A couple weekends ago (September 14-17) we took our kids to their first snowy experience. Funny that this experience should happen in Australia of all places! The snowy mountain is about a 6 hour drive southwest of us and so we left Thursday after Mike’s class at 2pm and headed out. The kids lasted until 4 pm without a break. Lucky for us we planned a stop at a McDonalds around that time so the kids could get out and play at the McD’s playland that they love so much! After eating a few fries and not much else, we were back on the road – our goal was a motel in Cooma, just outside the snowy mountain. We made it there by 8pm and the kids were out cold. It was FREEZING, around zero degrees. For a moment, I forgot what its like to be Canadian! We tucked the kids in bed and sat outside the motel room enjoying a couple beers with our good friend Rob (who was minding his kids in the next room).
The next morning (Friday), the kids actually slept in until after 6am – unheard of! We hurried to pack up our gear as Rob and his kids had already left for our next stop, Jindabyne where we would rent the kids their snow gear – skis for Tomas and a snow suit for Ethan. We caught up to Rob and co there and got suited up. Everyone was eager to get to the snow – especially the kids, big ones included!
One hour later we arrived at the foot of Mt Parisher where we parked the car, unloaded our gear and prepared to board the train (the shuttle to the top of the mountain and our lodge). Ethan was so excited about the train ride and still talks about it every day! Once at the top and out of the station door, the kids took two steps into the snow and were transfixed; they began to roll in the snow and make snow balls – hilarious! The guys loaded the gear in a tractor taxi and took Ethan along for the ride to our lodge which was a short walk from the station. I thought I’d have an easy walk with three kiddos (Tomas, and Rob’s kids, Lily (6 yrs) and Ben (8yrs)) but in fact it was hard to keep them focus on walking when they’d rather be playing in the snow!! After many snowballs to the head, we finally made it to the lodge and unpacked our gear.
They guys and older kids headed to the ski lift where the kids attended a 2 hour ski class. Meanwhile, I played in the snow with Ethan and awaited my turn on the slopes. Ethan was not super keen on the snow. He didn’t last more than 10 minutes before he said it’s cold and wanted to go inside. Lucky for us there was a large lounge/games room where we could play so not a worry.
Later that day, another friend, Sam arrived with his kids, Milli (7yrs) and Antonin (3yrs). We all met near the ski slopes for a late lunch and then Rob kindly offered to watch all the kids while the rest of us adults hit the slopes. Woot woot! The snow conditions were perfect that day.
Day 2 (Saturday) was similar to day 1 except that we put the older kids in ski school for the day (9-3) and Mike had the first shift with Ethan so I’d get more snowboarding time. It was so nice to snowboard again! Mike especially was loving it! He and I even got in a few runs on our own each day which was very special. I am ever grateful to our dear friends for allowing that to happen!!
We lucked out with fabulous weather. There was a big dump of snow thursday night and cool temps so Friday was the best day for snowboarding. By Saturday it warmed up to 9oC – crazy. We could have snowboarded in t-shirts. A lot of snow had melted and turned to slush by the end of our trip – a perfect time to depart.
The lodge we stayed at was great! We had a room with two single beds and a double – perfect to fit us 4. The manager was super kind and drove us every morning to the ski hill and picked us up in the blue tractor that you see in the photo. What service! We had dinner at the lodge restaurant every night. It was a bit chaotic with 4 adults and 6 children but we managed with minimal drama. The older girls took Ethan under their wing and the boys stuck together. After we were done at the table, the kids headed off on their own to the lounge/games room next door. It was a very safe environment and not many people around – so great for families!
FYI Tomas is the kid in the yellow helmet in the photos. He’s also wearing a large tuque with a pompom on top in some photos. Somehow we didn’t get a photo of him skiing! ARG!
Whew….this must be one of my longest entries! Enjoy the photos!
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This is fantastic! I can’t wrap my mind around the fact that you have enough snow to ski in Oz!!
Looks like you guys had a great time!