The Thrills and Chills of Skiing

The Thrills and Chills of Skiing
Flying down through snowy drifts, the sky overhead and your feet precariously balanced on two flat sticks. This is the challenging sport of skiing. It is sport known world wide and enjoyed across the globe, but it is also known to be one of the more difficult and dangerous. Skiing not only encompasses both challenge and enjoyment, it also shares a huge quantity of pros and cons. Exploring these aspects of skiing brings us closer the sport itself and puts this snowy ride under the microscope of analysis and inspection. Inspecting this sport more closely, will allow the opportunity of viewing skiing from a macroscopic level, thus enabling us to give the reader a dynamic picture of this sport in its entirety. Skiing is full of advantages and disadvantages depending on the individual and circumstances. Looking at the disadvantages on skiing there are some people who like more challenging terrain and/or harsher weather. However, there is one disadvantage that everyone can agree on, the high cost of going skiing. But, let’s not dwell on the bad stuff because the advantages about skiing completely override the annoyances. For example, skiing is healthy and very fun, especially after you have been doing it for a while. And it also provides a chance to be outside in the fresh mountain air exercising.
One of the most unpleasant disadvantages with skiing is how expensive it is. From the start to the end of this excursion, money floats out of your wallet from travel arrangements, possible hotel expenses, equipment, lift tickets, to hot and steaming food to fight off the chill, and so on. It’ s as though you walk in the front door and they’re all lined up to take your money. Literally never-ending, a skiing trip can really add up and pretty soon what might seem to be a minor excursion can easily hit into the hundreds of dollars. Sadly, these outrageous costs are a necessary evil which provide a way to get to the mountain.
After spending oodles of money, one at the very least expects an incredible experience up in those sunny mountain tops. Nothing could be more aggravating then hitting the slopes only to find bad weather expecting you. Either it is raining or even worse, it’s a whiteout. The latter makes skiing especially miserable and potentially dangerous. Personally I think whiteouts are the bane of skiing. Imagine getting to the top of the mountain and not being able to see the slope clearly, it’s like having to go down a slope with a blindfold on. Besides the weather, there is also various snow conditions and if the snow conditions are bad, then it’s every man for himself. For example, snow can range from crisp and light to heavy and slushy. Having to ski in heavy, slushy snow is something that makes skiing no fun at all. Your ski’s get stuck all the time and you can either end up going down the slope on your butt or your stomach with your ski’s dragging along behind you. Skiing in nasty conditions truly adds insult to injury with the exorbitant costs.
The last major downside with skiing is the uncomfortable equipment. My mother particularly hates this area of skiing, and she makes sure that everyone knows it. I’ve heard it a million times. Her boots are killing her feet, they are digging into her shins, they are heavy and clunky and she has a vested wish to throw them through the windows. She has even gone so far as to say they are primitive and that they belong in the Middle Ages. And, that’s not where she stops. You should hear her screaming on the slopes right in front of Dad’s camcorder. She’s hilarious. She is the worst skier I’ve ever seen. She flies down the slope in the most ridiculously stiff posture, looking like a screaming mannequin on skis.
But, to put all those annoying problems behind us, let’s look at the advantages of skiing. First off, skiing is a great exercise for the body. It not only works the legs and upper torso, but it improves your balance as well, making it an excellent overall workout. Skiing is also done in the great outdoors, making it far more beneficial then indoor sports. Being outside while exercising provides you with a source of Vitamin D, which can prevent diseases and vitamin deficiencies. Plus, there is the beautiful scenery that you get to see from skiing as well. Gazing at the lovely snow-capped mountains and untouched wilderness around the mountains is a truly striking sight to behold.
Another positive factor about skiing is the chance to learn a new skill. Learning a new skill, especially skiing is always a thrilling experience with many ups and downs and can leave you with many crazy stories to tell your friends. Also, skiing can be like a winter rollercoaster ride with your legs acting as the wheels. Imagine looking down a steep slope and not being able to see the middle of it. Then you get to go down it and end up sliding over bump after bump with you skies moving back in forth in a funky rhythm. However, once you are standing on the steep slope it ends up not looking nearly as steep as it did when you were at the top. Making the entire run far more fun then scary. When I went down my first advanced black run, I remember standing at the beginning of the run and looking down and saying no I do not want to go down anything where I can’t see the middle. However, I did eventually go down it because I no other choice, but only after staring down it for about 10 minutes as my grandma skied gracefully past me again and again. That was the first and last time I ever got bested by my grandma on a difficult slope.
The other valuable thing that skiing provides is the opportunity to socialize with your friends, because you end spending a lot of time riding up the chairlift in a state of boredom. So, the opportunity to relax and chat with people as you ride up is always something to look forward too. Besides being a social activity, skiing can also be a fun solo pastime, particularly, when you want some time to be alone, away from all the noisy commotion. It can be highly relaxing as well as provide you time to practice improving your skiing techniques. Moreover, when you are with friends you need to keep up with them, which does not provide you with time to adequately reflect on your current skiing abilities.
After contemplating the pros and cons, some readers may still feel reticent about venturing down those snowy slopes. However, one must realize that skiing is an opportunity to grow and to become a more well-rounded individual, regardless of the expense. And that every time you fall over and feel utterly hopeless and stupid, that you can still get back up and try again. Skiing is about having the courage to grab yourself up by your bootstraps and continuing on down the slope no matter what obstacle you might face along the way, to have the strength to keep on learning and experiencing life in every up and down it makes. That is what my dear grandparents have always told me and to this day I still value those wise words with every turn I make on the mountain.