61. Go skiing

Sun Peaks

Standing on the edge of the ski slope, I wondered how on earth I’d forgotten that I have a fear of heights. Maybe because I hardly ever put myself in situations which activate that particular tremor?

Welcome to Sun Peaks, site of my first skiing experience last Saturday. Living in Vancouver is a funny thing, because we don’t get winters like the rest of Canada, and it was also the first time I’d seen so much snow. Looking back, I wish I’d made snow angels, but my mind was on something entirely different that day.

Next to me, a child slid gracefully down the kiddy slope, her arms relaxed by her sides, her hands empty of the poles I was clutching onto, as if skiing came as easily to her as breathing.

Take a deep breath, I told myself. Just go.

I went — too far left. Woah, that’s a steep drop coming right ahead of me and OH MY GOD FALL FALL FALL BEFORE YOU SHOOT OFF IT!

It’s a good thing that I am all for falling to my side in order to stop, if I can’t stop myself properly in time. Which was almost always.

Nope, I was not taking that T-bar up the actual bunny hill any time soon. I was going to stick to the kiddy slope for as long as I wanted — which was pretty much the whole day, but I got brave enough to do the whole run by the end of the day. I’m pleased about that, even if I did have to fall a couple more times on the way down.

But hey, I learned how to put my skis on and off, and how to slow down and actually stop (sometimes). It’s all about the baby steps.

And I got to tick another item off my Day Zero list as well.