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I dreamt about skiing last night.
Acres of resort and miles of lifts for mountains that stretched up higher than the clouds and went down down down, past where the eye could see into a misty abyss. There's a very special kind of alive you feel when you're doing something you're not quite sure to survive, but the doing of it is too good, too exciting, too irresistible simply because not all the variables are accounted for.
I was so afraid the first time going down a blue course I stood at the precipice for a good five minutes and watched most of my friends fall splat on their assess two seconds into the run. I lasted until almost the end of it - my only mistake was letting the fear of my speed overbalance me.
I didn't know if I would be fine when I went down my first black diamond. The course was insanely steep, and mostly ice due to warmer temperatures and use - made it down without incident.
Moral of the story seems to be, as Nike says, to just do it. The fact that it also seems to indicate that I need to think less and do more doesn't sit well with my rational mind and will therefore be filed away for another day.
For now, I write.
I was so afraid the first time going down a blue course I stood at the precipice for a good five minutes and watched most of my friends fall splat on their assess two seconds into the run. I lasted until almost the end of it - my only mistake was letting the fear of my speed overbalance me.
I didn't know if I would be fine when I went down my first black diamond. The course was insanely steep, and mostly ice due to warmer temperatures and use - made it down without incident.
Moral of the story seems to be, as Nike says, to just do it. The fact that it also seems to indicate that I need to think less and do more doesn't sit well with my rational mind and will therefore be filed away for another day.
For now, I write.
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What really impressed me about you (because yes I was impressed otherwise I really wouldn't have much to do with you) is that you did meet the challenges. You may have stood at the top for a few minutes staring them down, but you overcame them anyway. I don't think it's necessarily a good thing to "just do it," because for me the real enjoyment comes not from the simple action of it. The accomplishment is so much more valuable when you know what it is you are up against, and then you set your mind to defeating it.
From what I remember you didn't just speed down any slope, not taking a moment to consider the possible danger you could be putting yourself in. You considered what you were about to do, then did it, and you seemed to be very proud of yourself once you made it to the bottom.
But then again, that's just my opinion. :)
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I don't remember much of anything about skiing as a kid, only the bitter, bitter disappointment I felt when I missed the last set of poles on a course and was disqualified from a race I should've won. Last spring break was the first time I've skied since then, and like you watched, I had to completely relearn in.
Man that first day was tough. Besides the outrageous wind and cold, I didn't fall on my ass nearly as many times as expected but that's probably because I played it pretty safe that day, wide arcs on all-green terrain. But the rest of the time, after I got the hang of how to slow down and turn well enough, it was all any of you could do to drag me away, if I recall. :)
I remember the blue course that stemmed off that green one and started with a steep, bumpy drop, the one where you came with a bunch of us beginners. You stood at the top as we all attempted with more or less pathetic results to stay upright for longer than a few seconds. I do believe my spectacular little wipeout at the end of that was the one and only time I lost both my skiis. That may have been quite embarrassing but like they say, live and learn. But when you're first starting out and looking down, nevermind that snow is relatively soft, there are trees, there's your speed, there's the very real possibility that you can hurt yourself - didn't we have a couple people walk away with broken arms? So the first time, I did need a little bit of 'just do it' to get me off that ledge. Personal safety as a primary concern is definitely something that needed to be overcome for me. After that, somehow, everything becomes so much easier, not just to decide to do but to actually do.
Oh, the enjoyment definitely comes from the satisfaction of real accomplishment, otherwise it'd be like riding a rollercoaster with your eyes closed and bragging about it on the bottom - you didn't really do it, you know?
You didn't see me much on Thursday morning though - I had to get in every blue/single black course on the mountain before we left, and that got a little more reckless in parts. But by then, falling was so tacky (*smirk*) that it was just a matter of getting back up the lifts fast enough.
I was disappointed about not going this spring break. Sometime soon though, my palms are starting to itch.