lessons learned from skiing

Over the past 20 years, I’ve learned how to ski 7 times. And each time, I’ve learned something new, or relearned something that I’ve forgotten. And each time, I remember why I love skiing, and why it’s so much fun.

So even though winter is over – and only the diehards are interested in spring skiing, I thought I’d pass along some key lessons that I’ve learned.

The first lesson, it’s a good idea to learn how to stop.

The first time I learned to ski, I was 7 years old. I was standing on the slope of a very steep, snowy mountain in the Austrian Alps, and my dad looked down at me and started showing me how to turn and stop. I said, ok, dad. And off I went – so I turned, and turned and turned, and…well…I forgot how to stop. Before I had time to think, I was upside down flipping a few times in the air, and landed in a snowy embankment. I was a bit startled, had a huge bruise on my leg this big.. My dad checked on me to make sure I was ok, told me to get up start skiing again. So I did. But this time, I remembered that I was supposed to stop.

And that leads me to my second lesson.

The second lesson, everyone falls, but it’s much better to do that when you’re young and really short. Because when you’re little, you really don’t have far to fall. More importantly, you don’t overthink things, such as should I really be skiing down a black diamond expert slope? You’re fearless. And, I think it’s important to not be afraid to try. Which leads me to my third lesson…if you are going to try an expert slope…..

Make sure your skis are strapped on properly.

I’ll never forget what happened when I didn’t check. I got onto a ski lift by myself in Japan, and 60 feet up in the air, my left ski fell off. I couldn’t jump down to get it. So when I got to the top of the mountain – I had to push off on just one ski. Luckily, someone saw what happened, and was able to help retrieve my missing ski.

The fourth lesson, don’t panic if you speed up.

You’re supposed to go fast on a ski slope. If you don’t get momentum, you’ll never get anywhere. But, if you do find yourself going a bit faster than you’re comfortable, then, you have to turn your skis up the mountain. You’ll come to a stop. Don’t do what a lot of beginners do to slow down – which is fall down to stop.

The fifth lesson, never, ever, ever, make “one more run” while skiing.

You get tired, you make mistakes. Most ski accidents happen on that last run. I should know...my last outing while skiing, my cousin and I were on our last run. We had been skiing for about 4 hours, and we were on a relatively easy slope, already thinking about when we’d take a break, get a hot drink and some food. All of a sudden, my cousin caught an edge on his ski and went down. He couldn’t straighten out his leg completely. His knee was hurting. Somehow, we were able to continue skiing down to the lodge. The following week, he went to the doctor – and it turned out that he tore his ACL. He had to have surgery.


And, the key to preventing injury, aside from skiing while tired, is to following this fifth final lesson – which is you can always improve your skiing. Each time I go skiing, I sign up for a lesson – to brush up on technique, make sure I’m smart about skiing – and to relearn good habits for skiing effectively without wearing myself out. There’s always something new to learn. In fact, the last time I went skiing – I took a 3 hour class, and learned how to ski moguls – which are those really bumpy slopes. I didn’t know I could do it – and ended up having a great time trying. It wasn’t easy – sometimes I wiped out – but I had a lot of fun.

So, learn how to turn, learn how to stop, make sure your equipment fits, don’t panic, don’t ski tired, and keep learning.

Because ultimately – skiing is really about getting out into the open, enjoying the view, the feeling of the wind against your face, and going fast!

And I can’t wait to ski again next winter.