The Oldest Bunny

Check out this video of me skiing much better this week at Manning:

I'm still skiing like a little old lady, especially at the start. Check out how slowly I get moving. I partially blame the sticky snow that adhered to my skis and wouldn't allow them move, that is until they did move--very fast. So I started out afraid. I wanted to get going, but I only wanted to go slowly. Once I did get going, I felt more comfortable. I'm not exactly tearing down the hill, but I did do much better Friday than I have done in the past. It seemed like something clicked for me this week-- my fourth skiing lesson. I figured out how to shift my weight to turn, I didn't end up as exhausted as I did on the three previous lessons, my frustration level was much lower and I felt more in control.
We did have to use the rope tow because the T-bar apparently doesn't run on weekdays. That rope tow is harder on my shoulders than the T-bar and I ended up pretty sore. Randy showed me how to pull myself ahead and put the handle behind my back so it was pushing me up the hill, rather than me hanging on for dear life with my arms. My arms got sore enough anyway. The only time I fell getting onto the rope tow was the first time up when the attendant gave me an unexpected push--right onto my face in the snow. I was so angry falling in front of a line-up of parents with their five-year-olds, that I asked her not to push me again.
I did fall a few times, mostly when I tried something new, like facing my body down the hill and making my legs do the turning, or when I tried to follow Randy. But I went down the hill so many times that I lost count. I even skied the last run!
I was sore the next day and I'll probably be even more sore tomorrow. My hips are a major challenge in executing a snow plow, so stopping is not going that well. I think I need to bring some yoga hip openers into my life, even though Randy says it's not about hips.

Snowy trails

Today's trail was covered in snow.

A few weeks before Christmas, Randy and I went to a ski swap and bought ourselves a Christmas present: ski equipment. The first time I went skiing, shortly after Christmas, I spent the afternoon on my butt in the snow. It took me three-and-a-half hours to get down the short side of the bunny hill once and left me exhausted, frustrated and cold.
The second time I went skiing, about a week after that, I got down the short side of the bunny hill four times and took the rope tow four times. I only wiped out three times, but ended up with some lovely bruises and a sore shoulder from the rope tow.
The third time I went skiing, today, I went down the short side of the bunny hill twice, then we graduated to the long side of the bunny hill. Exciting! Randy says I made significant progress, although I feel like I fell a lot. But Randy says that's because I went down a steeper hill, I was trying to slalom, learning to slide down the hill, and how to stop with a snowplow--or pizza--as my younger colleagues were instructed. (The median age of new skiers on the bunny hill, myself excepted, was about five. The combined age of me and Randy is 102. Big difference.) I graduated to the T-bar, which was so much easier to handle.
I think we have to go again soon. Progress will be made from consistency and maybe a YouTube video.