Navigating a slippery slope: learning to ski as an adult | members only

Butterflies flitting about my stomach, my hands start sweating inside my gloves as I glance at the chairlift passing overhead taking skiers to wherever their next exhilarating run begins.

Refocusing on the task at hand, I take a few deep breaths to try and psych myself up to tackle the slope of the beginner’s hill — without falling. Pushing off, I find my 52-year-old-self

gaining speed and panic setting in. Incorporating more yoga-like breathing, I slide my skis from “French fries” (parallel) into “a slice of pizza” (triangular), the fast food-themed shapes I

learned in beginner skier lessons over the years in New York, Colorado, Utah and Northern California. Slowing down, I replay my instructors’ words in my mind; my nerves start to calm, and I

settle into my run. It isn’t fast, it isn’t necessarily pretty, but I make it to the bottom of the hill without falling. I take the win with a grin on my face and swish, swish, swish myself

into the lift line for another run. Growing up, my family never lived anyplace where skiing was an accessible activity save Southern California, where I gave cross-country skiing a try when

I was in elementary school. In early adulthood, the thought of bundling up to spend time out in the snow wasn’t appealing. As I’ve grown older, though, I find myself seeking new ways to

challenge myself and am always up for an adventure. That’s how I found myself taking my first ski lesson about a decade ago. EMBRACING FEARLESSNESS On my very first bunny hill, I remember

watching toddlers speed past on their tiny skis without fear as I nervously rode the magic carpet, desperately trying to not topple over. It’s then that I learn my first lesson when it comes

to skiing: not to compare myself to others. As an adult, I know that I have more trepidation and fear than those kids, understanding the risk of injury. But rather than letting that fear

hold me back, I instead try to embrace the fearlessness of my inner child. “When I think about older adults … there’s more of a fear factor,” says Tom Stevenson, a retired transportation

executive turned ski instructor at Snowbasin Resort in Utah. I took a beginner’s lesson with him last winter. “As you get older, you’re not as strong, you’re not as flexible as you were when

you were younger, so you’re … a little bit more cautious,” he adds. “But that doesn’t mean that you can’t learn to ski.” Which brings me back to lessons, and why I take a beginner’s lesson

each time I can get myself back out onto the slopes.  Living in Florida is not conducive to wintertime sports, so skiing isn’t something I do often during the season. When I am back on the

slopes, though, it’s like riding a bike. With a beginner’s lesson, the skills I’ve learned over the years come flooding back. That said, I know myself, and I know I feel more confident with

an instructor alongside to guide me.