Saturday Skiing at Sundance

By Becky Ahlberg

Skiing at Sundance Ski Resort is a treasured memory I have of growing up as a Tate.  I will never forget Dad's first skis that he painted yellow and put baby food lids on for part of the bindings.  He was always making sacrifices so that his children could have this and many other wonderful opportunities.  I'm pretty sure that before dad became the director of the Wolfes Ski School, he taught night classes so that he and mom could buy our ski equipment.  After he became the director, he spent many hours and days working to make the ski school run smoothly and rarely got to enjoy a run down the hill.  Although, his ski equipment did improve over the years! 

Thanks, Dad, for making my ski memories some of the best of my life!

I remember in that first year of skiing, dad took us to a lot of different ski resorts: Park City, Snowbird, Alta, Solitude, Brighton, and Sundance.  I know that I didn't appreciate the chance to ski at all of these different resorts at the time, but I now know what a gift it was.  After all, it is the greatest snow on earth!

Pretty much all I could do that first year was snowplow.  I remember skiing at Snowbird just after a huge snowfall.  There I was, snowplowing down the hill, clearing a path through 2-3 feet of pristine Utah powder as I went down.  What a shame!  I also remember falling in that powder and getting stuck -  I seriously could not move! 

I'm not sure exactly when dad became the director of the Wolfes Ski School, but from there on out, Sundance Ski Resort became our home away from home on Saturdays during the winter months. 

My favorite skiing memories include:
*Riding in our good ole VW bug filled with people and ski gear up Provo Canyon each week
*Teaching for Wolfes Ski School
*Seeing "Charlie" (aka Grandpa Tate) at the base of the mountain with his ski hat sitting on his head just above his ears
*Many happy hours skiing with friends and cute boys (of course - I was a teenager for goodness sake)
*My K2 Cheeseburger skis that matched my orange ski jacket (A must, if you are skiing with cute boys.  I mean you've got to look good, right?)
*Cheese sandwiches, oranges, and mom's yummy raisin bread for lunch (everything always tasted so good on the mountain)
*Falling off the ski lift - really, it wasn't my fault!
*Seeing Robert Redford ("Bob") on occasion
*The delicious, thick bread and honey butter from the lodge
*Mom's heart and soul-warming chili for dinner when we got home

Honestly, I couldn't have asked for anything better!

We always tried to talk mom into going skiing with us.  But as I became a mother, myself, I realized she was no dummy.  She got an entire day to herself.  Being out in the cold all day long with all seven kids didn't even tempt her!

Thanks Mom and Dad for your love and sacrifice to give me and all of your kids this great opportunity that provided such rich experiences and a lifetime of wonderful memories!

Unfortunately, the only pictures we seem to have of our skiing days are Sundance Season Pass pictures. I would love if anyone else has any skiing pictures for them to share them with us all, because it was such huge and wonderful part of our lives.