My mom was no ski instructor, but she provided countless ski lessons.
While there are plenty of rad moms out there shredding it up, I have to be honest: my mother is not one of them. She loves to go for long walks on the beach and soak up the sunshine any chance she gets, but she is not one for sliding on snow.
She likes to be cozy. Skiing—while very rad—is not cozy. Inside, drinking hot cocoa with a nice book— now that’s cozy. Nonetheless, when it came to weekend ski getaways with Dad and me, she was still game.
Rolling down the mountain, I’d follow Dad, and she’d follow me. My dad and I would pull up at a good stopping point and patiently wait for Mom to make her way down. Slow, careful, and cautious criss-crosses down the slope. She always appeared uncomfortable. Once she arrived, out of breath, she’d smile at me and say, “you looked so good!”
Even though she doesn’t hold a PSIA certification, my mom subtly taught me so many life lessons on our ski trips. Now that skiing encompasses my life, I see parallels like the day I learned how to French fry.
Support your loved ones’ passions (even if you don’t get them yourself)
I was pretty competitive when I took my annual ski lesson. I would try so hard to keep up with the boys in class. Taking a classic tuck-and-roll position, I would pull up close behind them like a race car, trying to draft off their speed. I usually didn’t catch them, and would feel frustrated with my performance afterwards.
Debriefing with my mom over hot chocolate after the lesson, she’d remind me that I was a rock star. No matter how hard I skied. She was always a little confused why it mattered so much to me to be the fastest one around, but she never judged. “After all, you’re skiing faster than me, so you’re doing okay!”
I know my mom is still a little nervous about me skiing. These days, I send her photos of the lines I’ve skied or the mountains I travel to. She’ll respond with several scared-face emojis (which makes my eyes roll). Then tell me, “Looks beautiful! Be safe!” (which then makes me feel guilty).
She’d much rather that the thing that made me happy wasn’t skiing. If she didn’t have to stress about me risking injury to limbs, joints, or my head constantly. But, knowing how important it is to me, she keeps those wishes tempered and continues to be excited (or at least feigns excitement) when I’m excited.
Confidence is contagious
“When I was a kid, my mom and I would go out to Winter Park with some of her friends. I remember watching her and her buddies ski so close to the edge on cat tracks. It looked like they could easily just fall off the other side. I remember thinking how cool and confident they seemed. Meanwhile, I was tucked on the inside edge to be as safe as possible.”
Mikey, Pow7 Ski Tech Extraordinaire
Seeing our moms cruise around comfortably on the mountain is inspiring. Even something like a flat cat track seems like a massive undertaking when you’re just a few feet tall. To watch mom easily breeze down a cat track gets us excited to try and get a little closer to the edge next time.
Even though my mom was probably more like little Mikey than Mikey’s mom, to me, she looked like the most confident person on the mountain. Watching her carefully link turns looked so smooth to me. Smooth and steady wins the race.
Occasionally, my parents would take a ski lesson together. I would hear all about it from Dad it afterward, how my mom took so long to get down the black diamond run. Apparently the instructors would encourage her to go faster.
“No one is going to make me ski faster than I want to”, she’d say resolutely. I loved that attitude. Confident enough in herself, it didn’t matter how fast she skied. Just getting down the mountain is enough.
Go skiing with your people
Back then, I could tell my mom didn’t like skiing deep down. But, time after time, she would still show up. I was a little confused why. Skiing is not an easy thing to just go do if you’re not excited about it. But she just wanted to spend time with us. She’d put herself through getting ski boots on, wandering around the base clunking around in ski boots, dealing with bad weather, bad snow, and sometimes my bad attitude. All to get some quality time in.
I didn’t want her to do things she didn’t want to do (that would be a bit rude of me as a daughter). But I did want to spend time with her in the mountains, and she knew that. So she pushed herself outside of her comfort zone a little.
I’ve accumulated incredible memories of solo summits and adventures, but there’s nothing like whooping and hollering with friends down the mountain. Mom’s commitment to keeping our little unit together showed me how much more memorable an experience can be if it’s shared.
My mom has officially hung up the ski boots in favor of fireside books and that hot cocoa, but she’s still my badass ski mom. She introduced me to the sport. Our family ski trips and weekend getaways are some of the best family memories I have, and I know she feels the same.
Badass moms are not just the ones who can ski the steeps super hard and throw down. They are the ones who support you no matter what, even if it’s something that scares them a little. Badass moms are the glue that holds the crew together. And while it would have been sick if Mom taught me how to throw backies or took me backcountry skiing as a tot, she taught me all I really needed to know.
