Got Snow? Then You Might as Well Have a Snow Ramp

It has snowed almost continually this month, and while many try valiantly and with much cursing to get rid of the stuff, we pile it up in our yard. Today's seven-inch dump is all powder and has added another foot to the height of our snow ramp. My husband, who is Mr. Safety by day (he does outdoor safety for a nearby college), has built an homage to the winter fun gods with nothing more than a snowblower and a shovel: it's the mighty snow ramp.

He practiced last March when it finally snowed here in Maine, and the ramp was such a hit, our younger son spent the summer saying, "I wish it was winter."
"Um, why?" I'd ask because this was the boy who refused to go out the winter he was 2-3.
"Because then daddy can build a snow ramp."
"But it's fun to go swimming isn't it?"
"Yeah, but I like sledding better."

And this year cross country skiing, snoeshowing, and snowboarding too. The five-year-old is giving me tips on how to get down the ramp in a full and upright position: "Bend your knees mom. More." These 44-year-old knees don't bend so well, but I think merely trying this wards off the aging process. I am getting pretty good. I have actually made it down the slope without falling.

I may even have learned how to do a tele-turn, finally, about 14 years after I gave up. It turns out you're supposed to not only bend one knee, but also put weight on the other ski. Who knew. That might have saved me the hip-to-knee bruising I used to endure while trying to learn this style of skiing.

Our older son even got out his new downhill skis and learned some skiing basics (snowplow, turn) with dad pulling him back up with an old rock climbing rope. We call it the daddy rope tow.

Yes, the ski ramp. Endless hours of fun and free entertainment. All you need is a little snow (OK, a lot), a snowblower, a shovel and a husband with imagination.