We had been planning a Christmas skiing trip to Killington, Vermont since two months before because it was a very popular, allegedly the best ski resort on East Coast. It turned out to be an experience of a lifetime.
Although I usually didn't think of myself as a sports person or associated myself with adjectives like "athletic", I still tried to keep myself in a good shape by going to gym two or three times a week. It finally paid off with this ski trip. Surprisingly even to myself, I learned to ski quite fast; when I took a beginners' class on the first day, I quickly realized that I had had gone through more than the class could offer. So I didn't waste my time on it and started to challenge myself with more difficult trails right away. Bin and Li, who were experienced skiers, were kind enough to lead me through my first mountain trail - Great Eastern. I was all excited about how beautiful the view in the snow-covered moutain was and how I could use the skills I learned to tackle a real trail. It also boosted my confidence so that I even started to lead other first-time skier friends the next day.
I got up very early the second day, excited. This time we went to K-1 Lodge so that we could take a lift to the highest place of the moutain - Killington Peak. Following Bin, we decided to start the day by trying some blue/intermediate trails when our bodys were still vigorous enough. Once again I challenged myself and found great pleasure in succeding to do so. Trails we tried had interesting names: Chute, Bunny Buster, etc. After several runs of warming up, we dared ourselvies with a black/difficult trail - Mouse Trap! I was reaching my limit both physically and psychologically. In fact, I fell down again and again and finally rolled myself downhill after I lost one of my ski and could never put it back again. (I was able to roll down more gracefully the next day. Seriously.) I rested myself for the rest of the day helping other friends to stand on their feet, literally.
Although I usually didn't think of myself as a sports person or associated myself with adjectives like "athletic", I still tried to keep myself in a good shape by going to gym two or three times a week. It finally paid off with this ski trip. Surprisingly even to myself, I learned to ski quite fast; when I took a beginners' class on the first day, I quickly realized that I had had gone through more than the class could offer. So I didn't waste my time on it and started to challenge myself with more difficult trails right away. Bin and Li, who were experienced skiers, were kind enough to lead me through my first mountain trail - Great Eastern. I was all excited about how beautiful the view in the snow-covered moutain was and how I could use the skills I learned to tackle a real trail. It also boosted my confidence so that I even started to lead other first-time skier friends the next day.
I got up very early the second day, excited. This time we went to K-1 Lodge so that we could take a lift to the highest place of the moutain - Killington Peak. Following Bin, we decided to start the day by trying some blue/intermediate trails when our bodys were still vigorous enough. Once again I challenged myself and found great pleasure in succeding to do so. Trails we tried had interesting names: Chute, Bunny Buster, etc. After several runs of warming up, we dared ourselvies with a black/difficult trail - Mouse Trap! I was reaching my limit both physically and psychologically. In fact, I fell down again and again and finally rolled myself downhill after I lost one of my ski and could never put it back again. (I was able to roll down more gracefully the next day. Seriously.) I rested myself for the rest of the day helping other friends to stand on their feet, literally.
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