Olympic Tubing

O.k. there really is no such thing as Olympic tubing.  We have been enjoying watching the Olympics on t.v. But that is not the kind of tubing I mean. 

Anna was inspired by the Olympics and wanted to go ice skating.  I deferred that one to Frank (as he is probably the better ice skater).  Since we can go ice skating any time, he suggested we go tubing instead.  So we made a reservation (because you have to) and took ourselves and one of Anna's friends up to the ski area Saturday night.  We haven't done any skiing this year, so this was our first time up. 

 Frank with tubes and ski area in the background.

 They're ready to ride!

We did a couple of runs together (holding onto each others' tubes) and then let Anna and her friend go on their own.  The really nice thing about it is that you don't have to walk back up the hill.  The tube has a leash that you attach to a cable that pulls you up the hill.

The guys at the top tell you when to go and give you a pull to start down the hill.  You can ask them to spin you or not.  Frank and I wanted to spin and they told us how to do the "helicopter".  You face each other and hold onto the other person's feet/legs.  This keeps you more compact to spin faster.  The guy that started us off nearly threw himself down the hill trying to get us to spin as fast as possible.  Very fun! Although I thought I might pull Frank's boots off.

After about an hour and a half, Frank was done.  But I wanted to do a few more runs by myself.  I asked the guy to spin me.  He spun me so fast, my hat flew off.  By the time I got to the bottom, my stomach was just a little bit queasy.  (It's kind of like those spinning teacups at the amusement parks).

A fun time was had by all and I think I deserve the gold medal for most spins completed.