Telemark Talk / Telemark Tips Forum

So happy! My oldest son, 22, came out here for a short visit and was willing to give tele a try. His younger brother has been doing it for as long as I have, i.e. 4 years, but Cam hasn't done much skiing, a little alpine, a little xc when he was in his mid-teens. He decided to come out of his comfort zone. We're lucky because we're all more or less the same foot size and similar builds, so equipment can be shared, swapped, etc. His younger brother's gear was an excellent fit. I did my best to not over-coach as Cam always learns best by doing, not by following oral descriptions of the deconstructed steps of skiing. He killed it. Linking turns yesterday on hard-pack and shredding 8" fresh powder today at Mary Jane. Way more important and why I'm so happy, he was digging it! Exhausted, but with breaks, food, and refreshments ready to keep skiing all day. And I wasn't expecting anything. Moral of the story: none. Just happy that he and I may be able to ski more together in the future.

martin2007 wrote:So happy! My oldest son, 22, came out here for a short visit and was willing to give tele a try. His younger brother has been doing it for as long as I have, i.e. 4 years, but Cam hasn't done much skiing, a little alpine, a little xc when he was in his mid-teens. He decided to come out of his comfort zone. We're lucky because we're all more or less the same foot size and similar builds, so equipment can be shared, swapped, etc. His younger brother's gear was an excellent fit. I did my best to not over-coach as Cam always learns best by doing, not by following oral descriptions of the deconstructed steps of skiing. He killed it. Linking turns yesterday on hard-pack and shredding 8" fresh powder today at Mary Jane. Way more important and why I'm so happy, he was digging it! Exhausted, but with breaks, food, and refreshments ready to keep skiing all day. And I wasn't expecting anything. Moral of the story: none. Just happy that he and I may be able to ski more together in the future.

Warms a dad's heart Martin, it is the absolute best when you can share an activity that you love with your child. Skiing with two sons, even on different days is twice as good.

That's great Martin. Hopefully he'll have a lifelong hobby and you get to share it with him.

Great to hear.

Tricky sometimes to not over-coach so congratulations.

nice! i think that would be totally cool to have some sons to ski with. probably better that they can hold their own!

right on man, hope you guys get lots of snow-time together...

I've been skiing with my son since he was very young. We started the kids on "snow party" skis when they were 2 or 3 years old and went from there. That boy turned 18 this week and graduates from HS in a few months. I'm losing my ski buddy, but we are making sure we squeeze the best of this last season of his childhood together. We''ll still ski together for sure, but it won't be the same. At any rate, enjoy these days.

cheers,
JT

Fear not, it only gets better....TM

Rock_Doc wrote:I've been skiing with my son since he was very young. We started the kids on "snow party" skis when they were 2 or 3 years old and went from there. That boy turned 18 this week and graduates from HS in a few months. I'm losing my ski buddy, but we are making sure we squeeze the best of this last season of his childhood together. We''ll still ski together for sure, but it won't be the same. At any rate, enjoy these days.

cheers,
JT

My son is 15, in 9th grade. I'm doing my best to make the most of it. I hear what you are saying JT
Bob

The visit's over, Cam's flown home to his own place. We had 5 days together, the first was hiking a snowshoe trail up in Rocky Mtn. Nat. Park, and the other days were spent tele-ing at the ski resort. I was amazed at how each new day saw him developing more skills and more confidence. He was skiing blue and black runs and enjoying it. Really, though, while that success is gratifying, I know it's not at all what was important. For some time prior to this, we hadn't been doing stuff together: hobbies, sports, paddling, camping, etc., and what was sorely missing, definitely for me, and perhaps for him, too, was the conversation and the sharing that come with doing stuff together. During the 5 days I learned a lot about him. It doesn't matter much what the activity would have been. An activity, after all, is only a means to an end. Spending time together and staying/getting acquainted is the real value. It was just a bonus that it happened to be tele, something I love. Not golf, which I don't love. In fact, I kind of hate golf. But I'd play that soul-crushing game if that's what it would take to be out spending time and making memories with him. Like some of you said (and thank you for responding), as fathers we really treasure these moments with our kids. We never know how many of those moments we'll get during our brief tenure, and time sure doesn't wait.