All in the family
Skiing at heart of these Downhill Dynasties
Ona recent day at Stratton Mountain in Vermont, 85-year-old Elsi Hendell carved some turns with her daughter, Deborah Shimko. Across that same mountain, her five grandchildren were skiing, jumping, practicing (one for the upcoming World Cup). And at the base, snuggled in a stroller, her great-granddaughter gazed up at the mountain, waiting for her time to come.
In Jackson, N.H., that same day, 21 members of the Carrier family gathered, as they always have, to ski, laugh, ski more, and most of all, chow on their mom’s daily mountainside soup.
At Ragged Mountain in Danbury, N.H., Janine Murdy took some runs along with 14 other family members, including her dad and her daughter, savoring the memories of 30 years of family skiing at the same spot.
They are, one and all, what we might call Downhill Dynasties. Families with three — and even four — generations of dedicated skiers who have grown up sharing not just the sport but also the lifestyle they love so much.
“This was always my dream,” Shimko said. “To have a house in Vermont and a family that loved this as much as I do. I always knew I wanted it, now I have it.”
Shimko learned to ski as a small child. Her mom had learned at 35 when, as an escapee of the Holocaust, she found it as a sport and a way to find peace. While her mom could never afford a ski home, she found a way to keep her daughter on snow — and often with her.
Today, Hendell can see her dedication to the sport paying off through generations.
The family all has their own places on the hill to ski, as well as their own group of peers, said Shimko. But that’s part of the beauty of raising a ski family on a mountain like Stratton.
“Everybody can do what they need to do on the same mountain,” she said, “and yet we all come together, too. All my kids’ lives, they wanted to spend the weekends with us. What a gift it is in today’s world to have all your teen kids want to spend weekends with you.”
The Carrier family’s ski dynasty started when Gerald and Del Carrier discovered skiing and purchased a chalet at a thenpopular family mountain named Tyrol in Jackson, N.H., in 1969. As their children grew, Tyrol was a true second home, with the kids not putting up with but rather demanding they make the weekly drive from New Bedford to Jackson to get to their fam- ily ski house each weekend and holiday.
“We saw it right away, the value this could bring to raising a family,” Del said. “We all like to be outdoors in the fresh air. And the beauty, you just cannot see it anywhere else.” The Carrier kids grew up skiing right out their back door, allowed to roam the mountain with their groups of friends. But there was one hard rule: “They had to come back here for lunch,” she said. “I always had a soup or something ready. It was a nice check-in.”
Today, that ski area has closed, but the Carrier home still is there, three times the size it was, and hosting, on any given day, 21 folks from three generations — and a few dogs as well.
“I’m really happy all the grandchildren took to it,” said Carrier, who still skis in her 80s and loves taking runs with the kids. And now, they await their first greatgrandchild, who is coming soon. “We will get that child on skis right away,” she said.
Janine Murdy started skiing in seventh grade at Mount Tom, thanks to a ski club. But when she married, she joined a ski family that grew to be a Downhill Dynasty. “For 30 years, his family has been going to Ragged Mountain, and we all still are,” Murdy said. “Every kid learned there; all the babies slept on the floor in the lodge there. It’s a really special feeling to have so many generations a part of something like this. It truly is part of who we are.” She’s done her part to extend the legacy on her side of the family as well. Her daughter, Katie, was first on skis at Ragged at 17 months old.
“We basically were just dragging her around on them then,” she said. Now, nearly 3, she can ski top to bottom. Better yet, Murdy got her dad, Don, to start skiing at 57. He’s now an enthusiastic member of the dynasty as well. “He saw how much fun it is and realized it’s never too late to learn,” she said.
They are all thankful for their shared love, she said.
“Winter can be a real downer for some,” Murdy said. “But not for our family. Up on a mountain, winter is a great time. There’s no room for winter depression when you’re having that much fun.” Reporting this was a joy for me. I can tell you with all honestly that when my first daughter was born, almost all I could think of was when I’d be able to ski with her. Now, she’s an adult, a beautiful, graceful, amazing skier who loves being out there as much as I do. She’s also a mother, to the lovely 4-month-old Molly. Molly already has goggles, and I can tell when I hand them to her she’s going to rip great turns with me soon. Downhill Dynasty: A worthy goal now within my reach. These families will be my role models.