I am not coordinated like my friends Lindsay and Andrea who caught on to skiing quickly. I am a slow learner (think tortoise and the hare) and that is OK. But, this is my year to learn to carve. I can feel it! New skis, great conditions (even without any fresh snow–thanks to Sundance’s great groomers), and fabulous Sundance Ladies Day instructors.
This week, we worked on carving again. Of course, Lindsay gets it because she is a snowboarder and that is the natural state of the snowboarder. For me, the idea of leaning in to the mountain and being on the thin edge of the ski seems ridiculous. But, I trust Cody, my super instructor and the man who got me up on skis and down the bunny hill 3 seasons ago. So, I am trying to defy my body’s sense of right and 
wrong and throw myself down the mountain while laying into it at the same time. Is that a good way to describe carving? This is what it is supposed to look like. Well, some day I will get there.
The point of Sundance Ladies Day is that I can keep going each season until I get it. And maybe I will never get to this point but I enjoy the process of learning to ski so much. Don’t tell my kids, but I actually enjoy skiing with Ladies Day more than skiing with them right now. I get to concentrate on my own skiing and have fun with my friends rather than focusing on my kids. Don’t get me wrong, I love my family and I love being with them but I LOVE Ladies Day. I feel safe and secure and also I feel stretched. This week, I stretched in ways that I haven’t stretched all year and I have muscles that hurt from trying to carve. But I slept last night so deep that my kids had to wake me up in the morning. That is what a good day on the mountain will do for you.
This was the last lesson in this session and I am so proud of Andrea that she was able to learn to ski Bearclaw in 3 weeks and get more comfortable in 4. Anna also learned to ski Bearclaw this session so as as family we can all ski Bearclaw now. That means we no longer have to split up so the boys can have fun and I stay with Anna on the front mountain. Thanks to Anna’s instructor Caleb who has faithfully helped her ever
y season, she has conquered the mountain.Check out Andrea and Anna getting their Bearclaw pins!
I am beyond proud of this first session and am heading back for more skiing and more lessons! I started the seasons out on a toboggan and in the back of an ambulance having lost my confidence worried that I did not have the ability to do anything physical (you can read about that in Back on the Horse). But, skiing has taught me that I can. I may be a bit slower than my friends, but this tortoise is going to carve up the mountain at her own pace. Watch out you hares because I am on my way!