When I told my kids that we would be taking a Private Family Lesson with Keystone's Ski & Ride School - they both looked at me a bit crosseyed. My son was concerned he was going to miss out on a day long powder day. My daughter thought it was going to be like the lessons she took as a new skier...looping the bunny hill hundreds of times with an instructor following close behind. I had to remind them that we should never stop learning and the way to get better at anything is to practice and make a conscious effort to improve.
Practice we did and improvement for ALL of us was the result.
For many years I have had it on my bucket list to take a private lesson as an adult. Admittedly, every time I got close to signing up, a new excuse popped up. It was too cold that day, I felt like playing rather than learning, or I just didn't want to spend the money. All the same excuses arose when Keystone invited our family to take a private lesson. When the response to my polite decline was "You get to skip the weekend lift lines." I emailed back with a "SOLD! Sign us up!"
That was the best decision I've made all winter.
Many may have the same thoughts I did on lessons. Let's "debunk" some of the ideas my family had before heading in to Keystone's Family Ski/Ride Lessons.
- Ski SCHOOL = NO Fun. WRONG! Angela our instructor loves her job and she wanted to have fun right along with us. Knowing she would be spending the day with a mom and two teens, she had to pull out a little bit of crazy. That goofiness resonated so well with us, the day just flew by. It seemed more like we were a group of friends hanging on the mountain for the day.
- We already know how to ski. We are all confident skiers, but after one run, Angela figured out what each of us could do to improve and gave us tips to fix our techniques. By the end of the day my son was skiing with more control, my daughter's knees weren't hurting, my legs weren't on fire, and I could navigate moguls - yay!
- Are private lessons really worth the cost? I can confidently say YES! I would recommend a family private lesson to anyone who skis or rides and to families with kids of all ages and abilities. Angela explained that she takes the group to only the most difficult terrain the least experienced can handle, then tailors that day's lesson to each member of the group so that everyone gets the most out of their day. Based on my family's ability, we got a tour of Keystone from an expert instructor, hitting all the fun runs, skipping all the lift lines, while getting tips and encouragement along the way. Add to that fresh powder All Day Long and our day couldn't have been any better.
Here is something else our private family lesson has done for me. I am now more excited then ever to head back to Keystone to try out my new skills. To be honest, skiing had become something we just did with the kids when we could, because let's face it - it takes a lot of effort on our part to get the family out on the slopes. When your entire family's skiing improves, everyone will look forward to more family bonding time on the slopes. Before you know it your kids will prefer to ski with their friends than with you...so get that family time while you can!
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This article was sponsored by Keystone Resorts. My family was offered lodging, lessons and meals during our stay to facilitate this review. All opinions are my own.
