The Snow and the Slope A few winters ago, some friends invited my family and me to go snow skiing at Paoli Peaks, Indiana. I did not know how to snow ski, and I leaped at the thought of trying this new sport. On the first morning we entered the pro shop to rent all the gear and make decisions about whether or not to take lessons or go it alone. We decided to be adventurous and go it alone—no lessons. Kent and Celeste, the friends who invited us, knew how to ski and snowboard. He assured us that he could show us the basics, and we would be on our way down the slopes. All of us, after a few minutes learning how to wedge our skis started down the family trail. Although the family trail had smaller hills and appeared safe, to me it seemed way too fast and dangerous. I fell several times before making it to the bottom and started having doubts about whether I’d ever be able to really enjoy the sport. By the end of the first day, however, I was not only flying down the family trail but was going down black diamond trails with just a little nervousness. Before the night was over my son, Nathan, convinced me to switch to snowboarding. It would be a decision that I would later question and chase as I strove to master it. “Master” it—ha! What a laugh. I must have thought I was Sean White or something. I would be lucky just to make it off the ski lift without breaking my arm, and after an evening and a morning of snowboarding, my elbow and hips were so black and blue, my wife persuaded me to stop snowboarding and go back to skiing. After taking a break from snowboarding for a year, I gave it a try again. Somehow, to my astonishment, I was able to snowboard without falling down. It was as if my mind and body had been practicing the entire year; somehow I was carving the slopes and going down black diamond trails. I haven’t mastered snowboarding yet, but I sure am enjoying the lessons. When I think about the next stage of my life, I feel as if I’m standing at the top of double black diamonds, Ice shimmering, snow falling. No one knows how this run will turn out. Will I make it? Will I break my ankle or will I eventually fly over jumps and rails to enjoy the sport supremely? The next slope in my life is going to be
I drove up to Vacaville, California the night before and stayed with family. The following morning I woke up at 6 and drove to Boreal Mountain which was about a two hour drive. I snowboarded from 9am-5pm with about one break and then got in my car and drove five hours back home. My dad had to work and I had just gotten a new pair of goggles so this trip was completely necessary. This was my first trip of the year as China Peak wasn’t open yet so it was completely worth it. Snowboarding takes a snowboarder everywhere in order to chase good snow if not any snow. My passion benefits me by teaching me patience and persistence as driving for eleven hours over the course of two days is not fun by
“Hey guys! This is the last communication you shall receive from me. I now walk out to live amongst the wild. Take care, it was great knowing you” (Qtd. In Krakauer 69). After graduating from Emory University, Christopher McCandless abandoned everything, gave his entire savings account to charity, and then hitchhiked to Alaska to live in the wild. In the novel, Into the Wild, Was McCandless justified in shunning society? McCandless was justified in shunning society because he simply wanted to find himself and be independent without any distractions from his friends or family.
One of the most important lessons I have learned from skiing is that I am most successful when I fully commit. As I got older and started doing more intense tricks and bigger cliffs, I started to see a trend. Whenever I dropped into a jump, rail, or cliff unsure of what I was going to do, or not ready to fully commit to the trick, I had a tendency to end up on the ground
I started skiing when I was just five. I started taking lessons and really learning the basics when I was seven. When I first started skiing I did not enjoy it at all. I was cold, tired and did not like falling down. After many lessons and skiing on my own, I started to enjoy skiing more. I skied with friends and family a few times a year. The elementary school I attended offered a winter ski and snowboard program. Every Tuesday of every week from January to March my entire school would travel to King Pine Ski Resort in Madison, NH. We would take ski lessons offered at the mountain. During those years when I was able to leave school and be brought to this mountain and ski with friends was when I started to look at skiing less as hobby and more as a passion. Skiing was not just an
Omg! I am going to have so much fun snowboarding! Today in my life I am at a super cool place. It’s in the UP and it’s called Ski Brule. It has all the snow hills you could possibly think about. I could never stop imagine me going down the hill and be so proud of me. But hopefully I don’t break any bones in my body. Because I still have basketball in the winter. But after I just took a soft energize nap. Then… We arrived. OM to the G! It was exactly what I imagined. The people gliding through the snow with their cool snowboards and their ski’s.
Falling over and over onto the dense sleet surface, with snow penetrating what’s left keeping you warm; your initial experience of snowboarding. Similar to other learning experiences, but perhaps not as harsh. Learning is a journey filled with challenges and sometimes failures. What determines the outcome is whether you can persevere and receive the everlasting reward of success. Learning is what you make of it, may it be learning to snowboard or applying it into the classroom setting. It will be an enriching skill you will be able to apply universally.
The gift that my group performed for the community of Juneau, Alaska is snow removal. The group consisted of my two most trustworthy peers Marcos Yadao and Mitchell Laudert. We all understood that living in a small tight knit town such as Juneau; the smallest of tasks can have the biggest impacts. That is when the light bulb in our intellectual brains and the idea of snow removal came to mind. It was an appropriate job for the winter season. With heavy snow flurries in the forecast, this would be an achievable accomplishment. With the service in mind our next step was to pick a location. We did not want to select the wealthy neighborhoods because the residents there would probably be financially able to pay for such services. The location that we settled on was not a poverty stricken area, but the homes consisted of elderly residence. To avoid complications with the occupants of the home and explain our reasoning for the free service we wanted to only do homes were the residence weren’t present. That did not hold up to a standard when we actually got around to carry out the service. The whole point of going out and helping people of Juneau with their snow blanketed driveways, walkways, and porches too was to gain self respect and also to prove to the world that good can come from anything and anywhere too.
