Make your S's
I managed to catch in one of the last weekends of skiing at Mount Hood.
I have skied a total of 6 days in the last 10 years, and I went for the first time on the “blue” slope. To a greenie, the slope is intimidatingly steep and interminably long. After the first loss of control at high speed, you realize why they call it a “wipeout”.
Once at the top of the mountain, in such a situation, you only have two dignified alternatives:
- Get down on your butt all the way.
- Fall down on your butt a few times.
I chose the latter because it is faster, and its the only way to get
better.
And getting better means retaining control, which requires zig-zagging, which at that speed really requires right techniques, which means you focus and put all effort into the next S-curve, and then the next, and the next, until suddenly you are coasting at the bottom to queue again for the ski lift to take you up.
Make all the effort you can to make things effortless.