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(jonathan wiggs) |
WHO: Globe arts reporter Geoff Edgers and his daughter, Lila, 5 WHAT: Downhill skiing
WHERE: King Pine Ski Area, N.H. (now closed). Other New Hampshire spots still open include: Wildcat (888-754-9453), Loon Mountain (603-745-6281), Bretton Woods (603-278-3320)
Even in the good old days, downhill skiing was not an activity for those on a tight budget. A single-day lift ticket at Attitash, for example, can run you $65, and that's if you've got your own equipment. So why did I head to the slopes on a recent Saturday? To give my daughter a chance to try skiing before lift-ticket prices kick in. (Most places don't charge for kids until they turn 6.)
King Pine, about 2 1/2 hours from Boston, is a small hill, with just 17 trails and - more important - pretty reasonable prices ($39 for a full-day lift ticket). Not only that, the ski area is just a few minutes from the house my parents built in the mid-'80s. Get it? Free lodging. I signed Lila up for the Knee-Hi lessons, a 90-minute session for kids between 4 and 7 ($26).
My expectations were low. I expected her to fall a bunch of times and spend most of her lesson on the "bear rug," a conveyer belt that pulls you up a slope that's only slightly steeper than the hood of a Ford Fairlane. But within a half-hour, Lila's instructor, a ski-rat named Molly, had her snowplowing, turning, and stopping. Molly brought her to the chair lift, and Lila did a series of controlled buzzes down one of the main slopes.
And me? I wanted to take advantage of a little alone time. For most of the lesson, I sat outside on a bench, sipping coffee, reading, and waiting to spot a tiny figure in a puffy black coat make her way down the hill. [GEOFF EDGERS]
© Copyright 2008 Globe Newspaper Company.
