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What made you try skiing?

Lilywhite

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I was chatting with friends and the answers varied from school holidays to army training camps to family adventures.
I split up wth a boyfriend went on a summer beach club holiday centred around water sports and loved it so much I wanted to go again a couple of months later, of course it was then winter, the same company also offered ski holidays, as they had delivered on summer I figured "go for it" now I'm hooked.
How about you?
 

Olesya Chornoguz

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I first tried skiing because I was going to a conference in Keystone 3 years ago. I figured I gotta try skiing if I'm going to a famed ski place like Keystone. Besides my adviser from grad school is an amazing skier so I wanted to be a great skier like her. :smile: After coming back from Keystone I fell in love with skiing and a complete addict now. :ski:
 

newskimama

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Haha! I started because I hated winter. I grew up in the Midwest where winters were colder, summers were hotter, but we didn't get nearly as much snow as I now experience in the Northeast. And winter lasts forever here. I found myself longing desperately this time of year for some spring flowers, but they are at least a month away. I thought about moving south, getting a job on a cruise ship, anything to avoid the winter blahs.

I skied some as a kid, but never enough to gain any meaningful level of proficiency. Always thought I wanted to try to get better, but knew it would take some commitment. Oh, and money, which I didn't have when I was a student. Then I got out of school and got a "real" job that kept me in the office until midnight not infrequently.

Then I had kids. And they wanted to ski. So I gave in and started skiing again, in earnest, a few years ago. Now I'm hooked and logged 30-40 days per season over the last few years. Oh, and I just became a patroller at our local hill and am trying to figure out ways to tie in my hobby with my day job. I'm all in!

So, the short answer is I started because I hated winter. But now I can't get enough.
 

marymack

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I went on a day trip my sophomore year in college, a friend who said "I think you make a pizza to slow down" and I spent the day on the carpet, no lesson, no clue what we were doing (we had to ask a passing instructor how to get up if we fell!), but we had such a fun time just going up and down the carpet area all day (I don't remember actually making or attempting to make turns...). The following winter I heard about the "ski and snowboard month" program so I signed up for the free lesson, lift ticket and rental and went off and did that. Had fun, went out a couple more times that year. Then had a friend invite me on his annual ski weekend up at Tremblant in November of my senior year. I set a goal to be able to ski with him and his friends up there, so I signed up for a package of lessons at a small ski area near school, got the college student pass, got good enough that when I went on the trip in February, I had to look at the map because I didn't believe them when they told me they had taken me down a black and I had survived!
Fast forward 2 years, and I'm now an instructor!
 

Jenny

Angel Diva
Our friends skied, so I had to learn if I wanted to be included. And I hated winter, too, so I really wasn't looking forward to it that much. Took a few times, but then it got fun. Now I've passed them in skill and love it more than they do!

Makes winter go by a lot faster, too. Now it's too short!
 

Christy

Angel Diva
Picabo Street. I've always loved watching alpine racing, and I saw a segment on tv, where she was back on skis after an injury for the first time in a year, I think.She took a run, got to the bottom and she started crying. And all she could say was, "oh my god. I forgot how fun skiing was. " It made a huge impression on me, and I thought dang, I really need to try skiing. It actually took some more years before I saw an ad for a cheap lesson package at the areas closest to Seattle.

And because I'm a mountain nut, and it is another way to be in the mountains. And ditto what the others said about winter.
 

ScottishGirlie

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
My brother!!

My Mum took my brother and his friend to our local slope for a lesson one summer. I was annoyed that they never asked me so I asked to go the next time. That really wound my brother up that I wanted to go. Don't think he liked the idea of his big sis being around and spoiling his street cred!! :becky:

He stopped ski-ing after a few shots. As for me...the rest is history!! :ski:
 

Kym

Certified Ski Diva
As a tropical kid - I never even gave winter a thought. In fact, an old boyfriend was always on at me about trying it out, but I was always using my leave for diving holidays!

This year I had a sudden craving for a winter season (after a decade of only wet and dry seasons) and came in search of snow. BC was a good choice - as it is snowy, but mild.

Now I am hooked :smile:
 

mustski

Angel Diva
When I was 13, my friends all joined a ski club. Since I was a big follower back in the day, I joined also. Who would have guessed it would become a life long addiction?
 

gardenmary

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
My late husband, who grew up skiing the little local hills outside of Boston, took us to Utah for our first skiing in 2004. I tried downhill - an utter disaster! - and switched to XC. 4 years later, I had mastered classic XC and came back to downhill. Now I'm a better downhill skier than I am a XC skier.

