Nancy Here! I have been looking forward to Sundance Ladies Day since the last day of skiing in April 2013. We purchased season passes and Sundance was blessed with enough snow to open early in December 2013 so we were able to ski several times before Sundance Ladies Day. On my last ski day with my son, I took a nasty fall and could not make it down myself. I had the joyous experience of taking a ride in a toboggan to the bottom of the mountain with Ski Patrol (Thanks Devon) where I was checked out by paramedics and declared physically OK.
However, I was not mentally OK. I was shaken to the core. I began to doubt my skiing skills and whether or not I was ever cut out to ski. The problem was that I have been the biggest cheerleader for Ladies Day and had invited 15 people to ski with me at Ladies Day. Among those skiing with me this year is my dear friend Andrea who has only skied 3 times in her life and had given it up because she thought it was too hard and too cold. So, despite my own doubts and fears, Andrea and I headed up to Sundance Ladies Day today.
To say I was worried, is an understatement. I was fearful that I could not ski (even though I had been several times this season already). Thank goodness I had Andrea to make me go. Since it was her first time, she had a fabulous instructor named Scott assigned to her and they took off. I was put in the Intermediate class with Lindsay and two other ladies (see Lindsay’s post Just Like Riding a Bike (Or Speeding Down the Mountain)! about her first day). And thank goodness Cody Hale was my instructor again, Cody had taught me to ski and had been there with me on the bunny hill. He listened to my description of my fall, but years of teaching made him confident I would be fine.
So, up we went to the Back Mountain and BearClaw were I had fallen two weeks ago. All the way up, I was thinking, “Can I even get off the lift?” “What if I fall again and hit my head again?” Well, the breathtaking beauty of the top of Sundance began to calm my fears. The day I had fallen was an icy day. Today was wonderful! I decided to just go for it and see what happened.
MAGIC! I had not forgotten anything! I was able to ski everything I had skied last season and do it with confidence. This doesn’t mean I did not have some bad habits creep in that need some work and that I don’t have a lot to learn (A LOT), but I was able to conquer my fears and get back on the horse! PHEW! The day was a great milestone in my life because I was able to overcome my fears and see myself in a new light!
My friend Andrea did amazing and was able to get off the bunny hill and ski the first stop (mid mountain) 5 times! WOOOOOO HOOOOO! And even better than that, she loved it! She is so excited to come back for more and have more experiences! Now I have added one more great friend to ski with. When we got home, Andrea said that she realized the wisdom of starting an activity like skiing with an instructor. It got her farther in 2 hours than in the three times she had tried to ski before.
So, if you thought you were too old, had had a bad experience in the past, or just have not skied in years, this is the call to action! Get out there and do it! Sundance Ladies Day is an excellent place to do it but if you don’t live near Sundance, find the best ski instructors near you. If you can come to Utah, Sundance is such a great place to learn because it has the right terrain for learning and superb instructors. It is amazing. And if you need to come down with Ski Patrol, Sundance is the best place to do that too. Just make sure you get back on the horse because the ride is so worth it!