麻豆社区

It was opening weekend at Mt. Sima this past weekend. I'm not sure how the ski folk in Whitehorse feel, but where I'm from the opening weekend of the ski hill is a cause for great celebration 鈥� and races to be the first one on the lift, first one on this run, first person to hit that jump, etc.

I never care to be the first one on the lift. My experience with skiing has proven to me that everything I do for the first time goes wrong 鈥� horribly wrong.

I remember one first in particular. I had a big boost of confidence skiing with my best friend Kristen, who learned to ski before she learned to walk.

There was a little jump at the crest of a hill, and I screamed at her to watch me like a kid jumping off the diving board would scream for their parents to view what they deemed an extraordinary trick.

I flew towards the little jump, and I went up, up, and 鈥� SMASH. Into the snow I went.

I'll tell you all about my skis in a minute, but as a went rolling down the hill my big old fashioned K2 monsters flew off my boots, into the air, and when I finally came to rest in the snow, one of my 20-year-old skis was stuck straight up pointing towards the ski, inches from my head. This bail became legendary, and tales are still told about it.

Now about these skis. They were seriously monsters. They were from at least the 鈥�80s, maybe the early 鈥�90s. I had them at a time when skis began to change shape and technology improved, so they were a constant source of ridicule.

They were so heavy I could barely lift them, let alone ski on them. After a day on the hill I had to put my feet up and rest for 24 hours from lugging them around.

They also had faulty bindings 鈥� which is of course something I found out the hard way.

Everyone else's bindings had to be lifted, or kicked really hard to open up, but with mine, the lightest touch would throw them open no matter where I was 鈥� even if I was on the chairlift.

I remember this happening, again while skiing with Kristen, at the highest point on the chairlift. I watched my ski plummet down, until it hit the snow.

I caused a huge scene getting off the chairlift with only one ski. Kristen and I got tangled, her on a snowboard, and we both fell. This snarled up the traffic coming off the lift and it had to be shut down. A nice man behind us saw my predicament, and lent me his pair of newer K2 skis, because my boots fit his bindings (this is a testament to how large my feet were as a 10-year-old too, another challenge I was faced with) and he had experience skiing on one ski (I believe it is a technique used in lessons). The poor guy fell more than once getting down to my lonely ski.

I also had the misfortune of getting tangled up in the chairlift and falling off once. It was probably my first time up the hill, and I was unprepared. When it came time to hop off I just didn't. No one had told me what to do.

So as the chair went around I stayed on it, and everyone screamed, "Jump Annalee! Jump!鈥� So I jumped. And landed on my head in about six feet of snow. I had to be shoveled out.

I didn't return to the hill for weeks after that.

I'd just like to point out that I do have a new pair of lovely skis now, and my technique and chair lift abilities have improved greatly, so don't expect to have traffic snarled up on account of me at Mt. Sima this season 鈥� although this will be my first time on a ski hill other than the Kimberley Alpine Resort, so who knows what shenanigans I could get up to.