This past month, I went downhill skiing. Did I ever have a blast! I felt like a kid again, with the freedom of flying down a snow-covered hill—except with the added confidence of not falling down.
A small group of friends packed up on a beautiful morning and headed out to the hills at Falcon Ridge Ski Slopes in the Whiteshell. We waited in line for twenty minutes to get our lift ticket and ski rentals, then off we went. I packed on layers of clothing in the lobby, stepped into my clunky ski boots and helmet, and headed outside. After 15 minutes, I was sweating. I had overdressed by a lot, but I was too excited to go back inside and take off some layers.
We started off going down the bunny hills, nice and steady, and trying not to run over all the beginner skiers out there. The most interesting part was learning how to use the T-bar to get up the hill. It was literally a metal bar with a two-by-two piece of wood; you weren’t supposed to sit on it, but rather let it push you up the hill. Thankfully, I caught on quick and never fell off. There were a handful of people who didn’t catch on, and fell off halfway up.
We had the option to use the rope to get up the hill, too, but I used it once and ripped my gloves. After that, I decided to stick to the T-bar.
Whenever I got to the top of the hill, I could ski down either side of the hill, left or right, which then split into three or four routes to the bottom. At first we all went together as a group, following each other like a conga line.
After about two hours, everyone went inside except me. I was having way too much fun by myself. I got up the hill, then down, up the hill and down again in a matter of minutes. I did four and half hours of skiing that day and had so much fun that I begged the ski operators to let me go up one more time before they shut down the hill for the evening.
Get outside and have fun in Manitoba’s winter wonderland. There is more to do outside in the snow than you might think. Be active, have fun, and always be open to try something new.
