Learning a New Skill — Skiing!

Before this week, I had used skis once in my life.

Growing up in the Appalachian mountains, I had a bunch of experience with sleds and a beginner’s snowboard — but I only went skiing one time when I was 13 years old. We had no instructor; instead, we relied on the advice of friends on the trip to help us with the basics. I remember falling a few times at the beginning of that day, but felt confident on the beginner runs by the end of the day.

With a love of football, basketball, and soccer taking up my time, I did not ski again — until this week!

The Swiss Alps surrounding Zermatt are a bit different (haha) from the Appalachian mountains, especially since the ski season in Zermatt is just beginning. There was snow from a few weeks ago, but the current snow on the slope was quite icy; according to my instructor, this made the beginning ski experience more challenging. I stayed on the simple part of the slope and worked on the basics of turning, raising my level of skiing slightly by the end of the session.

With this experience, I have a few thoughts that connect the experience to learning. As someone in my late 30s, I do not have too many times where I am a complete beginner; having this experience was humbling and enlightening.

The right coach is really important.

Earlier in the week my wife had hired a ski coach, having a great experience with his teaching. We continued with the same coach for our daughters…