One final day on the slopes with my dad
The view on Dec. 25 from the top of Happiness Is at Kirkwood. Photo/Kathryn Reed
By Kathryn Reed
KIRKWOOD – It had been a number of years since I spent Christmas with my dad. But that’s just what I did yesterday.
Spending a holiday with a parent isn’t all that remarkable. Only in this case my dad died in April 2010.
Kirkwood Mountain Resort was always my dad’s favorite ski resort. As a kid I remember day trips to the mountain from our home in the Bay Area. The back bowl was his favorite. The wide-open expanse, surrounded in wilderness. He was happy to take lap after lap on the groomers, mostly blues, but he didn’t shy away from the blacks.
Don Reed in 1982.
My parents learned to ski when they were in their 40s. Being the youngest of four kids, I benefited the most from this new found sport by being taken on wonderful ski vacations that my two oldest sisters never experienced.
I grew up skiing at Northstar and Squaw. For years every February we rented a house right on the slopes of Squaw with two other families. Those are some of my most cherished childhood memories.
My dad’s last day on skis is still etched into my memory, but in a sad way. It was me, dad and my sister, Pam, at Sierra-at-Tahoe. Dad was having a hard time turning. He couldn’t tell his feet what to do. He kept falling.
Neuropathy won that day. This was one of the lingering effects of chemotherapy. He survived colon cancer, but not unscathed.
Dad had to be taken down in a toboggan by ski patrol.
My dad was a strong, prideful man. To see him in this weakened state was hard. I can only imagine what it did to his pride. It was good Pam was there; dad listened to her. And as a nurse practitioner she could explain to the ski patrol what was going on.
I took some of my dad’s ashes with me to Kirkwood on Sunday. We rode a couple lifts together. He was protected in my inside jacket pocket. We skied a run together off the Sunrise lift. Then it was time to say goodbye again. A little part of him is at the top of the Happiness Is run.
It was one of the best days I ever had skiing with my dad. And now my last day of skiing with him, while still sad, is mostly happy in knowing that his ashes are part of the mountain that brought so much joy to him while he was alive.
Thank you for sharing your day with dad on the slopes! I am sure he enjoyed the day as well! Your dad is lucky to have you continue to have such great memories! I’m sure he was there with you!
It was a beautiful day at Kirkwood on Christmas. Good snow, chilly and not many people. A great day to ski with your Dad ! Very nice Kathryn.
Thank you so much for sharing this experience. In September, my husband and I lost the last of our parents. I often think of them when we do activities we shared, or come across something one of them loved. In my own father’s case, he was a CalTrans engineer and loved bridges, for their beauty as well as utility. Whenever I see a beautiful bridge, I think of him.
What a charming way to spend a day with Dad. He loved skiing, hated to give it up, although he did so with grace, so surely from some ethereal place (or deep inside your heart and mind) he thoroughly enjoyed one more day on the slopes …especially with you.
“The God’s envy us our simple human pleasures which are a direct result of our limitations in time and space.”
Alice O. Howell Nov 13, 1922-Oct 28, 2014
Smiling at your memories, dedication and love. You are a good daughter, Kae.
Beautiful story, Kae.
Thank you Kathryn for sharing this special story. The reward for your father is the grateful and thankful memories you have of him.
Although they did not ski my parents also brought us up to take lessons at Heavenly each year. Later Sierra Ski Ranch became the place we would go. Like you my Dad learned to ski in his 40’s. My Mom was at the lodge with lunch prepared including homemade soup and a stack of papers to correct. Those annual trips to Tahoe that started out typically as once in the winter and once in the summer gave us a love for everything about Tahoe which has impacted their children’s and grandchildren’s lives forever. We are blessed!
“Those whom we have loved never really leave us. They live on forever in our hearts, and cast their radiant light onto our every shadow.” ~Sylvana Rossetti
It seems that your dad illuminated your Christmas like nothing else could of. What wonderful memories. And just think of all those skiers who get to ‘meet’ him on the slopes as well.
What a true gift for all.
Thank you Kae for such a loving story – you brought a tear of joy to my eyes. Merry Christmas – Joyce
Thanks Kae for sharing your day with Dad with all of us. I didn’t have those same skiing memories, being one of your older sisters, but I do know how much he enjoyed it. A very memorable Christmas for you!
Kae, all those loving remarks above I can’t surpass, but when I saw your photo taken from the top of the hill I was right there with you and your Dad. When you made your turns on that groomed slope, I could feel the power in each turn and wished I was actually sharing the experience with you. OOh, maybe I was!