Snow Skiing

As I have mentioned in other posts, I feel I am a late bloomer when it comes to taking on adventure and trying new things. An example is skiing.  The first time I finally went skiing I was in my late 20’s.  When I was younger my Dad talked about taking us but we never got around to it.  In junior high and high school there were yearly day trips but that was something my family could not afford.  In college one of my favorite professors, Dr. McGrellis was the ski club advisor. If I joined I could go for free by fundraising, a week in Vermont sounded wonderful but then the thought of the ski lift ended that.  It is not that I am exactly afraid of heights, I just need to know I am secure and it is really the fear of falling that gets me.  So going up a mountain on a little chair hanging by a cable does not seem very secure to me, so I passed on the trip.  I also let circumstances get in my way of trying something new until I decided to make changes in my life to change some of these circumstances.  A friend invited me and my daughter to join her family skiing and we said yes!  We signed up for the lesson and learned how to pizza, french fry and duck walk, after that it was time to take the plunge and go up to the top of the bunny slope.  Fortunately, I was able to take my first ride on the lift with the instructor. It was nerve wracking but I managed.  Things get easier with practice and that is what I did, all day up and down the bunny slope.  As the day was ending my friend talked me into going down one of the bigger green trails.  East coast skiing I have been told is very difficult as most of the time it is very icy.  As the mountain heats up under the daytime sun the snow melts and as the sun goes down that melt turns to ice.  Not thrilled with the larger lift I held on tight and kept telling myself it would be worth it.  Well I was wrong, once at the top we started down an easy trail but took a wrong turn and ended up on a black diamond.  I was in over my head and could not ski, between the difficulty of the trail and the sheet of ice I was on.  The only thing I could do is to sit and scooch down the mountain, it was so slippery I could not even walk down without my skis. As bad as that was I was hooked, still not thrilled with the lift but willing to deal with it for the downhill experience. As much as I liked skiing I let life get in the way and did not go again until 2010.  This is the year that Dr. McGrellis died unexpectedly. I wanted to do something to remember him and thought what better way than to take the family skiing.  I planned a long weekend and signed the little ones up for lessons along with another lesson for myself.  Towards the end of the day I was getting tired and fell one too many times separating my shoulder.  A few years later hubby and I tried a different mountain and I really started to get the hang of skiing.  In recent years we have been trying to go a few times each winter for some weekend trips.  I am now looking forward to venturing out of my comfort zone and trying other local ski resorts and planning a trip to Vermont.  What is something you have always wanted to try?