Learning to ski: year two wrap-up

This past week in Colorado, we got dumped with a lot of heavy spring snow - much needed everywhere that it fell.  The plains were dry and dusty and the mountains were bare.  I was keeping my fingers crossed that we could get one more good snow so that I could get one more good skiing day in before spring hit for real and my second season would be over until next winter.  I'm so thirsty for time on skis, so eager to keep learning and trying.  I lament letting opportunities go by where I could have taken a ski day.  Time on skis = experience = growth = new goals.

One purpose of my blog is to also record some favorite older memories too.  This post is reflecting on my journey in learning to ski from the last two years.

Growing up in Iowa, ski hills are not abundant and it's not a popular sport to grow up doing.  There are a few around - Lacrosse, WI and Galena, IL... or if your family took a vacation to Colorado, that's all the experience you'd get.  I was a normal midwestern kid that did gymnastics, swimming, and horseback riding.  I figured hey, I was athletic, this might be hard to pick up new as an adult but I should be able to pick it up pretty easily.  Bring it on!  Well, little did I know this would be one of the most defeating learning experiences I've ever had.

This photo is from my very first time on skis in Colorado.  Look how long it took me to fall down (...not that long at all)!  For anyone that knows where this is right outside of Vail and Minturn, this was on meadow mountain.  Having my feet go fast out from under me and not knowing at all how to control myself was so scary - it felt like I was a car with no breaks.  After this experience, Jon realized that learning without having taken a formal lesson and not being in a learning setting on skis fitted for me and on groomed terrain was not a good first experience to give me.  All of my confidence quickly disappeared and I was embarrassed and insecure.  Yes I was excited to try something new, but I knew that skiing was a huge part of Jon's life and I wanted to be able to enjoy that with him.  After that heartbreaking first experience, I refused to ski with him again until I was "good enough" for him to see me.  I put a ton of pressure on myself and was too insecure to let him see me fail again.  Plus, I realized how difficult it is to have the person you're involved with be your teacher.

Shortly after, I got to go home to my parents' house for Christmas, and tried one more time to give skiing a chance.  Shout out to my old school acquaintance Mitchell Fink for being so supportive and encouraging to me - even if his words of support weren't true!  I have video evidence of that night, and I have shown a few people but that's not for the public to see :)  Picture this: you know how a toddler looks when they're first learning how to walk?  With arms out, stiff and wide stance and choppy balance?  Now, picture that on skis, and that was me.  For the rest of the 2013-2014 winter I kept trying as much as I could, but I don't think I made any ground.  I was scared to go too fast, because I figured that I could be slow and cautious, as long as I didn't fall down.  I was open and receptive to all the advice I was being given, and I understood what techniques I needed to do, but knowing it and making my body follow what it was supposed to were two very different things.

The most fun thing about this journey is that I can still pause and enjoy the beauty and glory of the mountains, and they don't care if I stink at skiing or not.

Flash forward to this season.  The memories of being disappointed in myself and all the embarrassment were still fresh, but I was approaching this learning curve with more determination than I have with anything else in my life.  My passion for the mountains, the mountain lifestyle, and being able to enjoy their many facets during any season was the drive behind it.  I couldn't let this season be anything like the last, I didn't want to be bad at it anymore!  I skied a couple of times with my good friends Tiffiny and Meredith, and finally this year there was a feeling that finally clicked.  My body listened to my head and did what I wanted it to; I felt comfortable with what was happening on the groomers and even dared to go faster than what I was comfortable with.  But of course, then a good deep snow powder day knocked me right back down to where I was.

Meredith has been such a great mentor for me.  She is so sweet, yet so adventurous.  I always find myself in challenging situations that I wouldn't normally put myself into, and asking, "why on earth am I here?!"  Cliffs, trees, moguls, black diamonds... Definitely a good push to force me into growth.  Thanks friend :)

I still have so far to go, I know this.  But I am always so excited each time I reach a new milestone in my skiing.  My first black run.  My first jump.  My first big mountain back country ski.  In two years, I have accomplished all of this!  It's hard to say if I will ever be as good as all the people I look up to, and I don't know how many pros started when they were 24 years old, but I am thinking that it's totally possible!  Here are some favorite captures and favorite moments from this past skiing season:

Shocked I landed that jump.  It was sure fun!

My first 14er ski on Antero with Jon and Anna!  It was unseasonably warm.  By next season, I'll hopefully have AT gear and can skin up instead of carrying them on my back.

This picture actually makes it look like I'm good at this.  It was great timing.  I'm still struggling!

This past weekend might have been my last ski of this year, but maybe not!  It was a great spring snow and was a great way to close winter out, but there's a chance I might get to use my pass one more time.  If not, I'll welcome summer with open arms!

Keep the faith and try new things!  It's always rewarding.