The Time a Ski Lift Wiped All My Confidence
This Ski Lift still lives in my nightmares.
Let’s set the scene:
I am 10 years old on vacation in Austria, and it is currently winter. My family decided that we would go skiing, and this particular slope was more tuned for beginners. I had a little experience with skiing, as I had previously taken a few classes.
This ski lift was special and one I had never seen before. A regular ski lift is a floating bench, and you let it hit the back of your knees, and then you pull the bar down over your head to secure yourself. But this was a paddle connected to a stick chained to a moving zipline-type contraption.
To get on the lift, I had to pull the seat between my legs, which allowed me to ski uphill. Well, here’s the problem. If I cannot correctly ski downhill, how in the world am I going to ski uphill. I kid you not. I was not able to stay in a straight line for the life of me.
So the time comes for me to actually get on the lift, and after watching everyone, it seems that I understand what needs to be done.
I come around and pull the seat between my legs, which jerks me forward, marking my first fall of the evening.
I topple over to one side, which is SO embarrassing because the entire lift must stop. I am not even up the mountain yet, so everyone gets to watch me eat snow.
“Okay, okay, it’s alright,” I told myself as I got back on this saddle lift. Finally, I make it farther up the mountain and am actually doing it!
Nope.
I decided I would faceplant into the snow on my left this time. The entire lift stops. People stare. Remarks are made. Heaven forbid I fall again and crumble under the pressure of these strangers’ judgment.
I get back up and saddle back up.
I think I made it another 10 yards up the lift again before deciding I wanted a taste of snow on my right side.
I was done.
My aunt was behind me, and I think the secondhand embarrassment was too much for her to handle. So she got off the lift. Practically lifted me up. And we WALKED in our skies across the mountain midway up the slope.
Talk about a buzzkill. I managed to stop the lift 3 times, all within 2 minutes. But, of course, I didn’t even speak the language, so everyone knew it was some tourist failing at such a simple task.
The embarrassment was unreal, but thankfully I had face protection from the cold which doubled as a mask to hide my identity from any judgemental bystanders.
If you ever come in contact with these specific ski lifts, I urge you to run. No, I’m just kidding, but be prepared. I couldn’t tell you how to get up the ski lift because I have never done it myself. But just trusting and keeping your legs in line with the slope is what I think you need to do to succeed.
Also, if you ever get embarrassed in a foreign country, shake it off because none of these people know you anyway. If they try to come up to you, and you do happen to speak the language, then tell them you’re learning. It’s alright to learn and make mistakes. So enjoy your travels and ride on!
Thanks for the read