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Family Ski Trip at Park City

If I were being honest, this hasn’t been the best year so far. Crazy to think we’re already more than a 1/6th of the way through. It hasn’t been bad, but it’s definitely been a little emotional and pretty stressful. I’m really grateful for all the amazing memories I’ve already had but I’m definitely hopeful the rest of the year shapes up!
This past weekend, Garrett and I flew out to Utah to ski with some of his family. All of us did our best to disconnect. I kept up with Instagram and Snapchat, but really kept my phone use at bay and totally didn’t use my laptop at all.
We had a lot of fun. I’ve met almost everyone who went before but it was my first time meeting Gar’s niece and sister-in-law. Even still, it was a great weekend to get to know each other even more especially since we don’t live nearby. I do think we’ll have to get out to Chicago to visit them more though!

Garrett and I landed in Salt Lake City to 70 degree weather. It was honestly crazy refreshing considering it was snowing in Connecticut when we left for the airport. It was cooler up at Park City, but still quite warm on Saturday for skiing.

It was gorgeous out Saturday and I swapped my ski coat for a Patagonia puffer. We wasted no time getting on the mountain (our goal was first on, last off) and immediately opted for a blue square. You may remember that I learned how to ski last winter. I’ve improved quite a bit this winter (with ski trips to Mont Tremblant and Killington), but I was still anxious about doing anything other than greens.

Even though I knew the boys had their eyes set on the blue square for the first run, I refused to let myself get anxious or chicken out. It wasn’t bad at all. In fact, I stayed blue all weekend. Not even going to pretend like I’m not proud of myself. Because I am. Big time. It was a huge weekend in terms of ski improvement.

We let Garrett’s brother plan the whole trip and he picked Park City. (We stayed at the Westgate, which is at the base of the Canyons.) Not only was the skiing great, the entire staff was incredibly helpful. They went above and beyond the call of duty… without even being asked.

Heather, Garrett’s sister-in-law, and I were both taking lessons on Saturday afternoon and when the gondola was unexpectedly out of service for an hour, we thought we were going to miss the lesson. But, we just so happened to be next to the school manager and he made sure that the instructors would find us on the mountain instead of the base, even taking our skis for us while we waited for them to meet us. Blown away.

Speaking of which, the lesson was great. A couple of friends recommended I take a lesson or two out west and I’m so glad I did. After a full morning of skiing, I spent the afternoon out with the instructor (if you go, try to get Ruth!) and honed in on my skills. I felt a lot more confident by the end of the day. (And sore.)

Kennedy, Garrett’s 10 year old niece, spent the day in ski school. We met up with her for the last 45 minutes before the lifts closed and honestly, she pretty much skied circles around me! Tons of natural talent for a first time skier.

We spent the rest of the night soaking in hot tubs and then eating dinner downtown. We woke up to a very wet and rainy morning. I think we were all kind of bummed, but still looking forward to a day of skiing. The rain turned to snow as we went up the gondola. While it was still a very, very wet day, the snow made for an extra perfect setting. 

After a couple of runs in the morning, my legs were really feeling fatigued so I hung out in the lodge for a little bit to rest and dry off. Our hoods were filled with melted snow. 
My favorite part of the trip happened after our little rest indoors. I knew I didn’t want to go home feeling like I’d wasted the day inside and/or doing the same few runs that I felt comfortable with. When the boys said they were going to do a long ski on the other side of the mountain, I announced I was going to go with before I had second thoughts. Ended up being the best. Definitely the longest I’ve skied at one time and definitely the most challenging trails I’ve done. But I successfully kept up and finished with all four limbs in tact.
Going up! The snow was on and off mixed in with some rain and sleet for good measure. Half way down though, the skies cleared up and we were rewarded with this gorgeous view:
We skied past a few insane mountain homes and I was seriously considering what it’d take to move out here. Just beautiful.
We’re taking the red eye back now and I think we definitely could have squeezed in another day of skiing but neither of us felt like being gross and sweaty for the overnight fight. We opted to hang out with the fam for the rest of the day before their flights.


xoxo
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13 Comments

Jordan A

Looks like so much fun! I was skiing last week too! Id you come to Chicago, It would be so fun if you could do a meetup! I would love to go!

Jordan @ NorthShoreProper.com

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Kayla Scanlan

I'm sorry things haven't been going well ???? I have a lot of big changes coming my way this year moving to the US, and the process has moved a lot faster than I anticipated. Being under prepared has put a lot of stress on me and our relationship. It's definitely no $20000 drama, but I can relate to how stressful it can be when life comes at you with other plans. Hang in there Carly!!

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Stephanie Kling

Just remember what goes down must go back up! There's always a light at the end of the tunnel. I'm sure a weekend away helped boost your spirits. I want to try skiing, it's on my list!

-Stephanie

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