Day 80

Another good day of skiing in the bank. Felt good but I definitely made some rookie mistakes today. No wipe outs though. 

My first rookie mistake was a doozy. I forgot my ski boots at the place we are staying. I didn’t realize it until after we got to the parking lot at the resort (Mary Jane) about 20 minutes away. Mike graciously offered me the use of his truck which I accepted. Reluctantly. 

Mike’s truck is massive. It’s a GMC with huge Diesel engine and a lift kit. I’m certain it’s the largest vehicle I’ve ever driven. Getting it out the parking lot at MJ was a little nerve wracking. I knew if I hit another car it was going to leave a big dent. The parking lot was full and full of creative parking so not a lot room to maneuver. I got out unscathed - well, the truck got out without me bitting anything - but I decided I wasn’t too keen to push my luck so opted to not park in the lot upon my return - with my ski boots this time! Instead I parked on the road coming into the lot. A little bit of a walk but not bad. Mike was able to reclaim his spot on the front row a little while later. Regardless, it’s clear that I need someone who is responsible for clipping on my mittens before I leave the house. [Insert eye roll here…]

My second dope slap happened during my first run down the mountain. The ski boots I rented have a latch in the back of each boot that can be set in 2 positions - closed for skiing or open for walking (without skis). Ski boots are designed to be incredibly stiff so they are really hard to walk in. By opening this latch some of this tension is released thereby making it slightly easier to walk. I didn’t know these boots had this feature until AFTER I got off the mountain yesterday so wanted to make sure that I used it today. Opening the latch was the first thing I did after parking the truck. I had a bit of downhill walk to ski area. Definitely made walking easier. 

Of course I completely forgot that the latches on both boots were open and proceeded to ski with them that way util halfway down the mountain on my first run. The reason ski boots are tight and stiff is so that as your foot moves so does the boot and, by extension, the ski. The faster you go the more important it is to have as little delay as possible since a fraction of a second is all that separates a great run or recovery from a mountain yard sale or worse. (A mountain yard sale is when you crash so hard the force of the impact ejects your skis, poles and anything that isn’t strapped down. They are also known to be painful and injury producing.) At first I thought it was just fatigue, but I kept thinking about why I was having such a hard time, and eventually the light bulb went off. Quick stop on the trail, flip both latches closed and take off again. Instantly better. I’m a dope. 

Both of my mistakes reminded me of sailing and sailing with Damian. When I leave the house for the sailing club, I know what I need to take with me. First on the list is my life jacket also known as a PFD - personal flotation device. Not long after Damian started sailing he started grousing about having to wear a PFD when Dawn and I didn’t have to. At some point I just said, “Look, I’ll wear mine, too.” And I did. Anytime I got on a race boat under 25 feet I always wore my PFD, Even when nobody else on boat was wearing one. Even when it was a 100 degrees outside. So fair or unfair I was always on Damian about wearing his. This also meant that I had to be on him to put it in the truck before we left the house. One time we got to lake only to find that he had left his PFD at home. His first response was, “Well, I guess we have to go home and get it.” Nope. Instead, I made him wear one of those orange life jackets that they have at summer camp. Dawn and I refer to these as the “life jackets of shame”. The point being: Don’t forget to bring your life jacket with you. I don’t recall him forgetting to do so again. Guess it worked. 

There was also the time he and his all-teen crew were doing great in a local club regatta. Solidly in 2nd place and against some good competition. When they bent on the spinnaker they had neglected to tape closed the quick shackle. A quick shackle has a spring loaded hasp that you can open with just a little bit of thumb pressure. They can also be released, unexpectedly by coming into contact with other parts on the boat. And it’s for this reason that we always tape them closed. Because if they pop open unexpectedly, two things will happen: 1) the halyard that the clip is tied to will continue to go up the mast sans the sail it’s supposed to be hoisting and it will be high enough up the mast that you will not be able to grab it and pull it back down; 2) the sail that you want or need in the moment will no longer be available since the required halyard is unreachable and, therefore, unusable. Less than 5 cents worth of electrical tape will all but eliminate this problem. The tape, wrapped around the shackle after the sail has been bent on prevents the shackle from opening spontaneously. Someone has to peel the tape off first. 

Of course, this happened to Damian in a race that he and his team were doing well in. During the first spinnaker hoist of the first race on day 2, the shackle popped open and the spinnaker fell onto the deck. As a result instead of finishing in the top 3 for the regatta, Damian’s team finished 4th overall. He was furious, but I kept telling him that some lessons are best learned the hard way. I wasn’t the only one. Several of the other sailors in the club told him the same thing. They also told him that it had happened to them and that it only takes that one time to make sure that it never happens again. 

I liked teaching Damian about life, a lot of  my teachings done through sailing or sailing metaphors. I think I was doing a good job. Obvious bias notwithstanding, I think he was well on his way to becoming an upstanding young adult. It saddens me that I won’t get to continue to watch him mature and really develop his full sense of self. Guess I’ll just have to settle for day dreaming about how he would have turned out and what he would be doing  as he got older. 

Not even close to the same thing, but this all I have left.