Elise and Ryan live with their 1 year old Kian in Huntington, Vermont a short drive from the base of Mad River Glen. This series of blog posts will focus on raising their son Skiin’ Kian at Mad River Glen, as a first hand account of a young family’s switch from the big resort.
Let’s start on October 7, 2018. My husband, Ryan and I are going stir crazy with a fussy baby on a rainy day. We decide to take a drive toward the Valley and as we are just getting over the App Gap, the rain stops, and the skies open up. We pull into the lot at MRG, the Single Chair is turning for foliage rides, and Kian has his first ever lift experience strapped to me in a carrier at 3 months old. We finish the ride, have a beer and some fries at the bar, a band is cranking out good tunes. And I turn to Ryan, “I can see us here. This feels like home.”
Fast forward to December 2019. We have officially become a Mad River Glen family. Our first day skiing we had full run of the second floor of the lodge. Kian enthusiastically said, “hi!” to every. single. person. that came up the stairs, forcing me to make friends quickly. Ryan took a couple of runs, I took a few runs too. We had breakfast sammie’s and set up for a nap in the corner. Kian continued to make us friends by finding out what hidden treasures people had in their bags and putting his new helmet on backwards. His favorite part of the day? Sitting by the big window watching people cruise on down. “Wow!”
New Year’s Day 2020. A busy, beautiful day at the mountain. We brought Kian’s sled and decided that he was going to get some fresh air. No time spent indoors for us. While I pulled and chased Kian around outside, Ryan took laps. Instead of feeling like my little dude was perpetually in the way, I felt positive vibes from our new ski community. Other toddlers showing Kian their cool skis, talking gear with a new mom friend on the porch, people making sure I didn’t lose Kian’s pacifier in the snow. I felt right at home.
