Appeal Tribune
| WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2022 | 1B
OUTDOORS
An instructor works with a group of students at Mount Hood Meadows' ski school. PHOTOS COURTESY OF MOUNT HOOD MEADOWS
HITTING
THE
Zach Urness
Salem Statesman Journal
USA TODAY NETWORK
slopes
How to get your
kids started
downhill skiing,
while saving money
Over the previous two winters, I’d meant
to get my kids into downhill skiing but it
just didn’t happen. h The idea of jumping
into that world of gear, lessons, a steep
learning curve and significant expenses
with two kids and just one me was in-
timidating and a bit overwhelming. h But
this season, with them aged 5 and 7, I fi-
nally made it happen and it was a great
decision. There is nothing quite like the
thrill and confidence that comes from
learning to ski at a younger age. But it’s
still a lot. h Earlier this month, I talked
with Mount Hood Meadows lead ski in-
structor Tyler Barnes about getting kids
on the slopes for an episode of the Ex-
plore Oregon Podcast. We talked about
A young student makes their way down the hill during ski school.
what age to start kids on skis, what you
can reasonably expect at young ages and
the best ways to navigate gear and les-
sons while keeping expenses down. h
You can listen to the entire episode at
StatesmanJournal.com/explore or by
subscribing on Apple, Stitcher or Spotify.
Here’s a few highlights from the conver-
sation, which have been edited and
shortened.
Zach: In your years of ski instructing, what
benefits have you seen that come with learning
to ski and snowboard at a younger age?
Tyler: When kids learn to ski or snowboard
on their own and can do it on their own, it is
extremely gratifying. There are little milestones
and hurdles and successes that can happen ev-
ery time you go skiing or snowboarding, wheth-
er that’s riding the ballroom carpet, making
your first turns or adventuring into some slight-
ly deeper snow. There’s all these little chal-
lenges and it’s great to see them be successful
and have that smile on their face and the inde-
pendence that it gives them.
Zach: One of the big questions is what age to
try and make it happen. You see parents on the
slopes all the time with really young children.
But what’s a good age to start bringing your kids
up there, so they actually get a lot from the ex-
perience?
Tyler: As soon as they can walk, they can
start to get exposure to it. We offer a lesson
called “parent and me” for kids ages 3 to 6,
where the parent participates in the lesson with
See SKI SCHOOL, Page 2B
You're not made of sugar. Get outside and fish for free
Fishing
Henry Miller
Guest columnist
Not to cast shade on expired poet T.S.
Elliot, but around our house, February,
not April, is the cruelest month.
In 2021, we were without power for 13
days during and in the wake of the epic
Feb. 13 ice storm. Happy Valentine’s Day,
tundra toes.
This year, a spate of near-60ish-de-
gree days and full sun tripped the vent
fan to rattle to life in the greenhouse.
The thermostat hit 85 degrees on almost
the one-year anniversary of the ice
storm.
Crocuses, along with Salemites with
winter-pale, fish-belly-white appen-
dages poking out of shorts and T-shirts,
were in full bloom.
A day later?
There’s 100% chance of rain, verifi-
able by the pipping of the drops against
the office window, with a projected high
of 49 and an overnight low of 39.
How’s an angler/crabber/clammer
supposed to plan an outing?
Anybody know where to get a rain
suit with zip-off legs and sleeves on the
pants and jacket?
Shortly after arriving in the Great
Green Northwest several decades ago, a
fishing buddy had enough of my weath-
er sniveling.
“Damnit, Henry; this is Oregon.
You’re not made of sugar. Get out there!”
Point taken. Dan’s sentiments were
short, succinct and accurate, as experi-
ence has proven.
And in this case, prescient, because
despite a forecast of rain both days,
President’s Day Weekend, Feb. 19-20 are
the first of six Free Fishing Days in Ore-
gon this year, during which no licenses
or tags are required in the Beaver State
for anglers, crabbers and clammers.
On a personal note, despite being
fully validated and licensed, it gives me
and others who didn’t buy the add-on,
two-rod validation a chance to, ahem,
See MILLER, Page 2B
The fan kicked on at 85 degrees in the
greenhouse on Feb. 12. HENRY
MILLER/SPECIAL FOR THE STATESMAN JOURNAL