For 2 days we are learning to ski at Massanutten Resort in Virginia. I’m on my guys trip along with my son Matt, brother-in-law Kelly and Uncle Mike. And with little skiing experience, we are starting things slow.
Planning
When I first mentioned I wanted to go skiing for our guys trip, there was a little hesitancy. Both of my boys have never skied in their lives. And even though Drew couldn’t make it, Kelly was also a beginner. He had only tried to ski once when he was a teenager with no instructions. And even though I’ve skied a few times before, it has been at least 18 years since the last time. So, I signed the 3 of us up for an afternoon lesson.
The only experienced skier among us is Mike. But even though we’re on vacation, he has to work. So, the 3 of us will plan to take our lesson while Mike works, and we’ll meet up for dinner. And the next day, we hope Mike can ski with us. Learning to ski at Massanutten Resort sounds fun, but there is so much else to do here. This is a four seasons resort with activities for all ages and great for families. For more information about this resort, see: Massanutten Resort® Virginia: VA Ski Area, Golf, WaterPark Vacation (massresort.com).
Getting to the Slopes
We booked a 1:00PM lesson yesterday through the resort concierge. We initially wanted to book an 11:00AM lesson on-line, but it sold-out before we could book. So, we got to catch-up on some sleep, which is good after 2 days of hiking. Though we have to check-in an hour before our lesson, and we’re running late. It takes us about 10 minutes to drive up the mountain from where we are staying. And we’re able to find some parking, and rush to find the Learning Center.
We check-in at the Learning Center, on the other side of the lodge near the slopes. Once checked-in, we go to the equipment rental building next door. Here we get our boots and the recommended helmets. Though our boots are tight, we manage to get them on. Then we get a large locker and put all of our shoes and stuff in it. Afterwards, we walk to the next building to get our skis. There’s a bunch of people in front of us and it’s almost 1:00. So when I get my skis first, I head outside to find our instructor.
Day 1 Learning to Ski at Massanutten Resort
Right outside, there are multiple instructors with skiers. We signed up for a group lesson, and I find my instructor Jim with a mom and daughter. He points where I can pick-up my ski poles. And once Matt and Kelly get their skis and come out, they get their poles and we’re ready to start.
Jim is 74 years old and has skied all his life. This has been his “retired job” for the last 6 years and he starts us with the basics. Then we take turns going down the bunny hill, falling and coming back up the magic carpet. We are all very rigid and tense, and get hot in our layers. It’s beautiful and sunny, but we don’t want to walk back to our locker in our boots. So we continue learning to ski in our layers, practicing for over an hour. But when I see Jim let the mom go on the bigger hill, I tell him I’m ready to go.
I go up the bunny slope a couple times and encourage Kelly and Matt to go too. I find it easier on the bigger hill, but Kelly and Matt are still pretty tense and struggle a bit. And after our lesson is over, we head back to thank Jim. He really did a great job, but we are ready for a break and head into the lodge for some food. Walking in our boots is difficult enough, but we have to walk up the stairs to get food. Matt gets some grab-n-go food to share, and then I’m ready to go back. But Matt wants to rest a little longer, so Kelly and I head back to the bunny slopes.
Continuing Learning to Ski at Massanutten
Leaving Matt in the lodge, Kelly goes back to the bunny slope while I head past it. Here is an easy slope called the Meadow, and it also has a magic carpet that takes you up the hill. However, this one takes much longer and feels like forever to get to the top. And while going up, I can feel pressure on my shins. It only seems to hurt while going up, but I go up and down a couple times with no falls. I convince Kelly to go up with me, but on the way down he falls. So he wants to go back to the bunny slopes to practice.
After going down again, I head back to the bunny slopes and see Matt has come back. Matt and Kelly are still practicing, but I’m done with the magic carpets and ready to try a chair lift. So, I go past them and go up the 1st chair lift and get on and off without a problem. Once off, I can go left or right and take the right through an easy pass to the Southern Comfort slope. This slope takes me back to the resort and again I have no problem. But it’s almost 5:00PM, and they’re closing for the day. So, I head back to return my equipment and meet back up with Matt and Kelly. But I’m ready for tomorrow.
Massanutten Overlook
After our 1st day of learning to ski at Massanutten Resort, Matt, Kelly and I are a little sore. But we are all in 1 piece and had a good time. But we are hungry and ready to meet Mike for dinner. But on the way down, I decide to make a quick stop at Massanutten Overlook.
After leaving the ski lodge, we take a turn on Delwebb Drive that winds up to the overlook. Here we find a small parking lot which is about half full. Not only is the overlook here, but there is a short trail along the ridge. And this is a popular time to be up here around sunset. But we just check out the overlook where we can see the slopes we we’re just on. And in the distance we can see the Blue Ridge Mountains. It’s worth the quick stop, but now we’re ready to get back for Mike’s chili he’s been cooking all day.
