Travel

I’ve already written my full Omniten Reunion recap, however, I pretty much glossed over the entire idea of completing the challenge I presented myself.  To rehash the challenge a bit: Back in 1995 I broke my femur skiing.  Obviously I’m walking and living a pretty normal life with few complications today, but at only 12 years of age it was a pretty tough experience for me.  I have since been skiing but it’s been years so I knew I needed to get out and hit the slopes again.

Let’s be real. I’ve never will I be some world class skier or even take to black diamond or double black diamond slopes. I didn’t expect all that much of myself and made sure that made known to my fellow Omniten my lack of experience.

D-Day came and it was time to get gear up. First, I don’t remember ski boots being that uncomfortable.  Mind you I had to rent so it’s not as though the gear was custom fit, but something tells me I don’t think I’d ever call ski boots comfortable.  I made sure to click in to my skis on flat land, but was pleasantly surprised how many things came back naturally.  You know what they say about riding a bike, right?  Same deal.  From what we could tell Alta didn’t have any “bunny hills” for me to test out my ol’ skills so we headed immediately toward the lifts.  Cue my severe anxiety.  No worries, the Omniten said, “You can just ride the lift down if necessary.” Ha, now that’d be funny.  I wouldn’t look like a tool for doing that

With the exception of 2 steeper sections I was pleased by the mild incline of the hill.  First run of the day + no crashes = whew.  I had my mojo back.  Not that I ever really had mojo.  For the sake of being smart I stuck with green runs all day and was quite content.  They provided enough challenge but not too much anxiety that left me feeling I had conquered my challenge.

Unfortunately for me they next day at Solitude didn’t go quite so well.  My initial plan was to once again stick with green runs but with the encouragement of the Omniten I went ahead and loaded a lift for a blue run.  I tried not to think too much about it but I gotta say as we were heading up in the lift I regretted my decision.  Standing at the top, ready to descend, my heart was in my throat and all I wanted to do was vomit.  With the assistance of Katie I attempted my descent.  Before I knew it  the same scenario as back in 1995 unfolded before my eyes.  For some reason I’ve never been able to master getting away from the “pizza technique”. In other words, even when traversing the mountain I tend to stay in the wedge/pizza position out of fear of speed.  Even in the wedge position I pick up speed, which then leads to my skis crossing, which in turn leads to crashing.  And that’s exactly what happened.

Skis crossed, body whips around, ski releases, and I go spinning down the hill.  All I could think was, “No pain. No pain. No pain…..” I was waiting for the pain of a broken leg to hit.  I know some people say it’s hard to remember such immense pain.  That’s not the situation in my case…I remember that pain.  Thanks to the other kind skiers heading down the hill I was reunited with my ski and asked if I was ok.  I shook it off slid down the remainder of the section on my butt, tried to regroup,  but the damage was done.  My occipital lobe was pounding and my ego was bruised.

Blame it on the adrenalin or pain, but I knew I needed to find a peaceful corner to shed a few tears and digest what just happened, so I did just that. After some time I hit up the bunny hill to once again prove to myself, “I can do this!” but couldn’t help but still feel defeated.

While at lunch the Omniten discussed the situation.  Almost everyone agreed that I needed to head up at least one more time so that I could feel at peace with the situation.  We all agreed I didn’t need to take on a blue hill, but I needed something more than the bunny hill.  So we did just that.   I quickly learned that with the exception of a few catwalk sections the green run was more like a blue run.  Not good.  Needless to say I spent the majority of my descent side stepping or sliding on my butt.  There was even a portion where I found myself thigh deep in powder due to attempting to walk the descent while carrying my skis.  In other words, the run was not successful.

I see this as a huge learning experience.

Not all green hills are created equal…especially when your only experience is the mountain-less slopes of Ohio.

There is a fine line between pushing yourself/stepping outside your comfort zone and realizing your limits.  With the encouragement of my Omniten Family I started to push my limits.  Normally I’m all for being adventurous, pushing yourself, and stepping outside your comfort zone.  In this case I should have been more conservative.  In no way am I blaming my friends.  I made my decisions, but in my heart and mind I knew the limitations of my skill level and should have listened to my mind and heart.

Where does this leave me?  Initially I wasn’t sure and must admit that I was pretty bummed out and felt defeated.  But when I think of it, I did what I went to do….get up on skis again.  That’s considered success in my book.

Keep Smiling and Be Grateful =)