I haven't been skiing since middle school, but a few friends found a package that includes transportation and ski rental to Hunter Mountain, in the Catskills. It was towards the end of the season, so not as many people were going. The bus picked me up about a block from my house, at 7:00 am. On the bus, they had bagels and water, and it was about 2.5 hours to the mountains. They play movies along the way, but most people are asleep.
I had thought about cancelling, because I hate the cold and never was that good at winter sports. I had regretted signing up, thinking that I had just succumbed to peer pressure, and would just be miserable and shivering on the mountain while attempting to navigate the bunny slope. On the contrary, I actually had an amazing time. I even left lunch early so I could go back.
Notably, I fell, quite badly, numerous times. I think it may be kind of like when you go to the beach as a child, and you don't feel the iciness of the water because you are just so excited to be at the beach. I didn't realize how bad the falls were until later. It was a fairly warm day, and the sun was out, and the snow was, for the most part, powdery instead of icy. I'm surprised at how easily it came back to me--like riding a bike. I went on the only beginner trail that was open, probably around 10 times.
Since my friend were taking a break, I met a lot of interesting people while on the ski lift. Since I don't ski often, I didn't have any ski gear. Some kid asked me, "you don't use goggles when you ski??" I said that I do not, and he replied, "Wow, thug life!" I told him no, not really, I am actually just unprepared. Since I didn't actually have ski wear, when I fell, my jacket would slide up my back so that my bare back would end up on the snow. Of course, my clothes got kind of wet. Luckily I brought a change. Once, I fell and slid so far that the key to my locker fell out of my pocket and got lost in the snow. The staff were really nice about that though, and I didn't have to pay a penalty.
Some tips that were helpful to me, that other skiers shared, were to lean your weight forward to prevent yourself from falling, and to shift your weight side to side to try to slow down. People on the mountain were pretty nice. When I fell, some nice children would help me bring my ski poles, since I had a habit of sliding quite far away from them.
I think next year, I will try to go a bit earlier in the season. It was nice because it was not crowded at all, and it was a bit warmer, but I think there would be less slush when it is colder. It would also be nice to have more trails open.
I had thought about cancelling, because I hate the cold and never was that good at winter sports. I had regretted signing up, thinking that I had just succumbed to peer pressure, and would just be miserable and shivering on the mountain while attempting to navigate the bunny slope. On the contrary, I actually had an amazing time. I even left lunch early so I could go back.
Notably, I fell, quite badly, numerous times. I think it may be kind of like when you go to the beach as a child, and you don't feel the iciness of the water because you are just so excited to be at the beach. I didn't realize how bad the falls were until later. It was a fairly warm day, and the sun was out, and the snow was, for the most part, powdery instead of icy. I'm surprised at how easily it came back to me--like riding a bike. I went on the only beginner trail that was open, probably around 10 times.
Since my friend were taking a break, I met a lot of interesting people while on the ski lift. Since I don't ski often, I didn't have any ski gear. Some kid asked me, "you don't use goggles when you ski??" I said that I do not, and he replied, "Wow, thug life!" I told him no, not really, I am actually just unprepared. Since I didn't actually have ski wear, when I fell, my jacket would slide up my back so that my bare back would end up on the snow. Of course, my clothes got kind of wet. Luckily I brought a change. Once, I fell and slid so far that the key to my locker fell out of my pocket and got lost in the snow. The staff were really nice about that though, and I didn't have to pay a penalty.
Some tips that were helpful to me, that other skiers shared, were to lean your weight forward to prevent yourself from falling, and to shift your weight side to side to try to slow down. People on the mountain were pretty nice. When I fell, some nice children would help me bring my ski poles, since I had a habit of sliding quite far away from them.
I think next year, I will try to go a bit earlier in the season. It was nice because it was not crowded at all, and it was a bit warmer, but I think there would be less slush when it is colder. It would also be nice to have more trails open.
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