Went skiing for the first time this past Saturday. I would best describe skiing as minutes of sitting (or standing) followed by seconds of terror.

..well, maybe the last part is an exaggeration. But it is a lot of waiting on things to bring you up high. I had a lesson, which ended up being a great idea, and spent the day in the beginner’s area at Snowshoe. That area has enough variation (and both a magic carpet and a real ski lift) that I didn’t feel a need to actually attempt a green route.

Overall, I think it went well. I only fell three times during the day, and all three times were from a stop. (I was trying to turn around and got my poles tangled up with my skis.) Spent the day mostly making sure I could control my speed and direction… I think the most terrifying moment was when I went down the steepest hill in the area head on (instead of going side to side like I should have), but I didn’t die, and I didn’t fall, and I managed to slow down and stop once I got to flatter ground again, so that was good.

Still, I don’t think I’ll go skiing again. Besides the general disinterest and cost, there’s also the fact that there’s just so much else that happens around skiing. Even if you ignore the driving-to-the-place part and associated logistics, there’s just a lot of equipment to get on and stumble around in. If I want to glide and feel out of control on my feet, I’d rather go ice skating, which just involves putting skates on. :)

Also the hotel we stayed at the morning before had this awesome machine.

Also also cheese bag.

More photos are at my photos site.