Milestone Birthday Ski! For the last year, my dad has been talking about how he wanted to ski down a mountain for his upcoming 80th Birthday. I was happy to help but neither of us is a regular downhill skier (Dad last skied in 2015 but I hadn’t been since the winter of 1991/1992). Fortunately, I knew just the place where we could return to the slopes while surrounded by patient, friendly faces: Whaleback Mountain! This morning, we were up early (0600) and got ready for our adventure. Bonus: we had bright blue skies and balmy temps (30s). At around 0700, we drove over to The Fort (diner near I-89) and ate breakfast there (0715 and 0815) - as always, the food was really good. We next drove to Whaleback (arrived at 0830) and found that there were already lots of cars parked a good distance out on the access road. As a result, we had to walk a long way to reach the base lodge. Once inside, we picked up our passes and then got our rental gear - my dad kept commenting about everyone was so nice. Beforehand, I’d coordinated with the wonderful staff at “The Whale” (including my friends, Jon and Alex) and they rolled out the red carpet. As a result, we were on our skis by the time the first lifts started up the hill. To get back into the swing of things, we spent a lot of time on the rope tow run and also checked out the Magic Carpet. With only a few breaks, we logged about two hours in the wonderful conditions, building confidence and enjoying the energy of the smaller pre-noon crowd. It did get busier towards the end of our time there because of the downhill races for younger skiers. By then, though, my dad had earned a break. Not ready to finish the experience, I took advantage of the short chairlift line and made a trip to the top. During my first winter in the Upper Valley, I’d snowshoed up there but the weather wasn’t as nice as it was today - I could see powder covered peaks in the White Mountains! There were only a few ways down that I felt would help me avoid a trip to the hospital but I picked one of the correct ones. It probably took me an extra hour from bottom-top-bottom but I made it safely back to the base lodge. Exhilarating! My perception of the day was that skiing, like biking, comes back pretty easily - being away for more than 30 years wasn’t a deal breaker. Enough about my thoughts, though - my dad was over the moon! He couldn’t get over how wonderful Whaleback is - nice people, affordable prices, family focused. He also pointed out the huge contrast with Killington for a possible “return to ski” venue. Very glad we went where “everybody knows my name” to celebrate. After turning in our gear (1230), I drove my dad home so he could take a nap. Meanwhile, I did some reading and worked on my taxes. At 1500, I took a walk over to the Dartmouth Hospital. Later (1645), I ordered some pizza for us from Ziggy's in Enfield. The reason I chose that location was because it was close to the only local Mass (1730) left for the weekend. After the service at St. Helena's, I picked up the pizza (1815). I'd never actually gotten food at Ziggy's but the drive up service worked well. Back at home, my dad and I ate dinner - he liked the pizza but said he'd had better (!). We had some good talks (mostly about the skiing) and I shared several videos and photos I'd taken to mark the occasion (these were a big hit with the family). I was getting tired but Dad said he wanted to watch a movie. I thought he might like "Ford v. Ferrari" (he did) but it wasn't over until after 2200 - as a result, I went to bed later than I'd planned (2245). Overall, though, this was an unbeatable day of celebration. Happy (almost) Birthday, Dad!
