Idaho (Dec. 28-Jan. 5)

(almost caught up)

We would only have a little over a week in Idaho. But, in keeping with our habits, we hit the ground running and didn’t really stop until we boarded the plane to leave.

The general idea was to see my parents first, then Boise (dinner with my sister), then continue north to the mountains (ski, see the property we bought a couple years ago, hang out with my brother and other sister), then back to Boise to catch our flight home. In the end, that’s how it worked out.

We arrived at around midnight, picked up the rental car and headed to my sister, Lisa’s. Sadly, she and my brother-in-law were in Mexico and we wouldn’t see them during our visit. But they graciously allowed us to sort of use their house as a home base which worked out great. We will have to catch them in the summer.

 * * *

Kimberly

The next day we went to our storage, pulled out our snow stuff, ran a few errands and then headed south to the Magic Valley where I grew up and where my parents still live. It’s an easy drive. Flat. Generous speed limit. Usually not too much traffic.

helping out, before the snow hits...

In addition to hanging out with my parents, I was thinking to sneak part of a day at a nearby ski mountain. Snow had been good and I was thinking that an easy, local mountain might be good for my girls to get more comfortable on their skis. Less intimidating than bigger mountains. So the next morning we didn’t waste any time and headed up.

gotta love a local Idaho ski mountain

Magic Mountain was a popular place to go when I was growing up. It’s a small mountain and a great place to learn. I was surprised how similar it looked to when I was in high school. I didn’t remember the mountain well but I didn’t need to. Our focus was on getting our girls comfortable and learning to enjoy their time on the mountain. Though it was a bit challenging at first, overall, by the afternoon it was mission accomplished.

the girls achieved a big milestone - no more learner hills

Otherwise, we ran errands, watched football, ate, etc. It’s a relaxing time and really good to spend time with the folks.

Boise

After three nights we headed back to Boise. We spent a really nice New Year’s Eve with my sister at her place. We had no intention of bringing in the new year but, the way it worked out, we would not be in bed before 12:30 am. With the limited time that we’re in the US, it’s hard for me to justify staying out late as there are so many things I want to do with my mornings.

To the Mountains

Speaking of morning, we needed to get an early start on our trip north since our plan was to fit in a mostly full ski day. The drive was chilly, dropping to -5 F (-21 C). Once we were at higher altitude, it was a winder wonderland. I kept watching the thermometer hoping it would warm up a bit. While the girls were keen on skiing, if one is uncomfortable, it takes the fun out of it. Interestingly, likely due to an temperature inversion, the weather warmed considerably as we ascended the road up the mountain reaching 17 F (- 8 C) as we parked.

winter wonderland

Thankfully, the weather forecasters were correct in that it would be a sunny day. It was that sweet spot where the weather was cold enough to keep the snow in good condition but warm enough so as not to be uncomfortable.

the Brundage Mountain crew

After a short visit on the beginner slope to get the girls comfortable on their skis again, we headed up the mountain for more challenging skiing. Admittedly, I was very proud to see them mastering their turns, laughing and really seeming to enjoy themselves. Between Magic Mountain and now, they had crossed a threshold. It was exciting to watch.

amazing view; wonderful day on the slopes

Scary Moment

At one point, I had just completed a run and had come to a stop at the base near the line of the chairlift we’d been using. Kinaya had skied in just behind me and had stopped not far away. Kiran’s skis were a bit too loose, and when I saw her take a tumble a short ways away, I assumed that was the reason. Priya had stopped to assist.

While Kinaya and I were waiting, I all of the sudden began to hear screaming. Just behind me was another chairlift heading off in a different direction. I looked up and saw that a boy, probably around 5 or 6 years old, had fallen from the chair just as it was rising up from the loading area. He was hanging onto the footrest and his panicking mother had ahold of his coat. They were yelling at the lift operator to hit the emergency stop, which, relatively quickly, he did.

A guy next to me and I promptly shifted over to position ourselves directly below the boy whose skis were probably about 20 feet above us. The poles of the other three on the chair rained down around us as they tried to reach for the boy.

As we stood there, I was honestly thinking that the boy was going to drop anytime. He was dangling precariously and I was trying to figure out how that might play out. I doubted that we could successfully catch him (he still had his skis on), given the amount of force with which he would reach us. I assumed he would just crash into us and we would break his fall as we all would hit the snow together.

My eyes were focused on the dangling child but I could sense that a crowd was building behind us. Out of the corner of my eye I could see that the ski area staff were pulling out a large, round tarp which we would use to catch him. Soon we had it beneath him and I was already feeling like this was going to turn out okay.

The next challenge was getting him to let go. Admittedly, the idea of allowing himself to drop must have been scary. But with the encouragement of his mother in the chair above him (and probably also due to the fact that he must have been exhausted hanging on for so long), he let go and fell into the tarp below. The landing was perfect and soon he was standing and behind hugged by one of the staff. He immediately burst into tears as the emotion of the whole thing caught up to him. I could now look around me and see that there were a couple hundred people watching the events unfold. There was lots of cheering.

* * *

By mid-afternoon, Priya headed back to the lodge to get us a table. The girls and I agreed that we would do two more runs and then join her. It was probably not ideal that the only adult retired for the day. We all should have stopped at that point. Though we had a few more enjoyable runs, I think we pushed it too much. We were all dehydrated and Kinaya gets bad headaches in these situations. Both girls were spent and apres-ski turned out to be simply a quick snack and then we needed to get back to the cabin.

* * *

livin' the dream

The next day I resisted the temptation to squeeze in another ski. Instead, we spent most of the day at the house. Priya and I were able to go check out the progress on the property we purchased just prior to the pandemic. The partially-built house is still partially built but there is some progress since last summer. It’s hard to get contractors to work on the place so something that should have taken a few weeks has turned out to be a few years. Not ideal but it should be finished by summer.

 

used to be easier when they were little

* * *

We drove back to Boise the next day. It was a pretty and pleasantly uneventful. Other than some time with Boise-based family, that was the end of the trip. We put our winter gear back in storage and the next morning we headed to the airport. After three flights and about 24 hours, we would be back home to the Kenyan summer. Back to work.