Poll Where did you start skiing?

[Started at 53]

Interesting topic, my story is a bit different. I always loved watching skiing in movies, but was not able to do it due to my job. I just could not take a chance on getting injured, and back then I was a serious adrenaline junkie so I knew it was not a good idea. Fast forward to I still can't really afford to get injured but I have (in my opinion) become more sensible with my activities. In June of '15 @Mrs. 53 and I too a weeklong trip to the Pacific Northwest, Equestrian wine tours in Oregon, then Floatplane adventures out of Vancouver that included a day in Whistler. Well, we were doing the mountain to mountain gondola and I am talking all of this in and I am thinking WOW!!!!! I start to mention I might like to do this. Betsy skied her whole childhood, but took a couple of long breaks, one due to work, the other when she married a non-skier . So when I mentioned that I would be willing to try it out, she was all for it. So that winter we went to Deer Valley, her long time favorite ski destination, and I was underwhelmed but had fun. So in essence, the trip summer to Whistler got me started, Deer Valley was my first time on skis, but a '17 trip to Andalo, Italy was when I got it, meaning decided this was something for me!

Yuzawa Shin Nihon (now called Yuzawa Park) in March 1981, pretty interesting for only 210 meters of vertical.
http://www.snowjapan.com/japan-ski-resorts/niigata/yuzawa/yuzawa-park
Back then it was 3.5 hours by limited express (now, 70 mins by bullet train), or a five-hour drive up on a late Friday night with the return Sunday evening taking upwards of seven hours (225km mostly on 2-lane blacktop, or 160km as the crows fly). Expressway now, but I'd bet it would still be close to five hours coming back on a Sunday night.

Tokyo traffic is horrendous!

 

[Tricia]

Caberfae Peaks!

 

[lonestar]

Mount Peter NY about 1966. Lift tickets and 2 lessons a day for 5 days was 25 dollars.

 

[Kurt]

Badger Pass, Yosemite

 

[drewski]

King Pine NH, on my sons school ski trip

 

[green26]

Labrador Mountain, central NY

 

[erdz]

Cabin Mt West Virginia in 1959 - the ski club of Wasington DC had a rope tow there. It is now Chip Chase's Whitegrass xc area

 

[Willy]

Mount Spokane, WA.

Scots Skier - Is that CairnGorm? Looks familiar. We were there about five years ago and hiked around the area.

 

[TonyC]

First time on handle tow at Ski Las Vegas. Next tries were at Mt. Baldy. Mt. Baldy fits the profile for being a local convenient hill, but it was wildly inappropriate for a beginner. Only 4 years after I started there was I good enough to appreciate its terrain quality.

 

[Carolinacub]

I was moving from Jupiter FL out to the west coast and stopped in Aspen for a few days in the summer of 81 ended up staying there for 3 years. Back then Highlands was the locals mountain and ski corp owned Ajax, Snowmass, and Buttermilk. I was ruined for life.......

 

[x10003q]

First season - back yard - a few days later Craigmeur, NJ. After a skiing a few times at Craigmeur, we tool a week vacation in Tupper Lake, NY, and skied at Big Tupper.
I was hooked early, age 4.

 

[Dave Petersen]

Iowa!

 

[Tony]

Heavenly Valley - first season pass. $50.

My first pass at Heavenly was when I was a high school senior and it cost $100. I finished classes in December and got enough use of pass to come out ahead.

Heavenly was the first place I skied, probably in Spring 1963 although it may have been '62. At the time, I don't think it was a destination resort as it was probably only three chairs and the tram. I don't think they had Sky chair then and know they did not have lifts in Nevada. We had tried to go to Tahoe for New Year's and didn't make it. We spent 21 hours in the car due to Echo Summit being closed due to avalanche.

While a lot of people have problems with Heavenly, they had a lot of good days this year and ran lifts two weeks later that Kirkwood. Heavenly also seems to get the most destination visitors as I have shared more lifts there with people from other states and countries than at other Tahoe ski areas.

 

[Xela]

Beautiful Mount Airy Lodge

 

[Mike Rogers]

I just posted about this in the "how old" thread.

My very first day on skis was at a very small hill near our house. We side stepped up and had enough vert for one turn. Climb up and turn right, then climb up and turn left. Good way to understand edge control!

In my first season, we also had season passes to Banff Mount Norquay. It markets itself as a destination resort, but is really more of a family/local/feeder hill.

 

[UGASkiDawg]

Beech Mountain NC in jeans and a camoflauge jacket.

 

[Philpug]

Beautiful Mount Airy Lodge

Ha! What years? @Andy Mink and myself skied there too. My brother was a liftie...this goes back to the (late) 70's though.

 

[nay]

Winter Park. One of many local area destination resorts.

 

[MadPatSki]

Beaver Lake in Mt. Royal Park in Montreal.

Here is a little writeup of my first recollection of skiing.
https://madpatski.wordpress.com/2010/12/22/beaver-lake-circa-1968/

 

[oldschoolskier]

At the time it was a ski area, now it's destination resort. Just outside Vienna, oh how times have changed.