Snowbunnies and Slopes

Yay, I finally tried skiing!!! Almost everyone I know has tried it and loved it, and I used to live in Colorado and have been to Switzerland so many times it’s embarrassing to say I never tried on the Alps. My parents tried to take me once when I was younger, but at the last minute the military restricted travel to that country for security reasons and that was that. I have had many friends try to get me to go to no avail, but my good friends Steve and Bri finally asked enough times I caved.
They live close to Wachusett, so on Saturday we bundled up and headed to the slopes. The rental process is not exactly a warm welcome to the sport, but I put on my massively uncomfortable boots anyway, strapped on my mini-skis (for beginners) and met my friends at the bottom of the bunny slope. They showed me how to snow plow and up we rode on the magic carpet. I thought it would be “funner” but the very slow pace just gave me more time to get nervous before my first attempt. When we got to the top of the bunny slope, I pointed my skis in an awkward wedge shape and took off, making it all the way down without falling!! The next couple times, my ridiculously patient friends stayed by my side as I worked on my zig-zag and got comfortable with it. The form of it felt instinctively familiar to me, and I finally figured out it reminds me a lot of ice skating, perhaps my favorite winter sport. My friends and husband were incredibly supportive and long-suffering, declaring me a “natural” and being quite profusive with their praise. I quickly tired of the bunny slope and tried my first green circle. The lift was super fun, though the departure at the end made me slightly nervous as a beginner. I looked down the slope, and decided it was ok that I probably wouldn’t make it down without falling. Surprising probably everyone, I eventually made it to the bottom with no mishaps!
I was having such a great time on the green circles, I decided that it was time for a blue square! My hubby and I made our way over to the faster lifts and boarded with 2 snow-boarders. Upon hearing I was a beginner, they told me the run wasn’t too bad but it did get pretty steep at the end. That tidbit lodged in my brain, and started fluttering in my tummy. I looked like a pro on the top part of the slope, but just kept waiting for it to get steeper. When it did, I freaked out and started flying down the slope, too distracted to think about controlling my skis. I finally slowed down enough to feel comfortable bailing to the side, and my friends immediately converged on me. My husband was quick to announce he was immensely impressed with my mad beginner skills and that I looked like a pro, though Steve, having taught many a beginner, quickly shot back that he “could recognize a terrified skier when [he] saw one!” I could not get outside my head enough to do the last little bit, and scooted down to the bottom on my bottom.
After a short snack/ break to recover, I took back to the green circles and had a blast until it closed. Overall, I’m wicked glad I finally tried it. I think I only fell once when actually skiing down the slopes, though I did fall a couple times at the lift, and bailed a couple times because I didn’t know what else to do. My most dramatic/ hysterical fall was actually while standing calmly on a ridge talking with my friends – mid-convo I just face-planted for absolutely no reason. While I do not possess the need for speed and am not sure I will ever want to hit a black diamond, I had a great time and would do it again in a heartbeat.
On a related tangent, let me just rant about snowboarders. While I know it’s a cliché for skiers to frown on snowboarders, boarders do very little to fight their negative stereotype. Though there are obviously exceptions, I found the majority of them to be cocky little attention-whores who have little regard for others on the slope, especially on the beginner trails. Clearly there are novices on green circles, but one got so close he clipped the back of my skis and my husband thought he had grabbed my bum. Needless to say, it startled me and I was barely able to remain upright while he just zoomed away. I was not skiing erratically, and there was no need for him to get that close to me. Even worse than that was the brain-needing father who thought it would be a good idea to race his seven-year old beginner boarder down the green circle slope. The boy was not good enough to be racing and came very close to hitting me, prompting him to scream then me to scream and again struggle to remain upright. He ended up just barely missing me, but my hero Bri immediately took after the kid and gave the pair a piece of her mind. I understand there are competitive dare-devils who enjoy the high, but if they’re really that good they should take their recklessness to the big-boy slopes, or at the very least keep their distance from slow snow-plowers on the bunny slopes. Also, why the heck do they think the slope is their resting ground? It was like an obstacle course trying to get around the gaggles of boarders just sitting on their bums on the slopes. Seriously, since when did sitting become so freakin’ cool? There’s a lodge for resting and a bunny slope for them to get good enough not to fall, so pick one or go down the slope like it’s designed.
Anyway, it was awesome and I’m really glad my friends and husband had the patience to teach me and stay with me all day.


P.S. Happy Groundhog’s Day!!