Ski Lesson Grafton, VT

Thursday, January 28
Watched the video of our skiing attempts and presentations, then hit the road for VT. The trip took longer than expected, some folks were getting cranky, and it was pretty much stated that we were eating lunch before we went out on skis. We had an hour and a half of free skiing with the buddy system and then were to meet up at the lodge for drills.

An hour later, most of us met unplanned at the top of the big hill where I had seen several of us skiing while I did drills on the flat land and ventured up smaller hills to practice wedges (snowplows). The hill ended at the bottom of what looked like plowed snow as a boundary and curved around to the left. The regulars encouraged the newer arrivals to wedge on down for a controlled run.  Coquette and Katie ventured the wedge well so I thought maybe I could, too. I was wrestling with my inner voice to practice my drills more, as Joe determined to do. When I was on the little hill, I had seen Joe ski over the crest of a larger hill and run down toward me looking relaxed, balanced, and practiced. My vote goes to Joe for most improved skier. He had told me he had no real interest in skiing and was learning more or less because it was offered. With an opportunity to ski in actual snow, he seems to have more interest now. As a hunter, I would think skiing might be a benefit to him.

"She's going for speed!" That's what Jen told me was said while I skied the big hill. I had decided to "fully participate" and wedge down the hill, put my fear of the hill and potential speed behind me. I moved up slowly to wedge my skis and then poled or glided forward. My wedge apparently disappeared as my skis slid neatly parallel. I'm amazed at how many thoughts fly through one's mind in a matter of split seconds. As I picked up speed, I thought about sitting down to fall but realized I was going way too fast and that solution would end in flying limbs. My only option was to go with it. Commit. Relax. Ride it out. Let my feet and legs absorb the bumps. I bent my knees and leaned forward, tried to tuck my poles behind me. It began to feel right, to feel as my mind had imagined. I heard shouts and whoops from the top of the hill as my relatively aerodynamic self flew down the hill and stood more upright as I met the bottom bowl and maneuvered the turn left.

Graceful is how my fall was described. Other than sliding fast on my back, it felt anything but graceful and I immediately put the feel of it on a par with The Wild World of Sports "agony of defeat" clips. My butt hit the ground hard and I slid, grateful that limbs and poles didn't slam into the hard snow boundary. Anna skied over to make sure I was okay. I got up slowly, of course, trying not to look injured. And I wasn't sure if I was. I figured I'd have a good bruise though that hasn't developed. I had been told when I jammed my finger that current research encourages moving and using the injured part rather than resting and letting it swell and stiffen. It worked for my finger so I used the same thinking now. Relieved that I was able to move and ski, I headed down to the flat land to get back to drills and participate with less risk. It was almost time to meet up for the group drills.

Anna and I paired up to develop our teaching eye and then I needed to do the glide and ski up a small hill to Beth. I felt myself begin to fall--of course, right in front of Austin. I always fall in front of Austin or Beth. I put my hands out to break my fall but my butt still landed and that pain is when I began to suspect that I may have been injured more than I thought. I got up slowly, did ski up to Beth and the others but let her know that I was going to watch the instruction but was not up to the practice wedges and tele turns. She knew I fell but thought I fell on a little hill and could tell I was in some pain. She suggested I take it easy tomorrow and not ski. . . we'll be learning skate skiing with an instructor from Grafton. I said I'd see how I felt tomorrow but I was increasingly fearful of the thought of downhill anything that might make me fall again. Near the end of the lesson, the group headed to the big hill so those who wanted to could take a run. Austin suggested I head back and meet at the lodge. I thought about taking my skis off and walking down the slope but gave it another try and made it down okay. I skied across the flat and watched the group ski down the hill. I saw Joe at the bottom of the hill and asked if he had skied down. He did!

I claimed a ride back in Austin's car figuring it would be less bouncy than the van. Climbing the stairs to the classroom caused some pain and I decided I'd get an x-ray so I knew what I was dealing with. When Beth realized that I fell on the big hill, she agreed about the x-ray and told me to let her know what was going on. On my way home, I called Anne and asked if she could keep me company in the ER for a while. She rousted herself away from her book and her I'm-in-for-the-night clothes to meet me. She brought chocolate and her IPOD so I could entertain myself with games. X-rays determined nothing broken and the doc thought the soft tissue and SI joint took a beating. He offered me pain meds, told me to ice every couple of hours for 2 days and suggested that I would likely be too sore next week to go on the Backcountry Winter Trip, a brave endeavor, he thought, in good shape. Nothing surprising there. I wish I new a healer with amazing ability that I could work with short term.

Heading out from the ER, I couldn't find my car keys and after searching all my pockets, we found them locked in my car. Anne hauled me home, past her bedtime. Beth called on my way home to get an update. I told her I wasn't really going to think about what this could mean for me regarding the trip and overall with the program. I pulled out the cliches about mind over matter. She said not to worry about missing the skate ski lesson that I could get one at Northfield. She knows I'm upset after buying gear for this trip and said she'd figure out a way to get me some backcountry winter experience but I really don't see how that can happen given our schedule. I still have until Monday to make a decision about being up for the trip.

I woke around 4 a.m. and my eyes teared a bit at the thought of what has happened. In the grand scheme of things, it could have easily been worse. I imagined the voices asking what the hell I was thinking pulling a stunt like that at my age. Challenge by choice. Judgment vs fully participating. sigh  I determined that I would act as though I'm going on the trip. Continue prep. But I also find myself making contingency plans. Who will do my LNT Dispose of Waste Properly lesson? I bought gear to fix the sled but that's still here. I have one of our 2 stoves so I'll need to get that back in time.

More lessons in acceptance and how to mesh that with will power and self determination.