The Next Mikaela Shiffrin?

I know, I know. I just posted about Nora skiing a few days ago. And it was technically old news—those photos and videos were from Christmastime!

Bad mommy. Bad blogger.

This weekend, we watched 18-year-old Mikaela Shiffrin own the women’s slalom race in Sochi, coming home with the gold medal. I may have gotten choked up when I saw her parents’ reaction to her crossing that finish line with the winning time.

Then, on Sunday, we took our own little champion skiing… for only her fourth time ever. And you guys, she rocked it! I was so, so proud of her. In fact, I’m still beaming about it, so that’s why I’m back and talking to you all about it… again. Bear with me if you can. I apologize for gushing.

As I mentioned in my last post, we bought her a pair of skis and adjustable boots. We also bought a Wedgease tip connector, and this was our first time putting it to the test. It was invaluable—worth.every.penny. We also use a Lucky Bums ski harness, which you’ll see below. That thing? Also awesome.

When we got on the next chair lift, we discussed it (my mom, Michael, and me) and I decided that when we got to the top, I was going to give her a little more slack on the tethers so that she could begin to feel her own balance, and work to keep it. We also repeatedly reinforced the “pizza wedge” position of her skis and… she totally understood it this time. When I would remind her, “pizza wedge! pizza wedge!” she would move her skis more into the wedge position, just like she was supposed to. And her balance? When I started giving her more freedom with the tethers, she improved right away.

Nora fell a bunch of times, but that’s to be expected. She was doing so great. In fact, I soon discovered that I needed to give her ALL of the slack on the tethers, letting her out as far as I could, because when she fell, it would give me more time to come to a stop without running into her. So the harness? It was only really keeping her from going flying uncontrollably down the hill or over the edge into the gully. In other words: My baby was pretty much skiing all by herself.

We were SO proud of her, and she was SO proud of herself. She kept saying sporadically, “I’m doing it!” as we made our way down the trails. Adorable.

{Rossignol Experience Pro 80 cm Skis + Roces 2014 Adjustable Kids Ski Boots. We purchased them in a package deal. Oh, and I can’t forget the Wedgease tip connectors. Those things are gold. They don’t “force” a wedge, but they keep the skis from going every which way and seem to be a tremendous help. Please know that I have not been compensated by any of these companies—we purchased these items ourselves and I’m just sharing our honest experience.}

We had a few rough moments. Even on the easy trails, there are sometimes steeper portions, and Nora had a really hard time getting down those parts without several falls and a ton of help. Our upper bodies got just as much of a workout as our lower bodies since we spent so much time picking her up and/or holding her up! I’m hurting today! Also? The conditions were not at all ideal. We had a string of warmer days late last week and over the weekend—with some sun, too!—which really softened things up out there. It was the granular ice type of surface, which is like skiing on a sno-cone. There were piles forming all over the place, and truthfully, most of Nora’s falls came when her ski would go through a pile and get stuck.

Even experienced skiers can have a tough time keeping their speed and balance in these conditions, so it’s no wonder that my 3.5-year-old beginner was having some challenges. I mean, hell, Michael and I took a couple of runs by ourselves while my mom and Nora finished up lunch, and I was also feeling a little uneasy about picking up speed and making my turns with all of the huge piles everywhere—and I’ve been skiing for 20 years (well, not EVERY year, but I started when I was 10!). It was “spring skiing” but in February.

As Nora grew more and more independent with it, she started to enjoy it even more. And as we spent more time out there, she became noticeably more skilled. By the time we came down one of the beginner slopes for the last time, she was easily manipulating her skis into “french fries” to pick up speed and “pizza wedge” to slow down. She was even putting enough pressure on the pizza wedge to stop herself, and even began making some little turns. I was amazed. And so impressed.

Oh, and the Lucky Bums harness is a total lifesaver (literally and figuratively) for getting on and off the chair lift, by the way. Even when we are up in the air, I never let go of that handle. I keep a death grip on it as a safety precaution.

On our last run down the beginner trail, we were all definitely showing signs of exhaustion, although Nora insisted she wanted to keep going. We compromised, telling her that we could go only on the bunny hill—with a magic carpet lift instead of a chair lift. We figured she had been doing so well on the “big hills” that she would probably conquer the bunny hill with no problems… even all on her own, with no harness whatsoever.

And we were right.

I’ve watched this video like 100 times. I can’t get over it. She’s 3! I wasn’t this good at anything when I was 3. :) We would love for skiing to be an activity we do as a family as the kids grow, and this is such a great start. I hope she continues to enjoy it like she does now.

I’m kidding about “the next Mikaela Shiffrin” thing, by the way. If Nora actually ever gets into competitive ski racing, I think I will die of a heart attack. That’s the thing about skiing—particularly competitive skiing—it can be so dangerous. My own mom was in a pretty horrible ski accident last winter. She was taken out by a young skier who came up from behind her and ran into her. She was taken the hospital in an ambulance and ended up with broken ribs, a broken tooth, and a broken FACE. No joke; she broke three bones in her face. And THAT is why we all ski as safely as possible and wear helmets, y’all.

Anyway, fun times all around. And we totally wore her out:

Now we are dying to get out just ONE.MORE.TIME before the end of the season. I want to see what she can do next! :)