My first time skiing

I forgot to tell you this one story from when I was in Pittsburgh.  It was shortly after that huge snowstorm where my mom was throwing me in the snow.  We went to a local ski area.  I have no idea what the name was, but Mom and Dad wanted to introduce me to skiing.  Both Mom and Dad liked to ski a lot, and they gave it up after I was born.  This was their way to get back into it, and I know Mom missed it a lot as she used to ski patrol a bit at Magic Mountain in Vermont.  I also know they bought me a pair of skis because I found them in the basement after we moved back to New York.

I remember the chairlift and then at the top you went left or right.  I thought the left hill was harder because I kept falling down.  It had a bunch of rolling hills that would throw me after every drop.  I kept crashing at the bottom of the drops and it frustrated me so much.  The right side was easier and I was able to make it most of the way down.  My father never put me between his legs and back then there were no tethers.  He just held my and I skied next to him.

One thing I do remember is having difficulty getting on the chairlift one time.  I slipped off and my father grabbed me to try and pull me back in.  At that point, I just wanted to fall so I started punching him so he would let me go and I would fall.  Eventually I did fall a couple feet into the pile of snow.  I cried of course, but there was no harm done.  I remember telling Dad that he should have let me fall in the first place.   It wouldn't have hurt as much!

Another thing I remember is going down the right side of the chairlift.  I was doing great and we were going somewhat fast.  I was so happy I could make it down the hill without falling.  That was until we were close to the bottom and my father made us crash.  I looked up at him and asked, "Why did you do that???"  Well, he said I was steering us to the trees.  I don't remember that part, but I will take his word for it.  Crashing into a tree hurts and I definitely didn't want that at all.

After that little excursion skiing, I didn't go again for another three years.  It's kind of funny how you remember those things and at the time you think it will happen just about every year because it is one of your first memories.  Of course, after that, it only happened occasionally, but I couldn't wait to go back.