It was a surprisingly warm winter day in Colorado as I waited for my ski instructor to show for my first lesson. As I stood there, I took in my surroundings- people of all ages zooming past on their skis with ease, timing their turn on the chair lift perfectly, and heading up the mountain with an air of confidence. They looked graceful, in-control, and nothing like what I pictured my first time skiing would be likened to. Being from Kansas, the closest I had been to skiing was a hill blanketed in fake snow we visited on a field trip. That ice-covered death trap left me with two memories: Don’t crash, and don’t get stuck under the tow rope with a hundred little kids piling up behind you.

Needless to say, there was bad blood between me and and a pair of skis.Continue Reading