Skiing breakthrough?

Michael and I went skiing yesterday. It was my first time on that mountain, and it quickly became my favorite of the three closest to us. It has many short green trails.

We spent some time skiing the lower half of the mountain, and then ventured up to the top. It has a fabulous, panoramic view that Michael has been wanting to show me for years, but unfortunately by the time we got to the top (the lift was closed the first half of our visit) thick clouds had rolled in and I was unable to see anything.

We split up coming down the mountain, as Michael had a black trail he wanted to ski. The blue trails at the top were a pretty green blue, so I was comfortable making my way slowly down the mountain.

Whenever I'm not with Michael, I get unsolicited advice from whichever ski instructor happens to be nearby when I pause to take a break. Impromptu ski lessons in fortune-cookie doses. Last week, someone told me, "Point your belly button where you want to go." This week, while waiting for his class to ski down to him, a man said, "Keep your shoulders and head pointed down the mountain, and use the lower half of your body to turn."

I tried doing that until I got to a part of the trail I didn't like, and then I tensed up and reverted to my previous methods. I found myself wondering if I shouldn't resign myself to being the read-in-the-ski-lodge-and-dispense-cocoa-during-breaks ski mom.

When Michael and I met up again for the last two runs of the day, he had a new piece of advice for me. "Pretend each foot is on a gas pedal. When you turn, push down on the gas with one foot and lift up on the gas with the other." Surprisingly, this seemed to work really well. It kept me from holding too much weight on my uphill ski. Automatically, my skis maintained a parallel position, instead of the wedge they favored before. As an added bonus, my speed picked up significantly without a loss of control.

I don't usually look forward to skiing, but I find myself wanting to get back on the slopes to practice my new technique. Maybe it's too early to limit myself to the lodge.