with a whole first day of newly found confidence, we woke up saturday morning ready to take on the day. i mean, i could just feel it was going to be a good day because it was loads easier to put on my boots. 🙂 once i got the rest of my gear all situated, the group decided to start things off together at the white otter lift since it was within skiing/snowboarding distance of the cabin. in theory it sounded like a great idea, because this lift would take us up to a run that would get us to base a lot quicker than trekking through the snow. plus, the crew felt i was ready for the white wing run, and i didn’t want to disappoint.
long story short, here is how things went on the white otter lift and white wing run. i got onto the lift all by myself no problem. i enjoyed the scenic and quiet ride up the lift. i completely ate it when i got off the lift, one ski popping off but my energy still intact. i watched as the crew, one by one, shooped down the very steep entrance from the lift onto the run. i also observed, with much trepidation, as phillip made his way down as well, slowly but surely. i took a big gulp of “i have to get down some way” reality, mustered all the spirit i could, and launched myself down the hill. i’m not quite sure what happened, but the result was a quintessential wipeout right in the middle of the run. the struggle was real one attempt after another as i tried to get my ski back on and get myself out of the way. eventually i righted things and after a few more confidence-crushing falls, i shuffled my way to the finish line. when i finally found phillip, all i could say was, “well, that is the least amount of fun i have had this entire time.”
there was good news out of this, though: that i recognized what my abilities were and were not and, as such, spent the rest of the day back at bear basin. phillip was a patient and positive cheerleader throughout the windy afternoon as i worked on weaving and faster turning and getting all the fresh mountain air that i could.
ultimately my goal for the second day of skiing was to end on a high note, and i think these pictures are evidence of just that. 🙂