Student Publishing Program ::

Joshua Gordon

Skiing in Colorado

Throughout life people undergo changes, both emotional and physical. One change that I went through recently was in my ability and confidence in skiing. I have been skiing since I was four years old, but only recently have I considered myself an expert. For as long as I can remember my family has been going up to Canada during the winter to ski at Jay Peak. I can still see my self on a little harness attached to one of my parents struggling to get down one of the beginner runs. Occasionally my family and I will ski in the Rocky Mountains.

Last year during February vacation my dad and I went skiing out west in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Although not the most challenging mountain out west, Steamboat has a few extremely hard runs. About midway though our first day skiing, my dad and I took a lift that brought us to the back side of the mountain. We were bored with the skill level of most of the runs on the mountain because of their ease. The back side looked fairly easy as well, but then my dad saw some people hiking up through a path in the trees. We decided to see what was up there for ourselves. Little did we realize that that there were three double black runs, or expert runs called chute 1, 2, and 3 just a short hike away.

When we finally reached the top, I looked down at the runs. What I saw scared me. All three runs were basically a narrow steep pass through the trees down something that much resembled a cliff. I had always known that I was a good and capable skier, but I didn’t think I was an expert and able to make it down in one piece. However my dad convinced me, and I went for it. My dad took off down the run and I followed. I quickly maneuvered past the first patch of trees. Then the run got steeper. I had to slow down for fear of dying. I knew that one wrong move could be my demise. I got to a section of the run that in my mind closely resembled a cliff face. That’s when the trouble started. I was fine until I started doubting my self. At one point I got stuck and didn’t know what to do. Every way I looked to turn seemed like an unsafe choice. Finally I got a boost of courage and conquered my fears. I was able to ski down with little struggle after I regained confidence in myself.

When I looked up form the bottom of the run at what I just came down I felt proud. To me this event was a moment of personal achievement and accomplishment. This moment in my mind marked my emergence as an expert skier. From this experience I have learned a valuable lesson. I have learned to conquer my fears.

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