Newly addicted skier from Spanish Pyrenees

[Danno Ski Dad]

Hi All,

Just got into skiing this season. Wanted to get my 11 y/o daughter into it, as we're only a 2-hour drive from resorts, and to find a new activity to do together. I've ended up with an obsession I wasn't looking for, but life is somehow different and better with skiing in it.
I was expecting a bit of snowploughing and lots of time on my arse when I first went out, but as soon as I got on my skis it felt somehow natural and I managed to get parallel and even onto my edges fairly quickly. Above all I just get this weird but lovely sensation of freedom and control when I'm on skis, and my daughter drags me out of my comfort zone and onto steeper slopes than I'd like, which is good for me.
I always thought skiers were a bit anal with their quest for perfection, but I've got into that as well, and like constantly having new things to work on.
So it's nice to find a space where I can share my spiritual musings on skiing and obsess about gear and technique.
I'm looking forward to getting involved.
Danno

 

[scott43]

Awesome. You're in a beautiful place.

 

[Danno Ski Dad]

Thanks Scott43. Yes, I feel lucky to have so many beautiful mountains so close! And the Costa Brava isn't bad either.

 

[scott43]

I would like to retire there. Or the other side.. my French is considerably better than my Spanish..

 

[Bad Bob]

@Danno Ski Dad, Welcome.

You sound due and truly bitten by the ski bug. Welcome to a lifelong passion.

 

[Teppaz]

Hi All,

Just got into skiing this season. Wanted to get my 11 y/o daughter into it, as we're only a 2-hour drive from resorts, and to find a new activity to do together. I've ended up with an obsession I wasn't looking for, but life is somehow different and better with skiing in it.
I was expecting a bit of snowploughing and lots of time on my arse when I first went out, but as soon as I got on my skis it felt somehow natural and I managed to get parallel and even onto my edges fairly quickly. Above all I just get this weird but lovely sensation of freedom and control when I'm on skis, and my daughter drags me out of my comfort zone and onto steeper slopes than I'd like, which is good for me.
I always thought skiers were a bit anal with their quest for perfection, but I've got into that as well, and like constantly having new things to work on.
So it's nice to find a space where I can share my spiritual musings on skiing and obsess about gear and technique.
I'm looking forward to getting involved.
Danno

Very nice way to put it: "weird but lovely sensation of freedom and control." Skiing is a wonderful addiction.

I've skied in the French Pyrenees a couple of times and really enjoyed it.

 

[Rod9301]

I would like to retire there. Or the other side.. my French is considerably better than my Spanish..

Then you should go to the french pyrenees

 

[scott43]

Then you should go to the french pyrenees

That's a plan..

 

[Rod9301]

That's

That's a plan..

Where i spend my winters, and rest of the year in Tahoe

 

[scott43]

That's

Where i spend my winters, and rest of the year in Tahoe

I may bug you one day... Where are you located there generally,? Why there?

 

[Rod9301]

Luz saint Sauveur. There because i like skiing steep couloirs and the ski resort, bareges/la mongie has tons of them, more than anywhere else in the world.
Look at
Couloirquest.com, my wife's website.

I may bug you one day... Where are you located there generally,? Why there?

 

[rcc55125]

@Danno Ski Dad "life is somehow different and better with skiing in it".
Danno, this is SO true, well said. Skiing is kind of responsible for my family. I met my wife in a ski club.
When I retired she said I needed to find something to get me out of the house. I became a ski instructor.
My avitar is a family portrait, my wife on the left and my daughter on the right.
My daughter met her husband at that ski area. He was a SB instructor.
"my daughter drags me out of my comfort zone".
Enjoy it while you can. It won't be long before you'll struggle to keep up with her. But, you can still ski the same Mountian. Meet for lunch, share stories and après ski more stories and adventures. My daughter and her husband love trees and steeps. I'm a little too old for that. We still enjoy being out together and sharing stories. My wife and I always talked about living in the mountians but life and work got in the way. We were happily retired until our daughter and her husband decided to move to the mountains. We decided to follow.
I've just completed my first full year as an instructor at a large mountian resort because my daughter dragged me out of my comfort zone. At the age of 75 that was a pretty big drag.
Life is truly better with skiing in it. For me it's now been a pashion for 45 years. i look forward to next season.
Welcome to a different and better life. Enjoy.

 

[Danno Ski Dad]

Haha RCC. My daughter will go on a school skiing trip for 4 days next season, with 4-5 hours of classes a day. I sort of know she'll come back a much better skier than me. I'm hoping to go away skiing myself for the same days she's away so the gap isn't too wide when she gets back.
Lovely stories about how you're family all came together at ski resorts!

 

[Pumba]

Welcome! I hope to visit your neck of the woods one day. We should meet!

 

[fatbob]

I get so stoked by posts like this (and correct usage of the word "arse").

Skiing isn't really about technical perfection just making sure you are progressing enough to keep up the fun factor high in the red zone. There is something very liberating about the dance with gravity and terrain though no matter what level you're at.

 

[Danno Ski Dad]

Welcome! I hope to visit your neck of the woods one day. We should meet!

Definitely!

 

[Danno Ski Dad]

I get so stoked by posts like this (and correct usage of the word "arse").

Skiing isn't really about technical perfection just making sure you are progressing enough to keep up the fun factor high in the red zone. There is something very liberating about the dance with gravity and terrain though no matter what level you're at.

It's an amazing sensation. I'd been under a lot of stress at work and was getting short of breath around the time I first went. I'd even made an appointment with the doc to get it looked at. After 2 days of skiing my breathing was sorted out and has been fine since.
Are you a Paul Calf fan with that user name?

 

[pchewn]

My avatar is from skiing at Baqueira-Beret Feb 4 2016 . This is the only time I've skied in the Pyrenees . I'd love to return some time -- hopefully when there is more snow.

 

[Danno Ski Dad]

Brilliant PChewn. I want to get up there. It's where all the freeskiers go (as well as Spanish aristocrats). It's a longer drive though. I normally go in the more easterly Catalan resorts (Núria, Vallter 2000, La Molina), but we did 2 days in a place called Ordino Arcalis in Andorra in March and that was a completely new level. Better snow, less crowds, incredible scenery, faster lifts, runs just at our level. And fairly cheap too!

 

[fatbob]

@Danno Ski Dad Bag o'shite, bloody students! Lord Patrick of Swayze would never stand for it.

Not directly no more the ancient snowboard.