Pomerleau Family Blog: The kids first time skiing and fun at Black Butte in late January

Last spring at the kids' school auction, I purchased a ski and lodging package for the 2019-2020 ski season with 2 adult ski tickets to Mt. Bachelor and lodging at Black Butte. We decided to sell our Mt. Bachelor ski tickets as it was quite far from Black Butte and Hoodoo was only 15 minutes away. I was able to sell the tickets and pay for most of our Hoodoo tickets and lessons and the kids' rentals as Hoodoo is a much cheaper place to ski at than Mt. Bachelor. I also like Hoodoo better because it is a smaller easier mountain and less crowded, a perfect mountain to learn to ski on. We chose to go on our trip at the end of January when there would hopefully more snow on Hoodoo and the kids had a 3 day weekend but it was the weekend after MLK Day so not everyone was off.

We left on a Saturday after Brandon's morning basketball game and dropped Lulu off in Albany on the way with my Dad as our Black Butte cottage didn't allow dogs and we would be skiing most of Sunday. We got to Black Butte at around 3:00 PM and it was pretty easy going over the mountains as there was not a lot of snow. I was worried it was going to be rainy and windy the next day but it looked like we were going to have good weather with snow and little wind. We checked into our cottage which was super cute. It was two bedrooms upstairs with 2 bathrooms. There were pretty views of the mountains and a view of the lake and a nice deck. We unpacked and then headed to the nearby hot tub before dinner. The hot tub was super nice-huge with really nice views of the mountains and outdoors. After the hot tub, we went to a really good dinner at Three Creeks Brewing Company with very yummy home brewed beer. Then we headed home and played Sushi Go and got the kids to bed as we had a full day at the mountain the next day.

We stopped at Panera on the way for lunch and Olivia got a yummy cinnamon roll

Chilling and watching her iPad at our rental house

Cute chairs next to a good view

View outside our window

Brandon outside playing in the left over snow

The hot tub location

Mountain views every where

We got up around 7:30 AM the next day and we all ate a good breakfast and got our ski gear on. We headed to the mountain around 9:00 AM and got there by 9:30 AM. It was not super crowded which was nice and we were able to get the kids checked into their ski school and rent their equipment fairly quickly. The kids had lessons at 11:00 AM so we took them out and attempted to show them how to ski and maneuver around. Hoodoo actually had a ski lift bunny hill which was rather long. The kids just practiced going down small hills near the bunny hill until their lessons started. They had a 2 hour lesson which taught them the basics of stopping, turning, moving around in their skis. The goal was for them to be able to go on the chair lift and down the bunny hill after their lesson ended. It was nice because Sean and I had two hours to go off skiing on our own. We both had not skied for 10 years so it took a little bit to get used to it again but luckily it is bit like riding a bike so it wasn't too hard to pick back up after all these years. Sean and I went on several green runs together and it was such a beautiful day up on the mountain with lots of sunshine and great weather. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed being out on the mountain.

Walking into Hoodoo

All ready to ski

Carrying skis to the mountain

The kids are excited for ski school

Olivia skiing at ski school

Olivia turning at ski school

So relaxing up on the mountain

Beautiful views

Both kids practicing at ski school

The kids did great at ski school and both moved up to the next level. They also said the kids were ready for the bunny hill chair lift! We took a break and had lunch in the lodge. The food was pretty good and decently priced. We headed back out to the mountain around 2:00 PM and ended up skiing until 5:00 PM when it closed. The kids started off a bit wobbly on the bunny hill and we found it was easier for them to learn without poles and with us holding onto one of their arms. At first they flew down the bunny hill as they were not that adept at stopping but we got them to learn how to turn and by the end they were both going down the bunny hill easily and getting on the lifts really well. Both kids proclaimed that they loved skiing and wanted to go again! There were no major falls either.

Selfie with my girl skiing

Olivia loved skiing

Selfie with Brandon

Brandon going down the bunny slopes

Olivia going down the bunny slopes

Up on top of the bunny hill

And he is off

Olivia and Sean skiing

Such a beautiful day at the mountain

We got back to Black Butte around 5:30 PM and immediately changed into our swimming suits to enjoy the hot tub before it closed at 7:00 PM. We were pretty cold and tired after our skiing and the hot tub felt great. The night sky was so pretty. We went into Sisters for dinner and ate at a fun dinner at Sisters Saloon which made us feel like we were eating at an old restaurant from the early 1900s. I had an amazing prime rib french dip sandwich and Sean had trout. Olivia was happy because they had buttered noodles and Brandon got a a yummy burger. We headed back home and headed to bed as we were pretty pooped from our day of skiing. The next morning we made breakfast and got up and took our time packing up. We went in the hot tub one last time and then left Black Butte by 11:00 AM as we had to meet my dad in Albany by 1:15 PM to pick up Lulu. We got Lulu and then headed to Inn and Out Burger in Salem for lunch. I got Cafe Yum while Sean and Brandon got IN and Out Burger-they were lucky and only had to wait about 25 minutes. We then headed home and took Olivia to gymnastics. It was a really fun long weekend.