Never done it before, but thinking of giving it a whirl this winter. Worst case, I should be out of the cast by boating season
Its not that hard just don't get over confident. That's when you get hurt. Make sure you have a plan of the trails before you go down the hill and follow the signs. Take lessons would be the best, if not just for a day. Its way more fun that way. I didn't take lessons when I started at 14 and almost ran full speed into snoasis restaurant (mid mountain grill) on winterpark. I actually got lessons from a nice guy from Austria that I met on the lift ride home. That was a sobering moment and a unbelievable story.
I can't help but share this story, its awesome to look back on and shows the TRUE human spirit.
As a cocky 14 year old boy that was on a ski trip with his older 18 year old brother. He booked a room at Iron mountain resort. A ski in / ski out , ski in if you can ski black runs. We didn't know this at the time as it was 1984 and the internet wasn't where you could research, like you can now. Fast forward to the first day of skiing. My brother had been skiing with the church previously, me zilch. I did ski for the Tulsa Water ski club though. We go up the mountain on the lift no issues. I slide off the chair with issues but not a lot for the first time. My 14 year old cocky self was I got this, well as I soon found out. Water skiing doesn't completely translate to frozen water. My brother skied ahead on a trail that went across the slope , he of course was laughing at me as only loving brothers can. With trees on both sides, sliding at 2 mph getting my stability as I go. The trail opens up with a steep uphill slope to my left and downhill to my right. All of sudden a large group of skiers were coming down the blue right at me. Panic sets in, I am going to get run over. Instead of stopping and letting them go around me. I went down hill right. I don't know how to turn, or stop. I'm blazing down the hill right toward these orange plastic fences that surrounded the Snoasis restaurant. Luckily there were some grooves where people had skied and it turned me right towards a grooming mound. I hit that soft snow and stopped. Kicked my skis off and started walking. My brother catches up to me, laughing at me of course. I told him I am walking back to the condo and watching cartoons, have fun.
I get too the top of a lift, and the operator said I need to put my skis back on or get in this line. I put my skis on and got in that line. I didn't know what line it was but I did see that they stopped the lift in order for that line to get on. I was so freaked out that, I didn't even understand my surroundings. A guy gets on the lift then I do, we start our descent down the mountain. My nerves start to ease and I hear the gentleman beside me talking to me. He had a accent that was not something this country boy had ever heard. We talked, he asked why a able young man was going down the hill on a chair through the handicapped line. I told him I didn't realize the line was for the purpose and I just about killed myself by running into a building. He asked if I took lessons. I said no and explained why. I told him I can't ski and I will never try again, I was done. He said, " if I can ski, you surely can." Not knowing my surroundings I looked at him and noticed he had one leg amputated above the knee, little skis affixed to his poles and one ski. Wow this cocky 14 year felt about an inch tall. He asked me if he could teach me how to ski. Well I can't turn him down, can I? If he can do it on one leg, I can on two. By the end of the day Hans and I were skiing all over Vasquez Mountain (mostly blues) at Winter Park. Since then I have been hooked on skiing and ski as much as I possibly can. I thank and think of the gentleman from Austria often. If it wasn't for him, I would not be doing something that I truly love. Thanks to him I have skied almost every resort in the Rockies.
Thanks Hans!!!!