What Goes Up Must Come DOWN...Pt.3

Well, after our first, and somewhat disastrous day of skiing, it would have been very easy for Abby and me to just toss in the towel and say, "No more!" But, we're not quitters...OH, NO! We take on a challenge full force and stare fear right in the face! So, even though we woke up on Tuesday morning battered and bruised (mainly our egos!), we both knew we had mountains to conquer!

After talking things over with Chris, I made the executive decision for Abby and I to head to the "newbie peak"...GOPHER HILL! Yes, you read that correctly...GOPHER HILL! We all made our way over on the shuttle bus. We got off with a renewed sense of determination. We popped our skis on and off we went to learn the sport, one baby step at a time!

Now, GOPHER HILL, I must confess, was overrun with about 20 little 3-4 year old kids who were, also, learning to ski. Precious, I know, but let me tell you that I was very intimidated by them! They were all skiing beautifully without any poles! I couldn't believe my eyes! Oh, was I going to have to show them a thing or two...never mind that I was the only adult around, other than the ski instructor. Abby and I hopped on the conveyor belt to take us to the top and, miracle of miracles, neither one of us fell...YET! You got it...as soon as I made the turn to head down the hill, I went SPLAT! Oh, it was an ugly fall...and so were the 4 or 5 times right after that! I really think those little kids were snickering at me, too! Abby fell down once or twice, but she's a kid, so it wasn't as noticeable.

Abby and I spent a good part of the morning going up and down GOPHER HILL, which happened to be directly under a ski lift, so everybody could watch. Lucky me! Abby and I were about to hop on the conveyor belt when a little girl fell down on it right in front of me. I made the comment to Abby that I was SO glad that hadn't happened to me. The poor thing had to crawl on her hands and knees to get off of it! Well, as I was getting ready to get on the conveyor belt, I was giving Abby a speech about how we needed to believe in ourselves and that I had full confidence that we'd get the hang of things. Onto the conveyor belt I stepped. I lost my balance and down I went on all fours! I had to scramble around and crawl off the moving belt on my hands and knees! Now, I know how that little girl must have felt! I turned around to look at Abby and she was laughing uncontrollably! She said, "Mom, that was the funniest thing EVER!" I'm so glad I can provide some great entertainment for my family! LOL!

Here's Abby going down GOPHER HILL...
And Brittany saying, "I really hope some cute snowboarding dudes don't see me on GOPHER HILL!" Oh, yeah, she was way too cool for that!

After practicing on our skills for awhile, we decided to head to the nearest lodge for lunch...BIG MISTAKE! Chris and I both had ham and cheese sandwiches, Brittany had a chicken salad sandwich, and Abby had plain chicken salad. Would you believe that cost us a whopping $45? We about fell over! The sandwiches weren't even edible...the bread was very hard and dried out. Big bummer!

Once we finished with lunch, Abby and I decided to go down GOPHER HILL a few more times. We were finally getting the knack of it! So, onto the ski lift we went and headed up to 11,000 ft. elevation!

We got stuck on the ski lift for about 20 mins. or so. Here's a picture Chris snapped of us as we were waiting to start moving, again. I'm on the left...the one whose skis are spread apart. Hey, I was trying to prepare myself for what lay ahead!


We, soon, reached the mountaintop and it was time to off-load. Well, I did scoot to the edge of my seat, but my feet went out from under me and KERPLUNK...down I went! The chair grazed my head! I caused a chain reaction and 3 PROFESSIONAL snowboarders behind me hit the ground, too! Yes, the ski lift had to be shut down, again, so that I could crawl my way to safety! I was so embarrassed! When I, finally, got on my feet, I looked around to find 5 grown men laughing hysterically at me! Yes, Chris was one of them! I just laughed along with them...what else could I do?

Here we are at the very top of the mountain...talk about a LONG way down! Abby and I were both afraid we were going to slide off the cliff!

Chris went over to look at the map of all the slopes and saw that a green slope was just off to the right from where we were standing. So, he and Brittany led the way...Abby and I followed. We stood at the top and looked down and it was pretty steep. However, I didn't want to let Chris down, so I mushed onward...against my better judgement. Abby was right behind me. We both fell down about 3 times. After the third fall, Abby and I looked at each other and decided that we didn't feel confident enough with our skiing abilities to venture further down the hill. So, I waved to Chris and told him to come up. He and Brittany took off their skis and walked up to meet us. Abby and I took our skis off and we walked back to the ski lift that we'd just gotten off. We explained to the operator what was going on and he said we could ride the lift back down. Those words were music to my ears...trust me! Abby and I hopped on and Chris and Brittany decided to ski down to the bottom to meet us. Chris called riding down on the ski lift the "RIDE OF SHAME". Oh, I understand why...Abby and I were the only "loser pants" on it going down...everyone was going UP! They all stared at us, too...some even pointed! LOL!

We got to a section of the lift where we had to off-load and ski to another one. You got it...down I went, AGAIN! Yes, they had to shut the ski lift down another time. See? I think I was beginning to get a reputation around town! :) However, when we made it to the bottom of the slopes and off-loaded...I didn't fall! Woo hoo! Abby looked at me and said with such seriousness, "Mom, I am so proud of you!", as if I'd accomplished some great feat! Well, now that I think about it, I did!

After we made it back and ate dinner, we all went for a walk in a neighborhood behind our hotel. Here's a little bungalow I'd love to call my own...up for sale for a measly $3 million! I guess that's how the "other half" lives! Here's the girls being their usual wacky selves... Chris and Brittany on the elevator. I think they were telling secrets about Abby and me being 'loser pants". STINKERS!So, that wraps up our second day of skiing. Our third day was spent mostly on sightseeing in some of the surrounding areas, which I'll be sharing about tomorrow. A couple of days of skiing was plenty for all of us...we were all feeling a little on the stiff side. Hope to see you back tomorrow! You can quit laughing now, by the way! LOL!

"If you are never scared, embarrassed or hurt, it means you never take chances."~Julia Soul