Attempt 1: (1.5hrs) thought we were going to the magic carpet – met by friends who took us straight up a chair lift! After the first near wipe out getting off the chair lift, everything went much better. Pizza immediately taught and turns and a button lift nailed(ish) – first day was a success!
Attempt 2: (30 mins) post 12km obstacle race in the snow, legs, rest of body and mind already knackered but out we went. A few turns round the bottom of the blue run and I was feeling more confident after an initial panic on the second run down. The snow made by the snow cannons sucks!
Attempt 3: 10.30-3pm – most of day spent skiing. A few runs down a small blue baby run and then up on a huge chair lift to the top of the mountain before a blue run back down but one with some seriously steep (for me) sections. Legs properly burning by the end. Things to work on to start: body position – shins forwards to front of boot, torso pretty upright! At the moment I look too much like I’m in a toilet position, apparently super unsafe as taking pressure from the front of your skis means you lose control. On the long blue run down, some sections of almost parallel turns… not always controlled!
Attempt 4: a 45 minute gap in the work day used for a departmental meeting on the slopes – first very gentle fall, no skis lost, just a little dignity. Definitely from weight being too far back, but lessons learnt.
Attempt 5: just us out for once, and it was lovely and relaxed! Finally able to relax, find some peace and confidence in my skis, enjoy watching Tom tear away with way too much skill for how long he’s been skiing – how unfair!
Attempt 6: the day started with a ski tour up in the crevice adjacent to a blue run, clipping in and skiing back down – slowly finding my feet. We then met up with friends and went for a couple of runs at the top of a new slope. Introduction of hockey stops – so much progress made! Revelatory, so much less effort and a way to deal with ice finally learnt.
Attempt 7: the following day, all day skiing really – Tom was asked to lie in wait at the top of one of the runs to take a photo of a surprise proposal. This done, we shared some champagne with friends which seemed to help my skiing! We then went for an exploration over to Val D’Isere, finding some awesome greens (wow, these were cool, made me feel like a great skier after all my time on slightly tricky blues) and some long blues as well. Implementing my hockey stops from yesterday and buoyed by some bubbles, this was such a great day. Also home before I was too knackered – lesson to be learnt here.
Attempt 8: lesson to learn from today: don’t try going out when you have flu. Tom continues to make irritatingly good progress, tackling reds with ease now. I had a slight failure of confidence on a green run, and Tom had to coax me back down the two runs towards home with an overload of positivity… never go out when not feeling 100%!
Attempt 9: another ski tour – now beginning to implement a mix of hockey stops and longer turns, but still nowhere near carving. One thing at a time!
So, a summary of my attempts of skiing. It’s great fun, and I need to remember that it SHOULD be fun. From always going out with people who ski at a much higher level than me, it is very easy to be down about my progress, but it is at least just that: progress! Watch this space.
Boondock Puffins 
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