Skiing is one of the most precious things he ever gave me. I feel connected to him when I'm on the mountain - especially when I'm at Snowbasin, since we shared so many great times there. I'm hoping to share that feeling with some of you in the future!!
 

Perty

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
1992-I was 26 and a young barrister (trial lawyer). All my barrister chums went skiing in big groups on chalet holidays each year. They invited me...in the end I think we were a party of 24, housed in 2 chalets next door to each other and half a dozen in a local hotel. I had done a couple of lessons on the local dry slope, but (probably but not exclusively) because of a massive duty free gin and tonic hangover, was put back from the "basic snow plough skied once before" class to the total utter beginner class on day 1.

1992 was the year of the Albertville Olympics. Everyone seemed to have put their holidays off until afterwards- when we went to Les Deuz Alpes. I remember queuing on the nursery slopes for half an hour at a time to get onto a drag lift; aching all over; being coaxed down a blue run by a far more experienced friend and generally feeling utter terror.

However, the whole trip was a total blast! Loved it, loved the mountains, the occasional feeling of skiing with confidence, the food, the company, the "crack" as they would say in Ireland..Best holidays ever!

I kept it up for a few years going once a year for a week mostly chalet trips with a big party-skiing all day and dancing and partying until the early hours (my all in black one lycra one piece "unitard" was a sensation on the dance floor of Courchevel! :eyebrows: Dunno how I managed it! Now I do the skiing but pass on the partying). I was never very confident and got completely phased by heights. I enjoyed it but wasn't fanatical. Then I couldn't afford to go for a few seasons.

THEN I did a season...the rest...as they say...is history..:ski3:
 

Serafina

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Moved from Texas to Wisconsin to escape the heat, and seized every opportunity there for winter sports - snowshoeing, XC skiing, outdoor ice skating - and adored all of them...but mostly the XC skiing. I just left my skis and boots in my car from December through mid-March so that I could ski on short notice. Moved to New England in 2008 for personal reasons and found the XC ski season in Western MA to be 1) short and 2) unpredictable and 3) involve lots of ice. So I thought "Downhill areas make snow, so maybe it's a longer and better season" and tried it out a couple of years ago. Never looked back.
 

bounceswoosh

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
It's great to read all the variety of stories. Mine is pretty boring - my high school boyfriend skied, so of course I wanted to join him.
 

diymom

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
First ski trip at 16, two friends said their families were going for a weeks ski holiday in Austria (we lived in the Netherlands at the time) would my family like to join. Had fun, and a few years later went out a few more times when my parents lived in Gex (France on the border of Switzerland). Fast forward a few decades- after moving to Canada and thinking the winters were pretty danged long. DH's job did an annual ski day back then, bus, lift tickets, beginner lessons, rentals. Girls were 7 and 10, decided why not, free is a good time to let them give it a try, winters might be more fun with a purpose for all the snow. Have to admit, I didn't have much fun. They gave me (unisex) rental boots that were a good size too big, and when I couldn't buckle them around my fat calves, they just gave me a bigger size yet. I still couldn't buckle fully, but was too embarrassed to say anything. First time out in decades in boots 3 sizes to big, didn't go too well. BUT that was probably the best thing that could have happened. I was then determined to lose the weight so I could get boots that fit right. By the next season I had lost 45 lbs, signed the kids up for the 8 week lessons at our home hill just 15 minutes from the house, and used the time they were in lessons to get on the slopes myself.
Today instead of moaning about the long winter, I am staring out the window moaning about the rain taking away one of my precious last days before Chicopee closes for the season on the 17th, and double checking that the forecast for the rest of the week still looks good.
 

abc

Banned
Do you have a poll on this? So far I've seen:

- start as a kid
- friend/boy friend
- start as parent (kids want to ski)
- live in place with long winter
- Just for the heck of it!
- others?
 

SkiQT

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
My reason is similar to others...

In Jan 2011 we had a lot of snow and I was getting cabin fever. When we went snow tubing I noticed the half price first time package for Learn to Ski month. I figured it was inexpensive so I would give it a try. I didn't pick it up at first but went back a week later for a private lesson. I then skied every Sunday practicing.

I have been hooked ever since.
 

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