The Last Day Of Skiing

Do you like to downhill ski? Who doesn't like a little rush of adrenaline? It feels good! Skiing is a worldwide sport and pastime, but how much do you really know about it? My subtopics include: the history of skiing, who skied first, and the best places to ski. Journey into the whipping wind and flying snow to find out how and why skiing really started!

This part of the run is not difficult for me, which is good because my mind is already focused on the cliff that I know is about 100 feet down the ridge and 50 feet on my left (north). Waiting for my turn at the top, I had lots of time to sit and think about what I was about to do, igniting my nerves and adrenaline, making my body feel numb. I ski to my spot above the cliff, and the iconic House Rock looks like it always does, almost like a fifty foot diving board that will shoot you out half-way down the rest of the mountain. I stop right above the point of no return. I must choose to hit the cliff or not. There is no turning back once I move from this spot.

We were all encouraged to choke down as much food as possible. Any kind of energy was essential. A melancholy atmosphere hung heavy as the journey progressed. Minutes walking slowly progressed into hours, the sky seemed to darken steadily. All of us were oblivious to the danger shrouded by the dim evening. Only moments after scaling a rather steep ledge did nature dice to turn sour. A deafening rumble made each climber perk up. Snow began to descend at an alarming rate. Thunder began to mic the steady beating of a drum, causing more concern among the ranks of climbers. The powdery snow became more of a risk than ever, climbing under pressure and leaving nothing to stand on. Third base was more than three hours away. Three hours wasn't possible at the rate. Snowfall this bad could be detrimental to the climb’s success. Snow obscured vision and numbed faces. Shouts and orders deemed lost in the screaming wind; people’s figure became shapeless blurs frantically shifting, hoping if they struggled against the wind hard enough, they might find someone. Of course, this was to no avail. Not a single person doubted their demise would come at this point: the stakes were high and no-one could play too well against Mother Nature. The snow crept up to knee-level, making it harder and harder to travel. Death and I were face-to-face. To some, they couldn't bare the idea of dying up here; they had families and friends, children who need parents and

Despite enjoying the antics of the little ones, I couldn’t procrastinate much longer. It was time to face the music and meet my cross country ski instructor. I was surprised to feel nervous, after all how difficult could cross country skiing be? For years, I have avidly watched the Olympic Winter Games and the cross country athletes appear to circumnavigate the course without difficulty. Surely I would be able to kick, stride and glide with the best of them. My fearless instructor Bryon introduced himself to the group and welcomed us to our session. With a calm confidence he assured us that we would love our new sport and be tackling the trails in no time. Hesitantly, I followed Bryan and within seconds I was on the ground doing a fantastic Bambi impersonation. This was trickier than it

Every year, my family goes skiing. Our favorite place, by far, is Telluride. The drive into town is windy, steep, and can get pretty scary. While snow pelts the windshield and the wind makes the car swerve slightly, one may wonder whether the journey into town is worth it. But it so is. I’ve never seen something so breathtaking as when we crossed over that final

The athlete locks in his bindings on his Burton snowboard, adjusts his goggles, and peers down the mountain. He stares at the snow-covered trees, powdered slopes, and sapphire blue alpine lake in the distance. The young man remembers his skiing adventures through the trees as a small boy, rises to his feet, takes a deep breath and smiles. The crisp mountain air and the smell of pine trees fill his lungs as he glides down the blanket of snow on the groomed slopes of the mountain resort. The enjoyment of the sport of skiing and snowboarding, and the many other wonders of the Tahoe basin have been passed on to him from his family, and is like no other feeling in the world. Lake Tahoe is such a culturally and historically significant part of North

The cool winter air stung my face as I exited through the ski lodge door. Board in hand, I stepped onto the powdery snow. After each step I took all I heard was crunches and crackles from the snow compacting underneath my weight. I nervously made my way over to the top of the bunny hill where a tall, beat up looking man named Dave stood. He looked as if the cold weather had made him age quicker than the rest. The earnest look on his face caused me to shudder in fear. His eyes pierced through my soul as if warning me not to go through with this. I took a deep breath as I realized how

One of these activities includes the alpine slide in Lutsen, MN. This half mile track will be sure to give anyone a thrill as they head down the twisty, turning course. Before you board the chairlift, taking you to the top, the alpine slide staff instructs you to break as you go down the slide around corners. As we listened, my dad’s uncle Roger whispers to the rest of the family, “there is no way they would design it where you could fly off of the track, so I’m not going to brake on the corners.” As Roger went down the Alpine slide, he went left then right, then zing, zing, zing and off into the woods he went. Thankfully, the only thing Roger hurt that day was his

Once my dad arrived, we were on our way. I jumped out into the first park that we came to and the fresh new powder exalted me. We then rode over to our friend's cabin to say hello and have a Pepsi. We asked our friend, Bob to come along for the ride and he was delighted to join us. From there we cut across flat lined Twin Lake and then across the untracked Eggleston Lake. To my unpleasant surprise, we approached the lodge, and sleds were buzzing around like crows on road kill. Ten miles down the road I expected to, at least, see some other people riding, but we had the whole mountain to ourselves. We rode from mountain to mountain, crossing open drainages and gigantic playgrounds of snow one after another.

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.

The cold air brushing up against my bare skin, the soft flakes of snow landing on top of my head. "must keep going" I thought, "just keep going". My vision was beginning to get blurry, white patches began to show up on the bottom of my feet. The blurriness was getting so bad I stopped my run and began to waddle back and forth on the trail. My legs give out, my knees collapse under me and I fall onto the soft piles of snow on either side of the trail. The long beautiful trees dripping with snow looked like they came out of a fairy tale, the beauty was almost unrealistic. My eyes drift close and my body shuts down from the cold. Just before my eyes are completely shut I see the creature running across the trail its very hairy and has a long

It was a chilly Sunday afternoon with blue skies and all the makings for a good day of early season skiing on that fateful November afternoon. The day was winding down, the Broncos had just kicked off, and my friends and I had just leapt off the chairlift to embark on our last run of the day. All was well on the way down, a blur of orange jerseys rushing by as I sped down the mountain making the most of the last run of my day. Upon our final few turns of the afternoon, I found myself in a predicament that would later shape me into the person I am today.

It was time to go back up the ski mountain (one last time) and I was excited to know that I was getting close to the finish line! I hiked up the mountain at a decent pace and up next was a quarter-pipe made of snow. I enjoyed this obstacle, but I did notice that a few racers held on the ropes after they got to the top and used them to get back down, which meant the next racer would have to wait for a volunteer to re-set the ropes for them. Up next was the sand-bag carry that took racers into the wooded trail going

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.

I stare down the foggy hill, I can’t see the bottom. My stomach begins to turn in circles, I have never been this scared to ski before. The rush of butterflies takes off as I do.