A Bruised Ego

Since my accident in 2002, there have been things that I've slowly checked off my list of things that I didn't think I could do, but by just trying, have been able to bring back into my life. There are just a few last things that I've wanted to try and downhill skiing was one of them. In thinking about going skiing, for some reason it has seemed like a daunting mountain to climb. However, it shouldn't have been.

Seeing as the biggest issue for me is whether or not my feet get pounded into the ground over and over again. With downhill skiing, one's feet are locked in pretty tight to the boots, which are locked down onto the skis, so no up and down pounding should occur. Actually, my biggest worry was not being able to get myself up after having fallen down. This last concern was one that held me back from going up and hitting the slopes. However, I was able to hook up with Peter S. (from the farm trip this past summer) and his friend MB, also from NYC. We decided to meet up in Colorado for the weekend after the New Year and ski together.

We flew into Denver, rented and SUV (which turned out to be a savior since we were hit with some pretty difficult driving conditions at times) and drove to our hotel which was in the town of Avon, CO. Avon is 10 miles west of Vail and is nearest to the Beaver Creek area.

To say that the three days of skiing was bruising to my ego is pretty much dead on for the experience I had. I have to thank Peter and MB for their patience that first day as they sacrificed their enjoyment of the Colorado skiing and instead waited as I repeatedly fell down and labored to get up and then promptly fall down again. It must have taken at least 45 minutes to an hour to finish the first run of the morning of the first day. There was no way I was going to be able to keep up with them so we carefully planned to ski down areas where they could get two blue runs in for every one of my on green runs.

The second day, we trekked over to Vail. We all skied together that morning and I gained some confidence and found some fun runs to do. I found that I felt much more comfortable when I could ski down runs over and over and know what to expect. For those who know Vail, my favorite fun is "Lost Boy". That afternoon, I enrolled in ski school. The lesson was helpful in that the instructor (this woman was the epitome of crusty mid-50's New Englander) explained the importance of rolling one's feet to carve turns. The side-to-side motion of the length of the foot is something that has been reduced in my range of motion. I can do it, but it takes some effort. The lesson went well and I definitely could notice improvement. Most of our lessons took us down blue runs and I was gaining confidence.

The third day of skiing brought us back to Vail. However, this was the day that the big winter storm that nailed California moved into Colorado. The day started with snow flurries and at the top of the mountain there were nearly whiteout conditions. In addition, I had trouble with one of my contacts, which hindered depth perception. Peter and MB went to ski some of the back bowls and I stuck to some green runs near the top of the front side. After lunch, the snow started accumulating at a couple inches per hour. I decided it was time for me to get off the slopes. As we were at the western most point of the mountain and I needed to exit on the exact opposite corner, I plotted a exit strategy that took me down green runs to lifts that moved me eastward. The best laid plans.........

I got down the first run just fine. A bit dicey since I hadn't skied the run before and was afraid I might ski past the lift. However, the second run did me in. I couldn't see and just didn't have the confidence to attack it and by the time I got to bottom of the second run, I decided enough was enough. I ate my pride and took the lift DOWN the mountain. And that was the inglorious end to my skiing trip.

Will I go skiing again? Sure, but I'll probably not choose an area that is quite so difficult and I'll definitely pay much more attention to the weather report.