This year we bit the bullet and plunged into the world of the family ski vacation. With half priced mid-week lift tickets and cheap on mountain accommodation (split with another family), we figured we’d give it a go and hopefully not break the bank doing it.

Evan’s been making the odd trip up in the last couple of years, and Brett had his first taste of skiing during the Christmas break. That day was pretty much a full on blizzard and both of them skied all day long. Knowing that, we figured we’d be able to spend most of our time out on the slopes. Evan was right at that stage where he was ready and capable to do more on the mountain, but needed a couple of days in a row to take that step.
The trip up the highway started out well enough. The drive up to Courtenay was as nice as could be. Then we headed up the Mt. Washington parkway… usually a pleasant drive as well. It wasn’t long before red lights were blinking on my dash. Coolant sensor; lovely. Within minutes, the temperature started to rise beyond what it should. Just as it hit the red line, we managed to find a safe place to pull out. Sure enough, coolant leaking everywhere. Great. We managed to hopscotch our way up to the top of the mountain, letting the car over heat and cool down again. What little water we had, we poured on it. That isn’t usually a good idea at that elevation this time of year, but thanks to a massive temperature inversion there was no risk of freezing for a quite a few more days (highs of around 14 degrees). Once at the top, we parked the car and headed out for some skiing. After all, we had a couple days up there anyway.
The townhouse we rented was one of those do-it-all-yourself kinda places. We took care of the day to day, cooking, cleaning, and basically moved in for a couple days. Evan skied for 2.5 days, and could probably have done more. He managed to make some good progress and has ventured beyond the bunny slopes and onto one of the big chairs, and even the odd blue run. Brett tuckered out pretty good after the first day, and didn’t really have the legs for much more. Can’t really blame him, he’s only two and a half. Tricia and I managed to switch off a bit and take a few laps without the kids, which was kinda nice for Tricia as she’s never really skied Mt. Washington before. We spent our last afternoon on the tube park lapping up and down for hours. The little rope toe that took us to the top had Evan going until he was too tired to pull his tube off the run!
Despite some very tired kids, an unbearable bed time routine, a blown radiator and a tow off the mountain, we managed to make it all work and still have tons of fun. We were lucky enough to get the car fixed by the end of our second day. Despite the tough moments, it was more than worth it. We’ll certainly give it a shot again next year. If it wasn’t for the car troubles, we might have got away without breaking the bank. So much for that idea.
Here are some pics from the adventure.