Downhill Skiing

I took Van downhill skiing yesterday; it was not a good experience. He had lessons last year and I assumed he was a little more self sufficient than he was. I wasn't really prepared to help him the way he needed; he's too big for me to hold between my legs anymore. We only went on the chairlift once. Someone loaned us a harness and leash for the steepest part and that was a lifesaver, otherwise we were going to walk down. The leash/harness was the only way to help him, keep him safe and let him learn to balance on his own. Without it we couldn't do all three of those things and there was a lot of falling and yelling.
Still he looked adorable in his snowsuit with new helmet and gloves. He'll start lessons again next week and I'm sure that will go much better than me taking him.