Skiing at Deer Valley Resort
Published on February 21, 2013
I am not a skier. I know we live in Utah with the best powder on Earth, but Iโve only been skiing twice in my entire life. The last time I went skiing my loving brother took me up a blue run and took off with his buddies. He said it would be easy, but he was wrong. I was scared to death. Luckily, a snowmobiler drove by and I flagged him down. I got a ride down the mountain and told myself and everyone else that I would never going skiing again.
Well, Josh loves snowboarding and skiing and has been begging me since we started dating to take ski lessons. When Deer Valley invited us up for a ski vacation, I told Josh I would take ski lessons. I was so tempted to sit in the lodge and sip hot chocolate all day, but I promised him I would do it. He wants me to learn so I can go out on the slopes when Caleb is older. I was a little nervous about skiing at Deer Valley, ok, I was shaking in my ski boots, but I did it!
We rented all of our equipment at Deer Valley-skis, poles, boots, and helmets. Yep, we are a safety first family! They made sure all of our equipment fit perfectly.
The Black Diamond Lodge provided ski lockers for us so we didnโt have to haul everything to our condo. In the mornings, they set out our skis and poles for us. Talk about service! They also had sunscreen, hand warmers, ski maps, and tissues.
The first day, I took a full-day private ski lesson from Derek. Letโs take a moment to give Derek a huge round of applause for putting up with me:) He was very patient and SO helpful. I would have ran back to the lodge and hid if he wasnโt there coaching me every step of the way. He walked me through everything and didnโt rush me at all. Plus, he made skiing make senseโฆand he actually helped me enjoy it!
The first day I stayed on the bunny hill with all of the kiddos. There were three year olds whizzing by me. I took my time and just got used to being on the skis. Derek helped me focus on my technique and turns.
Josh came to check in on me around lunch time. He even did a few runs with me!
He may have made fun of my slow speed, but he was impressed I was skiing:) I was slowly getting the hang of it!
You may be wondering where Caleb was. No, he didnโt go skiing. Josh tried, but he is still too little:) Caleb spent both days at Deer Valleyโs Children Center. The center provides separate rooms, dividing and managing children of like age groups more effectively.ย Caleb was in the Little Tots program. He had a blast playing with the toys and other kids. He didnโt miss mommy and daddy at all.
On our second day of skiing, I felt a little more relaxed. I started on the bunny slope with Derek, my instructor. After a few runs, he thought I was ready to hit the real slopes. So we rode the chair lift up the mountain to do some greens. By the way, I never fell off the chair lift. High five to myself!
Amanda came skiing with me! She told me I would like Ontario and she was right! I was a little nervous at first, but I had no trouble at all. It was actually fun!
Josh met up with us too! I loved spending Valentineโs Day with my sweetie on the slopes! We lucked out with gorgeous weather. Nothing but blue skies! I actually didnโt get cold at all.
Have you heard? Ski goggles are the new fashion trend:)
Josh took a half day ski lesson and it obviously did him some good. He was all over the mountain and flying down the slopes. He usually snowboards, but after our Deer Valley trip he wants to ski more. He had a great time.
At the end of our last day we picked Caleb up from Little Tots and Josh took Caleb down one little ski slope. It really wasnโt a slope, just the little hill in front of our condo. Caleb was SO excited. He kept saying, โski, ski.โ
He loved it. We have a future skier in our family! And donโt you love how Iโm chasing after my baby in the background:)ย Thanks Amanda for making the photoย animations. So fun!
Thanks Deer Valley for an amazing ski trip! I survived skiing and even kind of liked it:) I will be back on the slopes with my guys!
Next, we will be talking about the food at Deer Valley Resort. You donโt want to miss this post, Deer Valleyโs food is amazing!
If you like this post, you might also like:ย Black Diamond Lodge at Deer Valley Resort
Wow! How fun! Being from Buffalo, NY, youโd think I have skied before, but nope! I canโt believe I never have, Iโm kind of sad that I havenโt. Love the video shot! Glad your having fun!
I was wondering what you did with Caleb! Thatโs so wonderful to have a place you trust like that for him to play while you play! ๐ Oh, and I love the gifs!
Looks like a beautiful place. You are very lucky! And Caleb is so freaking cute!
How fun!!! Iโve skiied the majority of my life and Iโm always so amazed at people just learning how to do it as adults and it brings a smile to my face. Donโt worry โ youโll ALWAYS get passed on ANY slope by some young kid. Pretty soon โ it will be your own! Thanks for sharing with us.
How fun! Being from the south, Iโve only been skiing once on a trip to Colorado. It was fun learning, but I really wonder if Iโll ever get the hang of it. Your pictures are beautiful and it looks like yaโll were having a blast!
Looks like yaโll had a great time. We went skiing for our honeymoonโฆ my husband didnโt quite enjoy it very much LOL. But it was a new adventure for us ๐ I love the little animated photoslide LOL. I was wondering if that was you coming after them lol
Iโm so glad you had a great time! It makes me crazy how many horror stories Iโve heard from people who were ditched at the top of the mountain by their so-called friends! Dozensโฆ..seriously! Why do people do that? Our whole family loves to ski; I taught all the kids when they were in grade school. It has become a family vacation every year sinceโฆ..weโre talking nearly 30 years now! And our sonโs sives, grandson, and all our cousins join in, too! Itโs a huge group, like a mob, really, and we all look forward to it every year! You and your family will love that you can do this together in the future. Iโm so glad you enjoyed it!
That would โwivesโโฆ..lol I guess I was so excited about the skiing, I wasnโt paying attention to the typing!
Iโm from Utah and Iโm not really a big skier either. Iโve dabbled in snow boarding and skiing and have been to almost all the resorts in Salt Lake and Park City, but I much prefer a glass of wine in the lodge or dinner by the fireplace.
Good for you! We were in Lake Tahoe at the same time, taking ski lessons & braving the actual slopes on the same daysโฆ. my very first time on skis. Very funny. Wish my little guys had loved their โsnow campโ as much as Caleb though! They missed mommy & daddy. ๐
Glad you had fun skiing too! Come to Deer Valley next time:)
Isnโt Deer Valley the best with beginner skiers?! And doesnโt it feel like such an accomplishment to learn to ski when you are at least 25+ years older than the kids on the bumny slopes who whiz by? Skiing at Deer Valley at New Yearโs was only my second time on skiis and I just loved it as well. Ontario was a great run. Another great run is at Homerun at Park City โ ity is green and goes on forever.
I loved Deer Valley! I canโt wait to go back!
Congratulations!! It looks like you guys had a fabulous time! Itโs such a great feeling when you can master a new skill/sportโฆ I love it!
I have recently started following blogs and have enjoyed all of your recipes. I have noticed that bloggers only like positive, complimentary comments (sure who wouldnโt) and really dislike anything negative or constructive. But I have to make this commentโฆwhy would your husband wear a helmet and NOT your baby. Heck the baby doesnโt even have on a hat! I am sure the two of them were only on the skis for a minute but it only takes one fall. Yikes! Just had to get that outโฆso sorry.
This is the first time Iโve ever seen someone carry a baby while skiingโฆ so freakinโ cool! ๐
I want to know how you get to go on all these great vacations?
Looks like you all had a great time and caleb so cute!
Bravo to you for giving it a go! The three of you look like such a cute family on the slopes!! ๐
Deer Valley is definitely the way to go for learning to ski. How lucky you are. Glad that you finally had fun on the slopes. Itโs been way too long since Iโve been skiing and I totally miss it. Maybe one day again. Looks like it was beautiful โ the perfect ski day.