Hmm what's left to do?
Man, my bum is so effin sore.
I went skiing yesterday, finally. And I am sure as glad I opted not to learn how to snowboard because skiing was hard enough, at first. I had an hour and 45 minute lesson, in which things seemed pretty simple: you stop by crossing your skis like a pizza; you lean forward for balance; and you turn by nudging one ski slightly above the other. However, all these fundamentals pretty much flew out of my head as I flew down the "beginner" slope at 10-15 mph an hour. All I could think of in that moment was "How do I stop?! Oh sh*t HOW DO I STOP?!" When I came to and finally could tell which was the sky and which was the snowy ground, I realized one ski had popped off, my poles were scattered, and my arm felt permantly bent in a 90 degree angle because it hit the ground that way. Luckily, I had my more experienced cousin around to help me gather the pieces.
Other memorable falls were when I almost crashed into the ski lodge itself (only to dive at the last minute) and when my cousin and I collapsed into a heap trying to get off the ski lift. (In my defense, he fell first as soon I stood up I stood up.) But aside from that, skiing is actually quite fun. I think after that terrifying first time down the slope I was close to just walking off and calling it a day, but somehow I made it down and took the ski lift again. I also developed more of a strategy the second time around: to not panic. And to make long, windy "S" shapes instead of pointing my skis strictly parallel down the mountain. If you can wrap your head around that, skiing will be sweeeeet.
I went skiing yesterday, finally. And I am sure as glad I opted not to learn how to snowboard because skiing was hard enough, at first. I had an hour and 45 minute lesson, in which things seemed pretty simple: you stop by crossing your skis like a pizza; you lean forward for balance; and you turn by nudging one ski slightly above the other. However, all these fundamentals pretty much flew out of my head as I flew down the "beginner" slope at 10-15 mph an hour. All I could think of in that moment was "How do I stop?! Oh sh*t HOW DO I STOP?!" When I came to and finally could tell which was the sky and which was the snowy ground, I realized one ski had popped off, my poles were scattered, and my arm felt permantly bent in a 90 degree angle because it hit the ground that way. Luckily, I had my more experienced cousin around to help me gather the pieces.
Other memorable falls were when I almost crashed into the ski lodge itself (only to dive at the last minute) and when my cousin and I collapsed into a heap trying to get off the ski lift. (In my defense, he fell first as soon I stood up I stood up.) But aside from that, skiing is actually quite fun. I think after that terrifying first time down the slope I was close to just walking off and calling it a day, but somehow I made it down and took the ski lift again. I also developed more of a strategy the second time around: to not panic. And to make long, windy "S" shapes instead of pointing my skis strictly parallel down the mountain. If you can wrap your head around that, skiing will be sweeeeet.