Baby steps in skiing

Crash, boom, bang.

These words can safely summarize my time skiing near Salzburg, Austria. At the end of my one and only ski adventure, falling became a lot of fun. I embraced it whole-heartedly. Would I fall on my bum or on my stomach? Those were the elementary questions that needed answering.

Fittingly then, the first lesson I learnt was how to get up unaided after a fall. After labouring for 20 minutes and sweating like a pig, I was finally up on my feet. Learning the fine art of performing the ski plough was up next. A ski plough is a v-shaped manoeuvre that helps you to stop and is the lifeline for beginners.

The  morning after my first day , I could barely walk straight.  Thanks to all the falling, my muscles were stretched in ways they had never been before. I was advised a visit to the sauna by my Austrian friends. And that really fixed everything. Now I understand why skiing and sauna go together.

I spent a lot of time on the ‘green’ slope. All around me, Austrian babies were fearlessly diving down the slopes at top-speed. I concluded that Austrians are born genetically free of the ‘fear of heights’ gene, which I possessed in large quantities. There was a boy who left me speechless. Though he was tiny, he kept coming back up the ski lift to toboggan down. Each time he went down a little faster.

I had several instructors. Each one had their very own technique. Some were very strict and gave army-sergeant like instructions, some were patient and very encouraging, and others motivated me  to overcome my fear of heights. Despite the differences, they all had one thing in common – they wanted me to ski. And ski I did.

The high point of my trip was when, after three days of training, countless crashes, sore bones and a fear of heights, I managed to come down a slope without ski poles and with Mozart’s symphony playing in my head.

I felt as free as a bird.

A joyous moment that still stays with me , along with the breathtaking landscapes.

The magical adventure was capped by a meeting with Hermann Maier , who is to ski what Sachin Tendulkar is to cricket. He very kindly offered to give me a lesson but alas I was leaving the next day.

These special memories from a spectacular trip to the heart of Austria’s winter wonderland make me feel alive even today.