Downhill for the first time

MERRIMAC, Wis.

Three things you could do without when you’re 61 and about to try downhill skiing for the first time:

-Walking across the ski resort parking lot, in normal boots, you slip on ice and almost fall.

-Standing at the bottom of an intermediate run, you watch the Ski Patrol bring an injured high-school girl off the slope on a litter.

-You ask your ski instructor why she doesn’t use poles, and she says, “Because I’ve fallen and broken my thumbs so many times, I can’t hold poles.”

Hmmmm. Maybe this wasn’t such a hot idea.

But wait . . . I’m sitting here writing this story, which means I didn’t die. I’m typing with both hands, which means I didn’t break an arm or tear a rotator cuff. I still walk fine.

And, I was just thinking what a blast it was to soar down that intermediate, not beginner, run--the same run the high school girl was injured on--just before I headed home after my second day at Devil’s Head Resort.

Look at me. I’m a skier.

My secret? The same as most things in life: practice, practice, practice.

A colleague who skis black-diamond trails in the U.S. and abroad says he thinks people who learn to ski in the Midwest are better technical skiers than those who earned their chops on the big mountains out West. That’s because a lot of Midwest resorts, like Devil’s Head, may have only 10 or 15 runs total for beginner, intermediate and expert skiers. A Colorado or Utah resort may have double or triple that many just for beginners.

So, yeah, it can get boring doing the same run over and over at a Midwest resort with a limited number of runs, but the repetition is a great, free teacher.

I saw that my first day at Devil’s Head, the last weekend in January. Early winter was mild, but 6 to 8 inches of Mother Nature snow covered the ground, and the runs had snow-making equipment to help out if needed.

At the gathering point for the first group lessons of the day, about 20 wannabe skiers and snowboarders, ranging from teens to a codger or two like me, stood around awkwardly, not quite sure what to do with their rented equipment.

Instructors were plentiful, so groups were small. Don’t know if they took one look at me and decided, “he’s hopeless,” but I got put into a chick group--Micke, 27; Lanie, 32; and Emma, a high schooler.

Over the next hour and a half, Kasey of the broken thumbs, who was in my age category, took us from a quartet who didn’t even know how to put on our skis to a foursome who could make it down a minor hill, doing a couple of (not very pretty) turns in the process and stopping at the bottom without falling or running over anyone.

We started with some basic lessons on the flat area at the bottom of the hill, learning how to turn around without getting our skis crossed and how to step with one ski to initiate a turn. Eventually, we followed Kasey up the tow rope, getting off halfway up to get down to the nitty gritty. I was the first to fall going down the hill, slamming butt-first onto what I found was very hard, packed and icy snow. Lanie took a dive shortly after, and Emma, being a kid, took to skis like she was born with them on.

Micke had the hardest time, falling several times before we even went up the hill and at one time lying on the ground muttering, “I don’t think this was such a good idea.”

But, to her credit (and lucky for her husband, who had talked her into the trip for their anniversary), she stuck with it, and while the other three of us were going down the hill with Kasey, Micke practiced at the bottom with tips from Kasey. She eventually made it up the hill on the tow rope and successfully back down.

“I was getting very mad and thinking about quitting,” she said after the lesson. “I was thinking what a horrible idea this was; that it was just a rotten evil thing my husband did to me,” she added, laughing.

Lanie, who snowshoes, kayaks and does lots of other outdoorsy stuff, was bowed but not broken: “I guess this was a little bit harder than I expected it to be. I fell down once coming down, but then after the class I fell down a couple times.”

But she added, “If I can get better by the end of the next two days, I’m going to do more. I wasn’t disappointed. I would do it again absolutely.”

After our 1 1/2-hour lesson, I spent another hour and a half riding the tow rope halfway up the hill and skiing back down. After some success there, I got a little cocky and went all the way to the top, though this was still the “bunny” hill. I crashed and burned my first three times from the top, but the repetition and trying to figure out what caused the crashes paid off--the fourth time was the charm, and, boy, did I feel like I’d just won the gold medal in the Olympics giant slalom.

After a few more confidence-building runs--and a near fall my last run that taught me not to put too much weight on my downhill ski--it was time for lunch and lounging.

Sometimes the hardest part of any athletic activity is getting out the door, and that’s how I felt about going out again at 3:30 p.m. My mind said go, but my achy butt, knees and thighs screamed, “Nooooooooooooo!”

Ibuprofen ruled, though, and for another hour and a half it was ride the tow to the top, then head downhill and turn, turn, turn to the bottom. Other than the first run, there were no more falls.

The next morning, I took two more runs down the bunny hill, just to convince myself I still remembered Saturday’s lessons. In the process, I thought of perhaps the biggest plus of leaving the beginner’s hill--no more rope tow. The thing is more work than the actual skiing.

