The First Ski Trip
We had talked to a lot of people who had told us that snow skiing was about the best thing in the world. We decided to give it whirl and almost gave it up forever.
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The First Ski Trip
In the winter of 1973, a few months after Pam and I were married, we decided to take a ski trip to Wolf Creek Pass Ski Area near South Fork, Colorado. We had never been skiing before and we had no ski clothes, so we were just greenhorns looking to try something new. My brother Craig was still single and he had decided to give it a try along with us. Craig’s friend Cliff and his wife Melinda also decided to go along and give it a try. At the time we had a 1972 Chevrolet Caprice that was almost new, so we decided to drive our car to South Fork. We loaded up and took off for Wolf Creek Pass.
Wolf Creek Pass Ski Area usually gets more snow than any other ski place in Colorado.
It snowed on us almost all the way up there, so the passes were a bit treacherous and scary driving up. We got there and and checked into a cabin at the Foot Hills Lodge in South Fork which we had reserved and the snow was falling like crazy when we went to bed.
The Cabin at Foot Hills Lodge in South Fork was very cozy with a fireplace going in the cold weather.and snow.
We woke up the next morning and peeked outside and we could see it had snowed about 20 inches while we slept that night. We got up and the guys all put on long under ware, wool shirts, and insulated coveralls. We looked like a work crew heading for work rather than skiers headed for the slopes. The ladies put on long underwater, pants and coats, so at least they were somewhat presentable as skiers.
My brother Craig in his expensive ski outfit skiing in the deep powder at Wolf Creek Pass Ski Resort. Looks like he’s working hard to maintain his upright ski position.
We dug out the car and finally moved enough snow to get to the highway and headed up Wolf Creek Pass. After we had gone about a mile up the pass, there was a road block and they told us the Pass would be closed until noon while they cleaned all the new snow off of it. So we turned around and went back to the cabin, put the chains on the car, and bought breakfast stuff and cooked up a big breakfast.
My wife Pam in the beginners lesson area with her skimpy little not so warm ski clothes. Soon the weather changes and her teeth begin to chatter uncontrollably.
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About noon we headed back up the pass and they had opened it up, but the road was slick so chains were required to proceed up the pass. We finally got to the ski area about 2 PM on Saturday. We got our skis and we all took lessons as we were as green as skiers come. By 3 PM, we were ready to try some easy slopes so up on the ski lifts we went. Along about that time a 30 mile an hour wind blew in and the fresh snow was blowing all over the place. The girls were both freezing to death and Pam was actually crying she was so cold. So we decided we had had enough and we headed back to the cabin. Where did we ever get the idea that this skiing stuff was fun?
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We headed out early the next morning and I left the chains on until we ran out of packed snow on the road and stopped and took them off. We decided to stop by Taos Ski Resort and try to ski there a few hours before we headed for home. We got there about 2 PM and rented our skis. It was a beautiful sunny day and not cold at all. We all skied several green slopes and had a great time. Towards the end, Pam and I got adventuresome and decided to try a black slope. We got to the top and that sucker looked like a 60 degree angle straight down. Pam and I tried to stay out of other skiers way and slid down the slope on our butts and called it a day.
The Taos Ski Valley Resort allowed us to enjoy this first trip skiing a little more so we did go back again with a little better ski outfits.
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We all headed for home feeling a little better about skiing. We noticed that Cliff and his new bride fought a lot on that trip with us and within a year or two they had separated.
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Thanks for reading The First Ski Trip,
Bill