Some would say that I don’t learn from my mistakes and others might say that I love a challenge… but for whatever reason I am back on those slippery white slopes again… Day 1 and I survived… no crashes and no crying… I call that a triumph… Don’t you?
I have had a long soak in the bath since all that schussing and now I can move my frozen fingers and I can walk without an obvious swagger… Yet, compared to my last time in the winter wonderland, I’m feeling a whole lot better…You might ask why do I do this to myself when I am obviously not a gifted sports woman?… There is no need for me to be coy here… one look at my sporting prowess in this arena and you would know that the fast paced moving stuff is not my forte… I console myself with the thought that I can try and excel in the finer art of aprés skiing… The reason I persevere, dress up in ridiculous clothing and hurtle down mountains at alarming speed is that I live with a passionate bunch of skiers… They all love it and worse still… they are really good at it..
Today, bright and early I was ready. Did I mention that not only am I the slowest on the slopes but I am the slowest off the slopes. I decided that this year I would refuse that honour… All gear checked and accounted for the night before… I was not the one they would be waiting for… I had my leggings, ski pants, ski socks, (dare I admit.. knee guards… oh yes… they work a treat) thermal tee shirt, fleece, neck warmer and ski jacket on in record time… The ski pass, tissues, glasses, area map, a little cash and a lot of sunscreen were strategically placed in the pockets of my favourite jacket. Helmet, goggles and mittens were ready and waiting… you can see that I am telling the truth by my photograph… I was seriously race-ready at the appointed time… I could tell that my gang were all impressed… I am even expert in doing up the clonky ski boots without breaking all of my fingernails and asking for help… All in all a perfect start to the week… Except… As I leant down to clip the last buckle and fasten the boot straps the zipper to my ski jacket broke… and like the walls of Jericho.. it all came tumbling down… I needed to change and fast… That meant a dash back upstairs to the apartment, a quick empty of the pockets (after all that careful planning) and a new jacket… In record time I threw on another parker, re-stuffed the pockets with the bare necessities and hightailed it to the ski lift… I made it… not first but not last… I felt pretty good about that… A successful turnaround… Except for one small detail… the new jacket… it was more about style than performance… I should have been wearing this and this… Let’s just say that I have had a mighty chilly ( could say frozen) first day on the slopes… but there is no way I am telling my ski pals that… xv
image – vicki archer
