April 9, 2013

No Brakes: Learning to Ski



I hate the cold. I dread the weather anytime it falls below 70. Really, I don't know how I ended up in the Bay Area. For reasons of weather alone, I have a strong distaste for alpine sports. Ice climbing, snowboarding, skiing, igloo digging--I've generally made it a point to avoid anything with the word "snow" or "ice" in it. Then I met someone who was obsessed with skiing, so I became a reluctant skier...and that's how the story goes.

The first three days really sucked. I sucked. The snow sucked. I forgot how hard it was learning a new sport. But I like a challenge and I'm competitive with myself. And like anything else, as you put in the time, it eventually gets better. I'm not sure how I went from there to loving it, but somewhere along the way it happened. It clicked. Snow and me are still not friends. I do understand the pull though. And I'm strangely fascinated by how the mind works in adrenaline inducing situations. What can I say? It draws me. If falling headfirst down the mountainside doesn't deter me, I'm not sure what will.