Family’s first time on the ski hill leaves them wanting more - #NewSkiAB
By Amber McLinden
Claire Hwang, an immigrant from Korea, has been living in Canada for 18 years. On Dec. 21, she took her first ever ski lesson. While learning any new sport can be intimidating, Claire and her kids came out the other end of their day of lessons with a new skill that they were eager to keep developing. With a new reason to brave the snow and cold Alberta winter, Claire kicked off her journey. Here’s a sneak peek at how the day went.
Read more about Claire's journey here.
The day kicks off with a trip to the rental shop at WinSport. The total time through was around 20 minutes, which Claire Hwang later expressed her satisfaction with. She helped her youngest put on his boots after a bit of a struggle, grabbed skis, poles and helmets before heading out to the hill with instructor Ryoko Trevis.
With perfectly groomed runs and the sun shining on the skiers and snowboarders, Dec. 21 was the perfect day to learn how to ski. While enjoying some hot chocolate, Claire, a first-time skier, and her three kids, who have previous had a lesson or two, got ready to clip in their skis and start their lesson.
Learning to ski doesn’t happen all at once, which is why Trevis started the lesson with no skis, slowly moving to one ski, then two, then increasing the incline of the hills from the bronze, silver and gold beginner runs at WinSport. With a total of four beginner runs and plentiful green runs, it’s the perfect spot to learn how to ski.
With only one ski, Trevis watched on as the Hwang family skied down the bronze hill, practicing balance and stopping with only one ski. Claire successfully made it all the way down and was ready to graduate to two skis, as well as trying out the silver and gold runs.
Trevis, an immigrant from Japan, says that everybody learns at different speeds. She was excited when Claire was able to make her way down the silver run. Trevis and Claire both agree that skiing is a great way to make the most of a long Alberta winter.
While Claire took a well-deserved rest, her two eldest children and Trevis went up the chairlift for the first time. Besides one small fall, the group made it down with no trouble at all. Claire was happy to know they learned as much as she did today.
Do you want to learn how to ski, just like Claire? Ski on over to SnowSeekers.ca and learn more.