Glycerin Soap class
Soap class? Like I said there are many activities to do at Massanutten Resort for all ages. They have everything from golf and horseback riding to wine tasting, cooking and art classes. And when I was looking through their list of things to do for the week, Matt was interested. So, before we hit the slopes for our 2nd day, Matt and I are doing a soap making class.
We head to the Massanutten Fitness & Rec Center Club for our 9:00AM class. We find their Art Studio is in the back of the building on the opposite side of the main entrance. There are only 4 other people here, but in the summer they often fill-up all 28 seats in the class. And once we check-in, we find our seats and our instructor goes over the process. We will be using glycerin, not nitroglycerin, a common and safe base ingredient for soap. And we get to make 1 fun and 1 healthy soap bar.
For the fun bar, you can choose from a variety of things to put in your soap. I choose a plastic fish and some pebbles for bubbles. And for the healthy bar, I can choose 2 from a mix of chamomile, mint or oatmeal. I choose chamomile for relaxation and oatmeal for exfoliation. And Matt decides to make 2 healthy bars. After getting the ingredients, we can add drops of color and scents to stir in. I add blue coloring for my “fish” bar with coconut scenting. And for my healthy bar I add 1 drop of black currant coloring with lavender and vanilla scents. The whole process takes less than 30 minutes, but they need to harden overnight. So we’ll pick up our soap tomorrow.
Day 2 Skiing at Massanutten Resort
After returning from making soap, Matt decides he wants to pass on skiing today. But Mike is finished with work, and Kelly is ready to go. So, the 3 of us head back up the mountain. I have bruises on my shins where my boots rubbed yesterday, so I get a half-size bigger today. And Kelly decides to do the same. Feeling much looser, we get our skis and head outside. I tell Mike I want to warm-up on the easy Meadow slope with the long magic carpet. Similar to an escalator for skiers, we slowly head up while Kelly hits the bunny slope. After going down once, I’m ready to go back to the chair lifts.
When we head over we see Kelly complaining about his calves hurting. He’s still very tense, and says he’s going to get another size bigger boot. So, we head on and plan to meet back later. The 1st chair lift I did yesterday is down. So we head to the one just past the ski lodge and head-up. I feel a lot more comfortable today, especially with Mike. Once off, the take a left to go down the Southern Comfort slope I finished on yesterday. However, we make the mistake going around other skiers to the left where the ice is slow and slushy. But we make it to the bottom to go a few more times staying right. Mike decides to take a break at Base Camp just past the chair lift.
Base Camp and more skiing
Base Camp is a ski-up bar and restaurant where we can leave our ski-gear while we take a break. Mike orders some beers and I call Kelly to meet us. Once back together we enjoy a beer in the Sun. Afterwards, I convince Kelly to go up the chair lift with us.
When we get to the top, Mike says he just wants to go one more time. So, I convince Mike to catch another ski-lift half-way down to some blue slopes and we’ll meet Kelly at the bottom. I’m ready for something a little more challenging, so we head-up and take a left on Pacesetter. But unlike the name, this slope is much steeper and faster. I am able to zig-zag down trying to stay slow without falling. However, when I look back-up, Mike has fallen. He’s ok, so I wait for him to meet up, and we take the easy slope down to the lodge.
At this point, Mike is done so we head back to the equipment rentals and return our gear. We don’t see Kelly and I text him to see where he is. After about 20 minutes or so, he finally responds, so we wait for him. We find out later, that Kelly really enjoyed the easy slope and went back many more times. I told him sometimes you just need to go, and he did and felt much more relaxed. He’s hooked now, but unfortunately our day is over. So, we head back to meet Matt who’s making chili dogs for dinner.
Summary of Learning to Ski at Massanutten Resort
Learning to ski at Massanutten Resort was a fun experience. After taking a lesson with Matt and Kelly the 1st day, I was ready to ski. Our instructor Jim was great and started us off slow on the bunny slopes. And I was able to progress to the easy slopes the 2nd day without any issues. Though I was disappointed the 1st chair lift was down and limited our options. Matt sat out the 2nd day, but Mike joined us and made us all more comfortable. And in the end, Kelly and I were ready for more. Oh, and Matt and I had fun making soap and now we have gifts to bring back.
Unfortunately, the next day was rainy so we didn’t get back to ski for a 3rd day. But we enjoyed learning to ski at Massanutten Resort. Not only is it a nice place to ski, but it’s a great resort with a lot to do year round.
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