China Peak Ski Adventure!

Austin and Landon way up the hill!

After our awesome anniversary ski experience in Colorado, Austin and I were not expecting much from the slopes of the central California Sierra Nevadas. On the way up the mountain, the road became one lane and very curvy. Landon was watching his tablet in the very back of the van, when suddenly, he gave the tablet to Claire and threw up his breakfast EVERYWHERE! We pulled over, cleaned him up, bagged up the stuff with throw up on it, and moved his seat to the middle van seat to see if that would help. I wish it had... he threw up two more times before we got to the resort! After each time, my dad would ask if he should pull over, and I just said "KEEP GOING! JUST GET IT OVER WITH!" 

So now I know that my son can get very car sick. I feel blessed that he has not gotten  motion sick on an airplane yet! I think part of the issue was the very winding roads, and my dad's awesome curvy road driving skills that were just a bit too much for the boy. Austin drove back down the mountain and we did not have any issues. I did not let him look at his tablet, and Austin took it super easy on the curves. 

Up on the actual mountain  there just was not enough snow, and many icy patches and exposed trees and rocks made it a little hazardous. I skied a few runs but did not like the ice so I spent most of the my time down on the learner slopes with Landon!

Unfortunately, it seemed most of the people at the resort were also beginners, so the lines for the moving carpets were very long. Long lines + short hill + 2.5 year old toddler= not very many runs. I think the main thing for Landon was that he did not like being "trapped" in the skis. We clipped them on and he had a blast sliding down the hill with mom and dad. He even went down with Grandpa Doug once! He did not like standing in line and walking around with the skis on. That was just too hard! Plus, there were Snow Cat snow tractors close by that were much more interesting. Grandma Brenda was very gracious to watch him while Austin and I skied together for a few runs.

My studly boys skiing!

There were two beginner moving carpet hills. The first barely had any slope so it was hard to get going on it. It was also the hill that the VERY beginning ski and snowboard classes started on. After awhile it just got too crowded so we went to the bigger beginner hill which is pictured above. This moving carpet was longer and the line was very long so Landon only made it up and down this hill once before nap time. 

His actual skiing technique was good for being such a little guy. We showed him how to do pizza and french fries, and he mostly did french fries down the hill (skis pointed straight down). Grandpa Doug even let go of him right at the end and let him ski on momentum and he did not fall down until he was almost stopped! I think he will be a natural once we get him in lessons next year.  

Guess who is done skiing?

After a few runs, he was officially done. He laid down on the ground and refused to stand on his skis. We tried to coerce him onto the moving carpet one more time with no avail. We had to carry him back to the area where we had camped out. It was so warm and sunny outside that we just hung out outside all day at a picnic bench. That was a major change from the frigid skiing temperatures in Colorado! Landon enjoyed running around looking at the tractors, throwing snow balls at the frozen river with Uncle Greg (his one and only FAVORITE uncle who is actually a really cool uncle!), and eating snacks with Grandma Brenda. 

It was a long, beautiful, fun day in sunny California!