Damascus, Maryland usually gets 2 days of snow if not less per year. Which is why it’s essential for every kid living in Montgomery County to make the best of their snow day when it actually comes. Snow days are very enjoyable for every kid, but it is sometimes difficult to find what you’re going to do.
A normal day can turn into a day filled with icy cold snow and warm hot chocolate just by one call. One call that gives everyone around the school district a sigh of relief that they can curl up back in their comfy beds and sleep for an extra two or more hours. Some may wonder how one call makes everyone’s day so much better: it is because it is a call from the school saying there is no school today due to icy conditions. Upon hearing this one can be sure that their phone will be buzzing with ones friends asking what they are doing today, or maybe one snoozes through all the texts and continues to curl up in one’s warm blankets, with dogs heating ones feet. No matter what one chooses to do there always seems to be a trend as one gets older. This trend is that in the grades kindergarten through fifth grade, children love snow days to stay outside and play; then in grades sixth through ninth, children love snow days to stay inside and watch movies; finally children tenth through twelfth grade, children love snow days to again go outside and play.
It all started as a passionate love towards the sport, then came as a dream to be one of those guys you see on t.v riding their bikes down a mountain, then became reality, and then….I was there on those mountains. Breathless. Just staring down below me as if I was a bird looking down from the clouds. I could taste the pine from the trees below and beside me. The taste was so surreal. And for a split second I couldn't believe where I was, and who I had become. I was so happy to be where I was, and was sure my mom was looking down on me today, and smiling from ear to ear seeing her son fulfil his dream.
After about a half hour of walking down the mountain I sat on my snowboard to take a break. When I stood up the board slid out from under me and started making it’s way down the mountain without me. In turn, I was forced to chase it, as it caused other snowboarders and skiers to dodge and avoid my board and me. The people who caught my board were in there twenties and did not have any sympathy for the situation and laughed at me for being scared to fall off the mountain. If I ever try snowboarding again, I will know not to take off the snowboard while on the mountain and that’s how I learned my
Source: CDC, National Center for Health Statistics, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Health, United States, 2002. Flegal et. al. JAMA. 2002;288:1723-7. NIH, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, Clinical Guidelines on the Identification, Evaluation and Treatment of Overweight and Obesity in Adults, 1998.
First and foremost skiing helps you conquer fear. Everyone and I mean everyone is scared their first day on the mountain. You have to get all bundled up in these special clothes to keep you warm and big ski boots that hurt your feet and are hard to walk in. Don't forget your gloves otherwise, your fingers will fall off. Once you get past the fear of the cold you rent your skis and you have to get past the fear of the ski lift ride to the top of the mountain. You don't expect the ride to the top of the mountain to be scary so you get on the lift. Then about five minutes into the ride to the top of the mountain you start to get tons of butterflies in your stomach as you look back over your shoulder and see the cars in the parking lot get smaller and smaller and the buildings start to disappear as you reach the summit. When you step out of the gondola/chairlift you are at about 11,000ft elevation depending which mountain you are on, and sometimes you are above the clouds. It's a euphoric view, but unfortunately, this is where the real fear starts to kick in. As you put your skis on and get ready to go down the mountain you have to conquer the fear of each turn and the fear of going down different trails with each having a different difficulty level. It's amazing, once you get the basic motions down and conquer the fears that come with them you’ll be flying down the mountain carving every trail in sight (green, blue and black). Being able to overcome fears of skiing can help you in your real life. I just recently went on a trip to Wolf Creek Colorado and climbed to the top of the largest peak
As I pick up speed I feel the wind push harder and harder in the opposite direction, but my jacket breaks its bite. The reflection of the sun on the stark white snow makes the path ahead harder to see; my destination is still visible, its dead ahead. As I close in I have second thoughts but it's too late for that now. I lean forward to ride my edge and make a quick turn as I launch off of the jump which sends me into a spin until I'm facing my original direction, 360 degrees then my snowboard touches the ground again and I land it. Well, at least I planned on landing it. However, the reality of the situation was different, I ended up hitting the hard snow with my head and shoulder. That happened on my most recent skiing/snowboarding trip. I've been skiing for as long as I can remember but the past few trips I have snowboarded instead. Skiing and snowboarding are some of the things that I'm most passionate about, but the most important part is doing those things with my family and friends. So, get ready to learn some knowledge about me.
Why spend money that is really needed for other things? Why live uncomfortably? Why be trapped in this hole called a home that belongs to another person? Why not live free and peacefully? When a person rents he or she usually throws away money that could be used to purchase something that belongs to them. Money is not easy to come by so why pay out hundreds toward something that is not benefit to the person paying it out. There is no good explanation for making a decision like this. The best option in a situation like this is to buy a house. Buying a house is a better option than renting an apartment.