As the first snowflakes drop down near me in Billings Montana, I am reminded of a memory that takes place during a skiing trip I took with a friend of mine. I did not start skiing at a young age, in fact this memory is the about the first time I went skiing. Many great things happened after time, but to start it was a very humbling experience. After this trip, I found a new hobby/interest and figured the timing made sense to talk about my experience.
My parents never took me skiing as winters were usually filled with school sports (Basketball) between me and my sister. Going into 7th grade I made a new friend that went skiing. After hanging out for a couple months, it got to the time of the year when the snow started to fall. Eventually my friend asked me to go skiing at Red Lodge and I of course accepted. I never had gone before, but I was always able to be competent when starting a new sport. This led to over confidence when it came to my abilities once we hit the mountain.
Before we ever went up to the mountain at Red Lodge, my buddy asked me if I had gone before. I told him I had never gone before, but after a few tips from him I should be alright. He was a very good skier according to him, so I figured some tips from him would help. After getting off the first chairlift accident free, we went down our first run and everything went smoothly. Feeling confident, I said, “Let’s go down something harder than that!”. My buddy laughs, and says, “okay, follow me”. After his laugh I remember having a little doubt. We got up to a different run and reality hit me. Technique is a huge component in skiing down harder runs if you want to keep speed and not fall over.
Chasing better technique when it came to skiing to become a better skier sparked skiing as an interest for me. Being able to ski down a black diamond at any ski mountain without a worry is the ultimate goal. Getting better each and every year keeps me coming back to the sport. Figured with the snow it made it a perfect time to talk about a winter hobby.
