like an interesting place to ski!
Reply

Juno

Posted January 20, 2011 at 2:29 AM

Hey is that real? Wow, looks amazing and scary! I’m almost beginner level..so that’s just too damn scary for me. But beautiful though!! I snowboard near Queenztown NZ, the scenery was amazing. You remind me of those times! 🙂
- Reply
  
  Leslie Koch
  
  Posted January 25, 2011 at 2:37 PM
  
  I like snowboarding also! I’m a beginner but it’s fun going down the slopes on a board. Plus, Jake is a beginner snowboarder so we can do the runs together 🙂 Glad this post brought back happy memories for you!
Reply

joshywashington

Posted January 20, 2011 at 2:29 PM

This is suppose to be an epic season for us here in Washington. I hope I get up a handful of times. When I was a teenager I could bomb down the black diamond runs without batty an eye. Now that I haven’t skied with any regularity for 6+ years I almost feel like I am starting over…
see you on the slopes!
- Reply
  
  Jake Semmel
  
  Posted January 26, 2011 at 5:03 PM
  
  does Washington have good skiing? I haven’t heard much about it but i guess they get a pretty decent amount of snow up there
Reply

Maria A

Posted January 25, 2011 at 2:25 PM

Nice ski diary comparing the skiing in the east and the west (had no idea how they were different). Also interesting that when you went to school in Utah, class stopped early to go skiing. People must live and breathe skiing there!
- Reply
  
  Jake Semmel
  
  Posted January 26, 2011 at 5:03 PM
  
  yeah people are nuts about it out there. i guess i can’t blame them, there really isn’t a whole lot else going on 🙂
Reply

emasparks

Posted June 1, 2011 at 12:48 AM

Skiing is my passion. Been to different ski resorts in US. It’s always my dream to travel and ski in Europe or South America but can’t find time to do so. Love reading your post and I felt the fun on your trip.