Then, with a little trepidation, I headed to the chairlift that went to the top of the main beginner’s run.

At the top, I made a clumsy exit off the lift and slid out of control past a few people and nearly buried myself in some bushes. Very impressive.

But it was go time.

I shoved off from the lift area, made a quick left turn onto the run with surprisingly little effort and started to pick up speed, cutting back and forth across the hill to control it. Midway down I hit the steepest section--which an instructor had told me to expect--continued to gain speed, but easily made the turn. About two minutes from the top I was at the bottom--without any falls--and rushing to get back on the lift. This was great!

About my fourth time down, I had to maneuver around a bunch of snowboarders and skiers who had crashed or who were going slower than me, and it occurred to me that I was unconsciously making little adjustments as I steered down the hill. Because of all that repetition, yesterday’s out-of-control, herky-jerky turns had evolved into today’s lookin’-pretty-good turns. Cool.

I did the run 10 times that morning and never fell, feeling more confident every time down. I shared the chairlift with other skiers, including a couple from the south suburbs who were in their 60s. She didn’t learn to ski until she was 57 and loves it.

Of course, I couldn’t leave without taking a crack at an intermediate run.

The steeper slope was exhilarating and a little terrifying at the same time, two emotions that often go hand-in-hand.

I’d like to say I completed the day crash free, but about two-thirds of the way down I came up on a slower skier, momentarily panicked and went down. But no harm. The rest of the run was a joy, and the fall hadn’t wiped out the feeling that all that practice paid off.

As I clomp-clomp-clomped back to my room with my skis over my shoulder, the tweens and teens may have wondered who was the old guy with the big, goofy grin plastered across his face.

He was a skier.

Devil’s Head Resort is about 185 miles from Chicago via Interstate Highway 90 and Wisconsin Highway 78 (Exit 108A ) near Merrimac. Figure about a 3-hour drive.

PACKAGES

Unless you’re just zipping up to Devil’s Head for the day, your best option probably is to go with one of several packages offered, such as the Chicagoland Express Package I took. It’s advertised at $275 per person, double occupancy during peak season and includes Friday and Saturday night lodging, lift tickets for Saturday and Sunday, two coupons that can be used for breakfast or lunch, a coupon good for a dinner entree, and a coupon for one large pizza. Because I was alone, I had to pay a single-occupancy penalty, so the package cost me $419. Price would have been higher for a ritzier room, but my basic room was fine. It was large, had two double beds, a tub/shower combination, separate table and chairs and dresser holding a TV that was about 21 inches. There are also a variety of other packages.

The resort seems to be a popular destination for families and groups,

LIFT TICKETS, RENTALS, LESSONS

Lift tickets: If you don’t buy a package, lift tickets on weekends are $42 a day for adults and $35 for kids and seniors. If you’re into nighttime schussing, a combined day/night ticket is $47 or $40. Multiday tickets are $72 for adults and $65 for kids and seniors.

Rentals: Adults pay $22 a day and kids and seniors $18, but if you’ve bought a package it drops to $20 and $15. Rental includes, of course, skis, boots and poles.

Lessons: Group lessons are $20 for a 1 1/2-hour class, and private are $40 for an hour. If you’ve bought a package, the group lesson is only $15. For rank beginners, the group lesson is fine, since class sizes are small, and from what I saw, group and private lessons cover the same basics. The private lessons would be better for skiers with some experience who are looking to improve.

EATING THERE

A good breakfast buffet (10 bucks or one of those coupons from the package) is served in Dante’s Room, which also has lunch and a dinner buffet on weekends. The breakfast buffet also includes omelets made to order.

The Avalanche Bar and Grill, has burger, brats, etc. that are very marginal since they’re precooked. I had my cheeseburger within about 60 seconds of ordering, and I would definitely have taken a McDonald’s quarter-pounder over what I was served. And there’s no such thing as “non-smoking” in the Avalanche.

Corncucopia, billed as the resort’s “fine-dining” option, is open only for dinner and serves very respectable steaks, prime rib, seafood, etc. The coupon that comes with the package will cover most entrees, though there’s an upcharge for a few items that go over $30.

A cafeteria serves from 10 a.m.-10 p.m., and another restaurant, Smokies Rotisserie, wasn’t in operation when I was there.

The Devil’s Den is an expansive bar that has live entertainment at night (and also on Saturday afternoon when I was there). If you love second-hand smoke, you’ll be in paradise.

INFORMATION

Devil’s Head Resort: 800-472-6670; www.devilsheadresort.com

For information on other ski areas in Wisconsin, check out the Wisconsin Department of Tourism at www.travelwisconsin.com; 800-432-8747.

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pamarty@tribune.com