Anyone who knows me knows that skiing is a really important part of my life. Not that wussy cross country, low hill skiing either. I am talking BC Mountains on Champaign snow. That said, anyone who knows me also knows I am terrified of heights. So much so, that there are some runs where I can’t look any further than 10 meters or so in front of me, and some runs I just can’t stomach at all because they are too steep and too high. Even though logically I know I can’t really fall off the mountain and I know I have very good skills, I just can’t work up the courage. I guess that classifies me as a “let’s just get down the mountain safely” kind of skier and not a “hot rod, ski any height” skier.
However, I love the challenge of overcoming my fear of heights and the speed, the daring, the fresh air, even when I find myself on a particularly steep and high run and have to remind myself that I chose this sport and to suck it up buttercup!
When I made the decision to move to the United State, I knew the first year would be mostly out east in the Toledo area. I did a lot of internet research on Ski Hills near the Toledo/Detroit area. I found six ski resorts within 2 hours of Toledo, seven between 2 and 3 hours, and eight ski hills between 3 and 4 hours from Toledo.
Over the course of the last few months, I have been able to visit three of the six that are about 2 hours from my apartment. I decided not to bother visiting the closest hill because it is said to be a flat low hill built on what used to be a garbage dump! The three that I did visit were sadly also very small hills, so much so that their black diamond runs wouldn’t actually qualify for blue runs according to the ski resorts I have been to back home in British Columbia. Apparently, there are no actual global standards and run standards tend to vary by country and region. The double black runs in Michigan are about a 21 degree slope, which translates into a very easy blue or moderate run in British Columbia. Consequently, in Michigan, I am a perceived as a very good advanced skier; whereas, at home, I am a decent intermediate skier. I did wonder what would happen to a Michigan skier who thinks they can ski black diamonds if they were to ever find themselves out on an actual mountain and real black diamond run. As many skiers know, once you get to the top of a hill there is usually only one way to get down!
Obviously I love skiing so much that I am willing to drive 2 hours from my home to a teeny tiny little ski hill that not only has no decent slope, but is also only about 30 seconds long! However, as noted, I am only a decent intermediate skier, and I started skiing later in life (about 5 years ago), therefore, I make those long drives, exploring each hill in turn, just to keep my skills up a little bit.
Last week, I had the good fortune of finding myself in Vancouver for the weekend and I managed to get out to the Cypress Ski Hill that was the official free style skiing venue for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games (http://cypressmountain.com/). It isn’t as big as “my” mountain, but the blue and black runs are real blues and blacks.
Of course, because I’m a chicken and a little afraid of heights ,I started with the Greens (double blacks according to where I am now), and worked my way up to the blues. I even crossed the top of a black run called Rainbow-three times!
This week, I came home to Kamloops and my favorite mountains Todd and Morrissey at the Sun Peaks resort (http://www.sunpeaksresort.com/). My first day out was yesterday. The snow sucked! Almost as bad (or even worse) than manmade snow. It was heavy, wet, and sloppy. On the flats where there is no inertia it grabs your skis so hard it almost stops you and makes you fall over. I didn’t ski any greens, only hard blues, and I realized two things: 1. The only thing that holds me back is my own fear of heights; and 2: I will ski in any snow, because I just put on my gear and I’m heading back out there today.
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