My Skiing Experience

Have you ever seen snow before? Well, as for me, I have never experienced snow until I came to the United States. I was exceptionally excited when my father announced that he was going to drive us to Lake Tahoe. It is winter, and the mountains are capped with snow. Lake Tahoe is a popular destination for snow activities.

Before we left for the ski resort, I planned to take the two hour beginners ski lesson that my mother signed up for us and spend most of the day playing with snow. My mother told us that snow was soft and powdery, unlike ice.

Just at that moment, I remembered the skiing advertisements I saw on television- those skiers sped down high mountains amongst rocks. I shivered. I asked my father if the slopes that we were going to were as steep. He reassured me that the beginner slopes were gentle and easy to ski down.

After three hours of driving, we reached Boreal skiing resort. The weather was extremely cold, so I put on five layers of clothing before leaving for the registration counter. We rented ski boots, skis and ski poles. The boots have to be tight enough to not allow any movement, and the skis and ski poles have to be adjusted according to my weight and height. The boots were especially heavy, so trying to walk in them was difficult and made me feel like a robot.

The ski fields outside wasn’t quite what I had expected. It was as compact as ice, not soft and fluffy like what my mother said. Our ski instructor introduced herself as Darcy and she led us to one end of the ski resort. She said that the snow was 50% man-made and 50% natural, so it’s more like ice than snow. She started with safety rules and then the way to put on a ski. She brought us to a short and gentle slope and showed us how to climb up the slope sideways like a crab. This is easier said than done. Before I reached the top, I slid down again, going backwards. It was a really scary experience, as I scarcely managed to keep my balance. Luckily, at the second try, I succeeded. Next, she taught us how to brake by pushing the back of your feet out We then tried to go down the slope. I felt thrilled! I could control the ski to where I wanted to go! My brother and I learnt quickly, but my father kept on falling down.

Soon, one hour and forty-five minutes flew by. Darcy took us to the ski lift station that brought us up to top of the first level slope. I was stunned. This slope was five stories tall! My brother and I let my father go first, as we edged forward slowly. Just then, both of us slipped and suddenly started skiing down. My brother started going down at a tremendous speed. I cautiously braked a little, and went down the slope slowly. At one point, I lost control and went down extremely fast. Everything was like a blur and I felt the rush of wind against my face. As my speed picked up, I felt adrenaline racing through my heart. I braked as much as I could, and came to a stop at the end. I felt a sense of achievement-I skied down a five storey slope without falling down! I turned around, only to see my brother and father sprawled in the snow, after they fell down. I immediately wanted to try again, and went up a second time with my brother. This time, I felt better control with my skis. My brother got the hang of skiing on his third try and we went up multiple times. Meanwhile, my father kept falling down on the slope.

After lunch, we all continued skiing. My brother and I continued skiing while my father continued practicing. After my brother and I skied five more times ourselves, my father joined us after practicing. This time, he didn’t even fall down! We discovered another face of the beginners slope. After another two hours of practice, I could finally ski down one of them without braking at all!

Sadly, at four thirty, the station for the beginner slope closed for the day, forcing us to either stop or ski down the intermediate slope. The intermediate slope was much more intimidating-there were obstacles on the way, the slope was almost two and a half times longer, and the slopes looked much steeper. My father decided to stop, but my brother and I decided to try the intermediate slope. We got on the ski ride, and I thought to myself, “What if I’m too scared to go down?” I thought for a while, and decided to give it a try. If it is too scary or difficult, I’ll stop skiing. I got off the ride together with my brother, and decided to follow a boy who also had been from the beginner slope. I braked a quite a lot, but ended up zooming down very fast. In the blink of an eye, I was about to go over a hump that was short on the side facing me, but went down very steep. I tried braking as much as I could, but it was too late. I went over it, and felt my stomach lurching. Oh no! There was a few more coming up! My stomach lurched when I went over each one. Although this experience was frightening, I felt a great sense of happiness overcoming me- in just one day, I managed to ski down the intermediate slope without falling down at all! We tried many more times, until it was five thirty. Then, my parents said that we could go a last time. This time, we went faster than usual, since it was going to be my last time going skiing in a long time.

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Hi guys, I'm a student in Singapore, and this are some thoughts and essays I have written over the years.