I don’t know a single Southerner who grew up on skis. In fact, I can only name two Southern folks who claim to participate in any type of outdoor winter sport be it skating, hockey, skiing, snowboarding or that weird Olympic sport were you push a rock around on ice. The south has two professional hockey teams (in Nashville and Atlanta) and I’m willing to bet all the players come from outside the south. When it’s cold in the south, we just prefer to stay in doors. But for some reason, when passing by a ski shop while on a holiday gift shopping excursion prompted my best buddy to ask, “Do you want to go skiing tomorrow?” I said yes.
Everyone in Europe seems to be a skier or snowboarder so such a question is commonplace in Stuttgart. The Austrian and Swiss Alps are two driving hours away so spur of the moment ski trips happen all winter. Back home, skiing is quite a planning undertaking which requires plane tickets, requested time off from work, and hotel reservations. My family talked about skiing at Paoli Peaks one winter. That’s about as far as it went. So here I am, closer to turning 30 than I am 20 and I am making decisive measures to strap on skis for the first time in my life.
Getting the Gear
According to my avid skier beau, who grew up skiing in Utah, Wyoming, and Colorado, nothing can ruin a great ski day faster than being improperly dressed. So we stepped into the discount ski shop to buy pants and a jacket. It was then that I learned that maybe I hated the snow so much because I just haven’t been properly taught to stay warm. I was reared by a Kentucky mama and an Alabama daddy so when it snowed we hunkered down and rode out the treacherous storm in the house by the fire place or kerosene heaters! If we did venture out, my parents would have my sister and I wearing so many layers of clothes that we waddled like the Michelin man and our limbs stood out away from our bodies like a gingerbread man cookie.
Amazing after centuries of inhabiting inclement weather regions, humans have unlocked the mystery of o the art and science of staying warm and dry in the snow. I never knew such a thing was possible! And get this… it can be done in only need three layers!
1. Do long johns (thermal) or under armor for your first layer.
2. Next do an over layer like a turtle neck, sweater, or sweatshirt.
3. Your final layer includes your water proof ski pants and ski jacket.
Viola! You’ll stay warm and you can still move around.
Thin socks are a Godsend. Your ski boots will keep you warm enough. If you layer socks or wear think wool ones you risk cutting off circulation and getting cold. You’ve got to be able to wriggle your toes. Some ski socks come with padding on the shins to protect you while you lean against the boots. Ski gloves, goggles, face mask to keep your cheeks and chin warm on cold windy days. Just like when you ride a bike, wear a helmet! This can save your life no matter how good you get.
So, after mixing and matching colorful pants with different jackets I settled on the first jacket I tried on, a bright, sunny one with white pants. This unplanned purchase was justified by my lack of winter clothing and their versatility of being able to wear them off the slopes.
So Sunday rolled around and we journeyed two hours south to Oberjoch for my first go on skies ever. The ride to Oberjoch was one I had made several times in the summer but it was absolutely gorgeous with snow gracing the evergreens and mountains. The GPS claimed we were at our destination at the bottom of the mountain but we had to continue up the curvy roads to the resort. In The States, ski resorts are all inclusive where you can lodge, buy your lift tickets, and rent your gear all in one place. Not so in Germany. There’s a company that rents ski gear, then another company that owns lifts, and you have to find your own hotel and restaurant. We’d come one week too early for the season opening. No lessons were available at the ski school. There were no lifts, most of the runs were not open, but amazingly, the mountains were active and I was eager to add to the activity. Expectation Management
While I was being strapped in my boots by the ski rental employee, I watched this adorable little tot who couldn’t have been any older than three years and whose parents were calling her Cassandra, pick up her mini skis and toss them over her shoulder and strut out the door like a pro. We handed the Kasse (Cashier) 18 euros to rent the skis, poles, and a helmet and headed out behind little Cassie. If this little tot could confidently go onto the slopes I was sure I could do the same. To me, being an adult on the bunny hill is about as ego bruising as having to play “Twinkle twinkle” as an adult at piano recital. I’d rather skip the right hand only songs and jump straight to Chopin’s Opus 64 No.1 “Petit Chien” or, in ski terms, skip the bunny hill and head straight toward the Black Diamond run. I envision myself as a super woman who, with a little time, can conquer anything. I realized as soon as I put my skis on that that goal was a serious optimism. Probably the most humbling of experiences. Skiing encouraged expectation management. Let me tell you what you can expect within your first 15 minutes on the runs:
- You will not be skipping the bunny hill.
- Even tough, coordinated, athletic Belles will fall down. A lot.
- It takes a lot of energy to get up. It’s worse than falling in ice skates.
- Six-year-olds will show off cool karate kicks in their skies while you are still trying to get off the ground.
- You will be embarrassed, frustrated, leaning toward self doubt and start thinking skiing is a terrible lame sport that you will never get into.
- You only have two speeds as a beginner, “too slow” and “too fast.”
- Good news is, it doesn’t take long to get straightened out and gain confidence. Just like riding a bike, you’ll fall off a few times but soon you’ll be riding with no hands!
How to Have a Good First Ski Experience
I was fortunate to have an expert skier as a friend willing to give me private, focused lessons. And fortunate that most slopes were closed so he had no choice but to pay attention to me rather than running off to the Black Diamond runs. A patient, free instructor who doesn’t take it for granted that you know anything is a plus. Make sure you are appropriately dressed because skiing is no fun when you’re miserable.
This went on for a few more times. It was frustrating. It was then that I thought to myself, I don’t foresee myself ever being good at this sport and no one likes something they’re not good at. I spent time accidentally sliding backwards, accidentally skiing up hill, and learning that trying to get up after falling takes a lot of energy. I started to resent the preteens that whizzed past doing kung fu moves in the air and landing on their feet and envied the toddlers who made it all the way down a slope on their parent’s leash. One little girl in particular was fussing in German at her parents who held on to a leash behind her. I imagined she was saying, “I can do it all by myself!”
A kind German man offered his words of encouragement to me, “Next week you’ll be up there” he pointed up the mountains. He explained how he was just like me five years ago. That was encouraging and I appreciated his words (I should have let him know that). Everyone starts at the bottom. Even Jimi Hendrix sounded like a hopeless child when he started playing the guitar. The challenge of gliding down steep mountains like a pro seemed overwhelming but even pros started on the bunny hill. In the future there will be powder, bumps, and steep drops but for now, I just need to learn how to maintain control of myself on skies. I also realized that without the ski lifts running, I needed to learn to conserve energy. Being physically fit is important because this sport is deceivingly active. It looks so simple. Having to march back up snowy hills kinda detracted from the incentive of going down.
Toward the end of the day I slowly gained more confidence and control and skiing slowly became more fun. I could stop when I wanted to and turn the direction I wanted. I certainly don’t foresee skiing becoming popular among southern folks any time soon but I will be returning to the slopes this weekend with a professional instructor and with operational ski lifts for round two of Southern Belle’s skiing adventures! Tell you more about it later! Tschüss!
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