Nordic or alpine?

Greetings,

As one who grew up downhill skiing with my family and taking the Winter Park ski bus on Saturdays, it was with such pride and pleasure that I was able to ski with our boys in Seefeld, Austria. When in Seattle, we went to the Kongsberger ski club Nordic trails nearly every weekend throughout the winter. As members of the club, we enjoyed the cabin, the friends, and the sauna available there. The boys spent many hours being pulled in a ski sled (when they were little), Nordic skiing, sledding, or having snowball fights at the cabin. In Seefeld, however, they were interested in trying more alpine skiing, which they had sampled in Leavenworth and Snoqualmie Pass. Signed up for lessons, they quickly developed their strength and coordination as alpine skiers. The first day, Logan needed help to ski down the beginners' slope, but by the end of our trip, he was able to ski down longer steeper intermediate slopes tha

t his older brother liked. Hayden, on the other hand, had moved on up to even higher elevations and longer slopes at Rosschute. David and I took turns skiing with them when they were not in their lessons, and I remembered skiing at Winter Park with my parents when I was young. It was thrilling, though a ski jump wipe-out reminded me that following Hayden over jumps no longer seemed to be such a good idea!

Each day we picked up our rental equipment and headed to the ski bus or let the boys go to their lessons and then we headed to the Nordic runs. Growing up as an alpine skier, I have had a slow transition to Nordic - it's hard work, I have to ski up hill, and there are no chairlifts. However, on this trip I realized that though I enjoy skiing alpine with the boys, I truly love Nordic more. The boots are more comfortable, I always stay warm, and it's great exercise. Nonetheless, I am so grateful for the opportunity to do both.

We did take the boys Nordic skiing one morning and after Hayden started getting the feeling back, he also admitted that he enjoyed it and that though he had not always wanted to go to the cabin in Seattle, he was really appreciative of the fact that he could do both types of skiing well. Logan struggled with Nordic at first, but after a while he started striding and

swinging his arms and moving fast. Huge smiles! He too was proud of his accomplishments.

When we first arrived in Munich, we had to wait for a late-arriving train to take us to Seefeld. We gradually started pulling out more and more winter clothes - hats, jackets, mittens, boots - until Hayden was pretty sure we would soon be lugging along empty suitcases. While shivering on the train platform, Hayden said, "I am so cold my bones are freezing together. I wish I were back in Jeddah." We did not let him forget that statement.

One particular ski afternoon was frustrating for Logan who was trying so hard to ski fast without falling. He fell yet again and said to me, "I don't know why I fell down because I am already really good." Skiing fast was his main goal. My main goal was for him to ski in control. We worked on combining the two!

Seefeld was festively decorated for the holidays with sparkling lights and trees all over town. We loved being there, eating lovely foods and drinks that are not necessarily available in Saudi Arabia. We rented a two bedroom apartment with a kitchen and a living room, so we could cook many meals 'at home.' Returning each day, it really did feel like home.

Thanks for reading. Jennifer