I went skiing for the first time and it was terrifying!

It’s hard to imagine but at the age of 45 I went skiing for the very first time. How difficult can it be? Most sports have come to me pretty easily, so downhill skiiing won’t be much different right?

I started with a two-hour private lesson with my amazing instructor Tom from Latvia. He asked what I wanted to learn, and of course I said ‘JUMPS!’ So, we trudged up to the learner slope to where the four-year-olds were. I listened like a sponge and tried to be the best student I could be.

After the lesson I joined my partner Chris and bestie Ash for the day. I was ready to progress to my future as a skiing pro. We did a green run, on which I promptly got humbled by the performance anxiety of trying to impress my girl and mate, having a wee crash on a gradient a marble wouldn’t even roll down. It was hard.

We had a break for lunch where chat moved to hitting some blue trails. I was keen but nervous.

The next run had a chill green traverse over to a blue run, I practiced my turns, leaning and looking and thought – ‘okay I’m ready’. Then all of a sudden, the slope picked up, I was jamming my best attempt at a pizza into the snow but was still picking up ridiculous speed. Where were the damn brakes! ‘PIZZZAAAHHH!’

So I went back to basics and tried to initiate some turns, but the slope felt so steep to me. I did a couple that felt ok…then suddenly quickly gained too much speed. This time, determined not to crash, I turned my skis towards the bank and rode up it, then went backwards down it, landing flat on my face with my skis at wild angles.

Scared

I didn’t want to engage with the outside world or anyone. I was terrified and had gone fully within myself. The lifts at the bottom looked miles away and very small. I wanted to cry.

Luckily, I was with possibly the two best people I could have chosen to have in my corner. Ash a professional mountain bike coach and Chris, lifelong skiing pro and soulmate who I trust implicitly with my life. I could hear Chris asking what I needed. She understood what kind of mental space I was in. I asked her to stay close. She did.

Ash took the lead and used mountain bike principles of guiding me though the turns by standing in my sight lines and getting me to ski to her following her tracks. After what felt like an eternity, we made it down.

We finished on a green run back to base, my brain laughing at the places where I had crashed earlier in the day, carving turns like those four-year-old pro’s I had seen earlier in the day all the way down the green run home. This is easy I thought. Did I want to do another blue run? HELL NO.

Learning Moments

So to sum up – The whole experience was super humbling. As someone who has been mountain biking for 25 years, and for whom all sporting or athletic endeavors have come reasonably easily, being thrust into a beginner’s shoes had been terrifying!

It was great for me to be on the other side of instruction, locked into those beginner boots and skis. To not take for granted what comes naturally and to understand growth and progression.

The experience helped put me in the shoes of many of the clients who I teach on the bike. It’s good to be reminded of the fear of doing something new and feel how daunting it can be to be around lots of other people who seem better than you. So remember, everyone was a beginner at sometime.

I went skiing for the first time and it was terrifying, but relax, breathe, look ahead and it will all be OK.

Hey, if you have had an experience like this on the mountain bike and want to chat it thru or hear about those next steps – then reach out to me below or DM me thru facebook or Instagram.

Nic is NZQA qualified coach, and Adventure Activities Accredited. Check out the register HERE for all Adventure Activity Accredited coaches in NZ.

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