Skiing is so much fun! I really enjoy it. I am currently in my second season of skiing, and I have been able to pick skiing up very gradually. Each time I go, I feel like I get more confident in certain skills by learning what I am doing wrong.
a history
I actually have gone skiing a long time ago. I don’t remember how old I was. I’ll just say it was over ten years ago. My childhood best friend and his family owned a cabin at Brianhead, Utah. One of the winters in Vegas I was invited to come along for a skiing trip.
I don’t remember how I well I skied for the first time. I do remember one accident with powder snow.
I was going down the slope and I saw some nice soft snow on the side of the slope. I can’t quite say why I decided to go through the powder. The moment I hit the powder, I lurched to a stop and I fell into the snow. I was stuck. My friend’s dad eventually came around and got me out.
first season
I moved to Utah at the end of summer 2018. I was so excited to ski consistently. I wanted to ski because Utah is the place to ski, other than Colorado and a couple other areas in the U.S.
The first time I went skiing was with a group of friends. We started out on the bunny slope a couple times, and then we moved to the next bigger lift. The first time going up that lift, I made a joke and asked if it was too late to turn around. My friends replied that it was too late. I probably could have stayed on the lift as it went back down.
And so I went down a bigger slope! I was definitely shaky at first. Whenever I started to gain speed, I slowed down immediately using the pizza ski form. I wanted to be able to control my speed, and I did not feel confident skiing at higher speeds.
Eventually, I did gain more confidence in skiing. Repetition at skiing, or any skill for that matter, is required to be better. For the duration of the first season, I ended up learning a couple things about skiing.
One, plan the direction in which you want to ski. This is helpful, so that one lowers the risk of any injury, and one does not speed out of control. Two, face the upper body down the slope the whole time. This helps a person to feel friction and body weight as one goes down the slope.
second season
The first time I skied this season was iffy. I felt like a beginner again. I had to remind myself the things I learned last season.
I learned another thing about skiing effectively. One of the problems I faced in my head, was “tripping” on the inside ski as I turned. I then realized an error I was doing when I talked with another skier. The other skier mentioned that a good exercise for practice ski form is to ski on one leg.
I remembered that advice as I went skiing down the slope once. Instead of skiing on one leg, I decided to lift my inside ski on a turn, so that my weight would go towards the outside ski. Immediately I felt so much more in control of turns. I realized that the combination of facing the upper body downhill and making sure my weight goes to the outside ski on turns gave me so much more control.
I learned one more thing this season. In my first season, I skied without poles. I felt like they would just get in the way. I started this season without using poles. By the encouragement of friends, I tried using poles one time. I found that while skiing down a slope with poles, my arms naturally extended out more. By that motion, I could feel more balance. I assume that a skier that feels their balance more is going to be able to navigate effectively down a slope.
in the end
I have learned to love skiing. It is so much fun to soar down a slope at a high speed while carving snow. I also love to see the mountains in their natural winter beauty. I hope to be able to ski some more and have plenty of enjoyment out of it!