When I was a kid, that age range between five and puberty when every new experience is really cool, I loved to ride the gondolas in the mountains. At that age it was like flying (I didn't take my first commercial flight until I was 14) and I couldn't figure out why everyone didn't think it was the coolest thing ever.
I understood why my Mom wasn't too keen on the whole thing, she's not a big fan of heights. Dad, was another story. In my small brain I was unsure of why someone who ran in to burning buildings for a living didn't want to also go on gondola rides.
Now I get it. Dad's also a skier (or was and should be again) and that ride represents 15 minutes that a person is not on the slopes. After two weeks out skiing, I'm sick of riding the gondola too.
I plan to head off this problem with my kids (nature willing) by getting them on skis the second they can walk. Lake Louise teaches as early as one year. This will also hopefully mean I never have to hear the following statement:
“Mom, I wanna get a snowboard.”