Skiing Sunshine
I had skied in the mountains one time previously. About 10 years ago, I sent up to Fernie for a day of skiing with Heather's dad. I had made a trip down to Calgary to see Neil's brother, a Ear, Nose and Throat specialist about troubles that I was having with my ear. I was having a devil of a time hearing out of my left side and I needed some expert guidance on what I might be able to do. While down there, Neil and I took the opportunity to go up the mountain.
What neither of us could anticipate was that my hearing issue would be exacerbated by the elevation and the sobering heights of going up a ski lift. I almost passed out by the time we went up for our second run. That was the end of that skiing day.
Things went much better at Sunshine. While the heights were still sobering, they were not debilitating. I was able to go down the green runs with no problems. Even the blue runs weren't too bad. However, when Ben inadvertently took us on a black run, I was useless. My skies kept slipping out from under me and I ended up flat on my butt. In the end, I gave up and slid down the hill, using my ski pants as my crazy carpet.
That seemed like the perfect point to break for lunch. I energy level was getting low and sustenance, or in this case, a burger and fries, would help. It did, after which, we went out for another run. This time, we went up and up and up, taking a green run from the top of the mountain, above the clouds, down through some massive bowls. It seemed to go on forever and I was forced to stop and rest my thigh muscles before continuing. I knew at that point that I needed to call it a day.
Heather and Ben continued on while I sat in the chalet visiting with an American couple now living in the Caribbean. I was quite happy to sit there and chat rather than risking getting stuck up on the mountain, or worse, getting hurt.
After a few more runs, we were ready to head back to the lower level to return our rentals. While it was a lovely and long green run to get to the bottom, I had to stop multiple times to rest my legs. It was so nice to see the parking lot off in the distance.
I was reminded of two thing through this day. First, I need to exercise more. Second, I am getting older and I need to pace myself.
What neither of us could anticipate was that my hearing issue would be exacerbated by the elevation and the sobering heights of going up a ski lift. I almost passed out by the time we went up for our second run. That was the end of that skiing day.
Things went much better at Sunshine. While the heights were still sobering, they were not debilitating. I was able to go down the green runs with no problems. Even the blue runs weren't too bad. However, when Ben inadvertently took us on a black run, I was useless. My skies kept slipping out from under me and I ended up flat on my butt. In the end, I gave up and slid down the hill, using my ski pants as my crazy carpet.
That seemed like the perfect point to break for lunch. I energy level was getting low and sustenance, or in this case, a burger and fries, would help. It did, after which, we went out for another run. This time, we went up and up and up, taking a green run from the top of the mountain, above the clouds, down through some massive bowls. It seemed to go on forever and I was forced to stop and rest my thigh muscles before continuing. I knew at that point that I needed to call it a day.
Heather and Ben continued on while I sat in the chalet visiting with an American couple now living in the Caribbean. I was quite happy to sit there and chat rather than risking getting stuck up on the mountain, or worse, getting hurt.
After a few more runs, we were ready to head back to the lower level to return our rentals. While it was a lovely and long green run to get to the bottom, I had to stop multiple times to rest my legs. It was so nice to see the parking lot off in the distance.
I was reminded of two thing through this day. First, I need to exercise more. Second, I am getting older and I need to pace myself.
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