The hill looked a lot bigger from the top for Eugena Moonias.
Strapped to a pair of skis at the top of Mount Baldy, the 15-year-old admits she was a little nervous. It was one of only a few times she’d tried the sport.
“I was really scared at first. I wiped out a couple of times but I still got back up and tried,” she said.
Eugena was one of a dozen kids from the Underground Gym who headed to the local ski area Saturday afternoon to try their skills on the slopes. Gym founder Peter Panetta said Mount Baldy sponsored the outing and the kids were loving every minute of it.
“They’re having a ball,” he said adding that he was proud to watch the kids come down the hill.
“That was pretty impressive.”
Katelyn Hrenchuk, 8, had never been on skis before but you wouldn’t know it from the way she mastered the hill. The best part for her was going fast. She was anxious to try and get all the way to the top of the tow-rope to gain more speed.
“It’s pretty fun,” she said.
Challenging themselves is part of what the day was about Panetta said. It’s all about new experiences for the kids.
“Any experience they get the better for them doesn’t matter what it is,” he said.
