Temperatures are beginning to fall. In the morning, frost glazes the grass and clings to the cars. Stepping outside, the air is chilly and crisp. Winter is approaching and many memories are yet to be made. Lakeland community members share stories of their winter past as we prepare for the upcoming season.
Joshua Ballard
When I was a kid in the Philippines, I always dreamed of skiing. It wasn’t until my 20s that I was finally able to try it for the first time in North Idaho. I remember the day we decided to go up, and even though the weather was gloomy, I was extremely excited. The rainy weather didn’t matter to me, I was ready to ski like a champion. I had seen the Winter Olympics–I felt confident that I could do all those things. When I finally got my skis on, I started to slide, slide, and slide! I could not stop. After 3 hours of being humbled on the bunny hill, I eventually started to figure out the pizza method. Slowly but surely, I gained some control over my own gravity.
After lunch, my cousin looked at me and said, “I think you are ready for the slopes! I’m gonna take you up on an easy one called the Trench of Terror. Don’t worry about the name, it’s meant sarcastically.” I agreed, and when we got to the top, I realized that ski resorts do NOT name their slopes sarcastically. I barely survived that day by sliding down in a seated position. But even then, I lost control many times and spiraled into the ditches. After that experience, I learned the rating system myself–greens, blues, blacks, etc. to protect myself from friends trying to fool me. I have been skiing many times since then, and today, it is one of my favorite things in the world. I look forward to the winters simply for the joys of skiing! Last season, I went down my first ever black diamond. I can’t wait to hit the slopes soon.
Leeann Lohf
My favorite memory about snow was a few years ago when we first moved to Idaho. Idaho snow is definitely different than Wisconsin snow. My sister had come over and we all went outside, there was so much snow. We had to leap across the ground because the snow was too high to walk normally and we went out to the woods near our house where the trees were covered with snow. We would pull the branches down and the snow would fall off and land all over us. Then, when it got dark we would play hide and seek in the snowy woods and it was so much fun. I am so excited for this winter. Everyone has told me it will be a snow-filled winter and I have high hopes.
Ella Clark
I have been skiing my whole life. I used to live in Colorado and that’s where I first began learning how to ski, in the Rockies. By the time I moved up here to Idaho, I was pretty skilled and I knew my way around a slope. One day however, when I was around 10 or 11 years old my family took a day to go to Lookout Pass to ski. It was towards the end of the day and I was completely exhausted. We were doing one of our final runs. I was sitting next to my mom on the chair lift talking away. When the time came to get off of the chair at the top of the mountain, I simply just didn’t. I forgot that part of getting off the chair is actually standing up. So when I didn’t make my way off the chair and I started to go back down the mountain my mom shouted at me to just jump off. I did as she said and it ended with me face planting in the snow, getting a mouthful of powder while ice made its way down my jacket. Just when I thought it couldn’t get any more embarrassing, apparently the lady in the chair behind me also decided not to get off the chair when she was supposed to because when I came up for air after falling, I was met with an entire new human landing directly on top of me. My face was back in the snow and the wind was thoroughly knocked out of me. That was one of the most funny and embarrassing moments of my life and it’s safe to say that that was my last run of the day.
Zakary Mobley
One of my favorite memories in the snow is whenever I’m up on Schweitzer snowboarding. This one time I went up it was beautiful and the sun was shining on the mountain it looked like that logo from Paramount which was pretty cool. The lines were pretty long but eventually, they started moving very slowly. Once I got on the lift I saw everything on the mountain like cabins and the plaza and huge paths down the mountain. I was so excited to start going. At first, it was a bit tricky because I didn’t know how to turn but eventually, I got the hang of it and I ended up riding on the softest and heaviest snow and made so much powder. The best part was just zooming down the mountain so very fast. It was like a roller coaster without the heights. What makes it even better is when you have someone to ride with so then you can go and race to the bottom.
Colleen Hall
My family has a tradition of sledding at the Coeur d’Alene Public Golf Course each winter. We hike through the snow to get to the 3rd fairway which has a huge hill, and since most people use the driving range to sled, we usually have this spot to ourselves. On the way to and from this hill, there is a statue of a bear with her cubs, and we always stop and take a picture. We have family photos here every winter. When we are done, we drink hot chocolate and have soup to warm up. It is something that makes the winter fun and not something to dread.
