BIG DAY!
I’m not sure exactly when he started saying it. We know it wasn’t Cedar’s first words, but we suspect it was one of the first phrases out of his tiny mouth. Since then, it’s become one of our favourite ways to describe upcoming adventures. It’s not unusual in the Lum household to remind each other—often multiple times—before embarking on something new or exciting by randomly yelling:
BIG DAY!
Travelling? Big Day!
Going on an Airplane? Big Day!
Snowboard School? Definitely… BIG DAY!
We’ve used it many times this trip already, especially before things like Cedar’s first snowboard school lesson—partly to make sure the stoke factor is high, and partly because neither his Mom nor I were entirely sure how he’d react to being dropped off with strangers in a new country, likely speaking English as a second (or third) language, to learn a sport he’s only tried once back in Canada.
Either way, Monday in Saas Fee was shaping up to be a BIG DAY.
We awoke to a perfect bluebird day, and after a quick breakfast, hustled down to the ski room to grab our gear and head to the base of the mountain to meet Cedar’s teacher from the Eskimo Ski/Snowboard School. We had originally enrolled him in group lessons, but a few days earlier the school let us know there weren’t enough kids for a snowboard group. Turns out Cedar was the youngest little shredder on the mountain, so instead of group lessons, he’d be getting private instruction. Fine by us. He ended up with not one, but two instructors: Louie, a Swiss guy with four different passports, and Alexe, a newer teacher from France who was shadowing Louie—and who, it turns out, carries chocolates in her pockets. (definitely knew the way to Cedar’s heart)
After a quick chat—and with zero hesitation—he was off, waving goodbye and following his teachers up the mountain, board in hand.
That left Sheila and I free to spend the morning snowboarding.
While this wasn’t my first snowboarding experience in Saas Fee, this time—with better equipment and incredible weather—it was exactly what I hoped it would be. I can’t really explain the feeling of heading up the gondola, then transferring to the highest underground metro in the world, and emerging at the top of a pristine snowcapped glacier.
As Sabine put it:
“The most beautiful mountain in the world.”
She’s is not wrong.
I’m not an adventurous snowboarder, but I am comfortable and can hold my own on most runs. There’s nothing like it—sun in your face, cold alpine air, the freedom and space to carve huge long turns in fresh powder. I’ve played a lot of sports in my life, but not many give me the same feeling. The almost contradictory adrenaline rush mixed with zen flow state all at the same time.
That’s a huge part of why we want Cedar to learn now—we want to be a family that snowboards together. And from the looks of Day 1, we’re on the right track. When we returned to pick him up, Cedar, Louie, and Alexe were all grinning ear to ear.
“Honestly,” Louie said, “he reminds me of me when I was a kid—so stoked, wants to go again and again.”
We spent the afternoon goofing around on the bunny hill so he could show off his moves. He was so proud—and we were too. After that, we introduced Cedar to the other great tradition of winter sports: Après-snowboard. We found a great little spot at the bottom of the mountain, grabbed a supersized fruit drink for Cedar and a couple of well-earned beers for Mom and Dad.
BIG DAY.
Total Victory.
And good thing too—because our plan is to snowboard at least 8 out of the next 10 days.
2 responses to “A Big (Bluebird) Day & Cedar Goes Back to School”
We are so happy that Cedar enjoyed his snow boarding and went with the instructors. As I always said as a kid I would rather be in the Swish Alps then in school.
I loved to read this blog. I almost felt the fresh air on my skin. Happy snowboarding!