One of the defining questions for all Vermonters is this: ski or snowboard. It tells you more about a person in this culture than "dogs or cats" or "democrat or republican". All my buddies fall into the ski category and have been hitting the slopes multiple times a week since we finally got snow last month. I decided that when in Vermont, I must try skiing. I mean, that's a dream vacation for some people, so it would be silly if I didn't go at least once.
So Andi, Laura and I piled in the car on Saturday morning to head out to Jay Peak. Originally, we were going to go to Bolton, but a couple of guys down the hall wanted to go to Jay, so we adjusted. The issue with Jay is that it's huge. I mean you get neck cramps from trying to look at the top of the mountain huge. It freaked me out. The last time I went skiing was at Mount Kato in 8th grade and I got really good at falling down. And just to put it in perspective, Mt. Kato has 19 trails, Jay has 79. No lies.
It took us about an hour and a half to drive there and it got snowier and colder as we went. Once we arrived, we had to navigate parking which was a pain and a half. But after getting my gear and lift ticket, I was good to go. Laura has been skiing for a while and gave me some good pointers about turning and how to go slow. There was this tube track thing near the lodge that would bring you up a little ways to practice a bit, so I did that a couple of times.
Then we decided to hit the bunny hill. And this began the debate over what to call ourselves, ski bunnies or ski bros. Laura, being a wildlife biology major and general animal fanatic, went bunny. Andi, being from Boston where everyone is some sort of bro, obviously went bro. I went bunny, but the majority did not win out and we ended up with a split decision.
My first run went ok. I only fell 3 times. And the second time I went down it, I didn't fall at all. I was getting my ski legs and was ready for a bigger run. So we met up with Andrew and Ryan (both of whom think double black diamonds are the only runs worth exploring) and took a lift. Now, Laura had told me that we'd only be going on green circle trails - the easy ones - but when we got to the top of the mountain, and I mean top, there were only blue squares and black diamonds. Needless to say I was shaking in my ski boots. But you have to get down one way or another, so I tried my best. It was a hot mess. I fell down probably 10 times and on 2 occasions, it took me nearly 10 minutes to get back up on my skis. Thanks be to God that Laura is patient. The boys had gone ahead and after waiting 15 minutes for us at the bottom, decided to ski on, so I hit the bunny run a couple more times before Laura and I dipped inside to warm up with some cider.
I did try that run again later in the day and only fell down twice, so I did get better throughout the day. One thing they don't tell you about skiing is how many muscles it takes! Good thing I run otherwise I'm not sure how long I would have been able to go. The lifts closed at 4pm and we went down for one more run. Andi challenged me to go fast. I don't like going fast. But go big or go home, right? Or as the guy on the lift said, go big then go home. So I went bombs away and didn't fall down. I was actually waiting for Laura and Andi at the bottom instead of them waiting for me -- a welcome change.
I conked out on the ride back to Burlington only waking up to eat some McDonald's on the way. It was a really fun day over all and I'm glad I went. Now if only this bruise on my butt would go away...
So Andi, Laura and I piled in the car on Saturday morning to head out to Jay Peak. Originally, we were going to go to Bolton, but a couple of guys down the hall wanted to go to Jay, so we adjusted. The issue with Jay is that it's huge. I mean you get neck cramps from trying to look at the top of the mountain huge. It freaked me out. The last time I went skiing was at Mount Kato in 8th grade and I got really good at falling down. And just to put it in perspective, Mt. Kato has 19 trails, Jay has 79. No lies.
It took us about an hour and a half to drive there and it got snowier and colder as we went. Once we arrived, we had to navigate parking which was a pain and a half. But after getting my gear and lift ticket, I was good to go. Laura has been skiing for a while and gave me some good pointers about turning and how to go slow. There was this tube track thing near the lodge that would bring you up a little ways to practice a bit, so I did that a couple of times.
Then we decided to hit the bunny hill. And this began the debate over what to call ourselves, ski bunnies or ski bros. Laura, being a wildlife biology major and general animal fanatic, went bunny. Andi, being from Boston where everyone is some sort of bro, obviously went bro. I went bunny, but the majority did not win out and we ended up with a split decision.
My first run went ok. I only fell 3 times. And the second time I went down it, I didn't fall at all. I was getting my ski legs and was ready for a bigger run. So we met up with Andrew and Ryan (both of whom think double black diamonds are the only runs worth exploring) and took a lift. Now, Laura had told me that we'd only be going on green circle trails - the easy ones - but when we got to the top of the mountain, and I mean top, there were only blue squares and black diamonds. Needless to say I was shaking in my ski boots. But you have to get down one way or another, so I tried my best. It was a hot mess. I fell down probably 10 times and on 2 occasions, it took me nearly 10 minutes to get back up on my skis. Thanks be to God that Laura is patient. The boys had gone ahead and after waiting 15 minutes for us at the bottom, decided to ski on, so I hit the bunny run a couple more times before Laura and I dipped inside to warm up with some cider.
I did try that run again later in the day and only fell down twice, so I did get better throughout the day. One thing they don't tell you about skiing is how many muscles it takes! Good thing I run otherwise I'm not sure how long I would have been able to go. The lifts closed at 4pm and we went down for one more run. Andi challenged me to go fast. I don't like going fast. But go big or go home, right? Or as the guy on the lift said, go big then go home. So I went bombs away and didn't fall down. I was actually waiting for Laura and Andi at the bottom instead of them waiting for me -- a welcome change.
I conked out on the ride back to Burlington only waking up to eat some McDonald's on the way. It was a really fun day over all and I'm glad I went. Now if only this bruise on my butt would go away...
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