Second is the Best... Third is Not the Worst

After my first experience of skiing wasn't the most positive, I was very hesitant going back the second time. Luke's dad had recently bought a vacation home in Crested Butte, Colorado so I decided to give skiing another try. All of the Buisson siblings were planning to visit Crested Butte for Christmas 2011. Coincidentally, my family was also planning a Christmas trip to Crested Butte. All of us planned to ski for at least a few days, so I had to get ready. Because I was so sore during the first trip, I wanted to prepare myself for the second trip. I remembered exactly what parts of my body were sore, so I used the trusty interwebs and did a little bit of research. I came up with a variety of exercises, and focused on those parts of my body for a month prior to leaving.

Our first day on the slopes was a nice day, but since it was only December, not all of the lifts and slopes were open. Most of them were, but not all. The first run we did was NOT the best choice. The signs all said green, but it ended up being moguls. Moguls = Difficult. I was soooooo mad at Luke for choosing that run first, even though he had no idea. I ended up falling and both of my skis came off. It's really difficult putting skis back on while on a slope because you end up sliding down the mountain. Anyway, I couldn't get my second one on, and Luke was getting frustrated with me for taking forever. So this resulted in me laughing because the situation was just ridiculous. Anyway, we found a quick cut through to an easy slope and made our way down the mountain. We found a much easier green than any of the others I had been on previously, including Winter Park, and this one got me so much more comfortable with the sport. We used that slope as a starting point each day and worked my way up. By the end of the trip, I was doing pretty well! I was not pushed by others. I created my own pace. I used the Buisson siblings who were learning as well as a time for me to improve my skills. The seven days I skied ended up great! And my exercises worked because I was not sore a single day of that trip!

I enjoyed it so much, that I was super jealous when Luke went on a guy's trip in January back to Crested Butte. He ended up trying snowboarding for the first time since he felt there was no more challenge in skiing. Plus, snowboarding is "super cool" and all the "cool kids" like to snowboard. And since Luke is the coolest kid on earth, he had to prove his cool kidness. Anyway, I enjoyed skiing so much over Christmas that when the Mardi Gras 2012 break came around (which gave me a full week off of work), we decided two weeks before to take another trip to Crested Butte. So right away, I begin my ski leg prep!

For my third ski trip, we went ahead with a 5 day lift pass, and we used all five of those days. My skills improved so much more! Luke continued with the snowboarding with a few major tumbles here and there. But by the end of the trip, the two of us were flying down the blues. We make a pretty good team on the slopes! I don't like to fall, so I stay in the back and make sure that Luke is doing okay. I still don't like to go really fast, but I can if needed. I like to feel in control and just glide along. Any extreme difficulty, like double blues and blacks just isn't fun to me. And I think this is about the extent of it. The important thing is I really do enjoy to ski!

We have a month to go before we leave for Morzine, France. Our group of 11 includes all kinds of skill levels, so I think it will be a great trip! Most of us are renting for 6 days of skiing, and I plan to take advantage of all 6 days. I have heard that the Alps is different than the Rockies. The slopes have 4 colors - green, blue, red, black - rather than the three in the States - green, blue, black. I have heard than the runs are narrower rather than the wide lanes you find in the Rockies. I plan to take it easy at first and just work my way up. But before all of this, I must prepare my body for 6 days of skiing!

Come back later to see what I do to prepare my legs for skiing...

RANDOM FACT:
The ski season is generally 5-6 months - around November to April. - but, each mountain and each year is different.

-Debbie-