First Time Skiing

Can you believe that I live so close to the mountains but I've never been skiing? The main reason: basketball season. Couldn't risk an injury. Such a shame, considering that the family cabin is about 1/4 mile from the Crystal Mountain access road.

Chris used to ski, but he's not into it anymore. Over the years I've asked him many times if he wanted to go, but he's shown little interest.

So... I ditched him and went with my good friend Pattie!

She works for Boeing, and the company reserved the West Summit for employees and their families/friends. She's never gone skiing either, so we figured we'd be perfect partners. We arrived at the Summit around 4pm and headed right over to the rental counter. Picked up our gear and spent about 10 minutes just putting our boots on :)

We went outside and found our instructor. Our lesson began, and in no t

ime we were skiing slowly down a small hill. It was easier than I thought it would be, and I found myself becoming a little bored. It was time for something more exciting!

We headed over to the Magic Carpet (sort of an escalator deal that you stand on, unlike a traditional lift). We skied down successfully a couple of times and decided to hit the bar for a while. Two of Pattie's friends met us there, and we inhaled our food. I didn't realize how hungry and thirsty skiing will make you.

We were debating on whether or not we were finished skiing or not. We both felt like we'd gotten our money's worth, but I started to feel the whole "wouldn't it be cool to ski down a hill on my very first day?" feeling. So I told Pattie that I was going for it. She said she's go too, and her friends (plus two other guys that she knows) said they'd go along. Which ended up being good, because they are all very experienced.

I've ridden a chairlift, but only in the summer at Crystal. Luckily, Pattie and I managed to ride it without incident. We got off, turned around, and I think the first words out of my mouth were "What the hell was I thinking?" The mountain (yes, I'm calling it a mountain, not a hill) was WAY more intimidating from top than it was from the bottom. I sat at the top for a few minutes, trying to figure out how the heck I'd get myself off the mountain without seriously injuring myself. And finally I thought "Seriously, if you can swim with a shark and not panic, you can ski down a freakin' mountain. It's just snow." So I stood up and told the crew that I was going for it. Here is my poor-quality "If I Don't Make It, This Is My Final Picture" picture:

I made it about 40 feet and didn't like the speed I was picking up, so I let myself fall. Got up, started again, and made it about the same distance before I fell again. Aaron, a friend of Pattie's, skied to me and asked if I could use some help. I said yes, I would love some advice! With some coaching and encouragement, I started kicking some serious butt and made it down the mountain. I was doing some great turns, picking up some good speed, and when I reached the bottom, a nice gentleman from the US Olympic Team approached me and asked if I was available to do a time trial right there on the spot. Okay, that last part didn't really happen.

But here is my poor-quality "Yay I Made It" picture at the bottom:

They were beginning to shut things down so we turned our gear in and headed home. I had a great time learning something new, and while I don't think I'm interested in skiing on a regular basis, I think it would be fun to do it once or twice a year.

Thank you Pattie for inviting me along! Your friends are wonderful and I look forward to seeing you all again soon!