Beech Mountain

The third part of our trip was spent skiing on Beech Mountain.  After leaving the cabin we drove north through Black Mountain.  Of course we had to stop and explore the town a little bit before moving on.  We hit up two local breweries and stopped in a few of their shops.  The drive up the mountain was done in the dark but was a fun, winding road with twists and hairpin turns.  I'm sure Josh had a blast maneuvering that road!

We checked into our condo for the night and settled in.  We had snatched up a $99 a person ski deal which included one day of skiing and accommodation.  This wasn't the nicest of places we stayed but definitely doable.

The next morning we got our first view of the mountain, barely.  A dense fog carpeted the town as we headed to rent our skis.  We were assured it would clear up by mid-morning so we headed up to the resort.

The resort had a nursery which was such a blessing.  We had called ahead and registered Mara so all we had to do when we got there was drop her off.  The lady running the day care was so amazing.  I was only able to pump a little the night before so she made sure to text me throughout the day so I could come and feed Mara.  She also sent me updates letting me know everything was going well.

I had never skied before and was excited (and a little nervous) for Josh to show me the ropes.  We started out on the bunny slopes learning the basics.  We covered snow plowing and stopping then moved on to criss-crossing the slope and the lift.  After I started feeling comfortable on the bunny slopes we moved to a little steeper hill nearby.  I don't think I ever made it down this hill without falling but luckily I was able to control almost all of my falls and didn't go head over heals.

Look at that form

We spent most of the morning practicing then took a short break for lunch and to check in on Mara.  Josh headed up the lift to try his hand at the black diamond and I trudged back to the bunny hill for some more practicing.  After a few more hours, Josh was convinced that I needed to go up the shortest lift and try my hand at a blue square.  I wasn't so sure but decided it was now or never.

I ended up falling a few times mainly because I didn't ski across the hill but tried to snow plow my way down.  I got going too fast and just couldn't control myself.

After one of my falls

Before the end of the day I ended up going down the blue square one more time while Josh hit up the harder slopes again.  The second time was a lot more difficult than the first as the sun had melted some of the snow making the hill a bit slushy.  Josh said he even noticed a difference on the harder runs.

Overall we had a great day.  The conditions weren't ideal but it was great to try something new and most of all do it together.  I loved having Josh teach me and hopefully we can hit the slopes again soon.  This time maybe I'll get off the bunny slopes!

Beech Mountain in the fog of the morning