Skiing - If I knew it was this easy....

Several weeks ago I was invited to Vermont to go skiing with some friends for a week. Upon careful consideration (all 2 seconds of it) I agreed, even though I knew that I hadn't been skiing more than 5 or 6 times in my life, and most of them were days of me repeatedly doing the easiest trails.

Getting on the skis I realized that I knew how to stop (snowplow) and to turn (lean on the opposite foot). The rest of me remained vigilant to be as uncoordinated as possible so that anyone within 10' of me might get a ski pole in the eye, or a ski in their rear.

The folks I went with turned out to be avid skiers, taking on the most challenging runs without a care in the world and because the mountain was fairly empty, (not too much danger to others), I decided to challenge myself and follow along. If I wrote a diary in retrospect, here is what it would look like:

DAY 1
We skied on SugarBush today. These people are crazy. I fell a lot, and am amazed at the idea that nothing is broken after my myriad of cartoon-like falls with skis and poles in all directions and a giant snow ball threated to grow with me in the center and crush the base lodge. At the end of the day I am hot, tired, sore and sweaty. It was fun, but I don't understand how other people do it so easily.

DAY 2
We skied at Stowe today. Stowe it tuns out is much more technically challenging that SugarBush, and the fact that my legs are so sore that they refuse to cooperate makes my task daunting at best. There must be a better way. Then... some advice on how to make it easier by my expert skiing companions. By the end of the day I am relying solely on technique because my muscles are on strike. Mentally I think I get it, but physically I can't do it yet.

DAY 3
Woke up this morning and knew exactly how Pinnochio felt when he became a wooden boy. Nothing works. The crew is going up to Jay Peak near Canada. I bid them farewell, for my best bet is to sit by the fire and rest.

DAY 4
I left my companions to travel South to Killington to meet up with my brother-in-law and some other friends for a birthday. I am still unsure of my skiing technique since it is all in my head but not in practice yet. I get on the mountain and suddenly it feels like I was born with skiis on! I am flying down the intermediate trails and even end up on an advanced black diamond trail. It is not *too* hard. Haven't fallen all day. I'm even being adventurous and going over jumps at high speeds.

DAY 5
A week later I travel up to Jiminy Peak, MA for a day trip of skiing. Conditions are terrible. The entire mountain is iced over. There are high winds and no snow to speak of. Perhaps I should have rented ice skates. Regardless, after a morning of diving down the intermediate trails, I try for the black diamond trail, which is the mountain face. (If you can call Jiminy Peak a mountain). Other than the entire run being a long sheet of ice and my skis being as dull as logs, I did OK.

Next stop? back to Vermont to keep up with the friends who taught me how to ski in the first place!