Story time! When I first moved to Canada I did what most Aus..

Story time! When I first moved to Canada I did what most Aussies do and got a job at a ski resort. And like most Aussies, this was a completely new world for me. When it comes to skiing the only experience I have before coming here was a very unsuccessful 1hr attempt in an indoor ski hill in Belgium. But, seeing as I know lived on a ski hill I was determined to learn. I had one lesson and a few practices on the 100m training slope with all the little kids - everyone has to start at the bottom at some point! And then came Christmas day so I decided to try my first green run. I picked a short one which started in the village and at the bottom you could get a ski lift straight back to the village. Easy enough. Except as soon as I started I realised I had bitten off a bit more than I could chew. It was a lot steeper that the training slope and although I made it down without any falls my knees were literally shaking, and I decided that was enough skiing for the day and I was going to go home and start getting into Christmas celebrations. I was a bit flustered after the hill, and also worried because I had never got on or off a ski lift so I just followed the crowd to the nearest lift and got on. It was only then that I realized that there were three different lifts to choose from and only one of them went to the village. As we got higher and higher I realized I was definitly on the wrong one. The village disappeared beneath me as I headed up to the top of the mountain. Trying not to panic I reassured myself that this wasn’t a big deal, I could surely just get there, enjoy the view for a bit and then get the ski lift down. I completely failed at getting off the lift, landing flat on my arse. I got up and had a look at the view, which was indeed beautiful. After taking a few photos I decided I was ready to jump back on the lift to get home. I asked the liftie if I could please take the lift down, which received a firm "no, you have to ski down". “But I can’t!” “How come you came up here?” “I got on the wrong lift” “How’d you manage that?” “I don’t know, can I please just go down on the lift” “Nah, sorry you have to ski down, you’ll be alright it’s an easy run”. I walked away and sat on a bench trying to weigh up my options, it didn’t take long to realise there really wasn’t any options to weigh up. I had to try and ski down. I slowly made my way around the bank of trees to the start of the run. I silently cursed Mr “it’s an easy run” at the lift as I saw the steep slope in front of me. I somehow managed to get down the first slope but when I realized the next one was even steeper I gave up and decided I would rather hike down. This is easier said than done. Ski boots are very awkward to walk in at the best of times let alone down a steep slope, in the snow, while carrying skis, poles and being terrified of the many skiers and boarders whip.ping past you at literally neck breaking speed. One of these skier’s stopped to suggest that “you should walk next to the trees love so we don’t hit you, but don’t got too close to the trees, you might fall into to a tree well and suffoc.ate”. Great. Well I made it down the next slope and was having a well-deserved break when a guy on a snowmobile stopped beside me and asked if I was alright. Now I’m not usually one for telling lies but I do believe in certain situations a little white lie can do more good than harm. After my conversation with the liftie I was worried that my "I got on the wrong lift and I was too scared to ski down" story might not go so well so I told the snowmobile guy a little white lie, claiming that my contact lens had fallen out and I was struggling to ski with just one working eye. The legend nodded understandingly “hop on the back, I’ll give you a lift back to the village”. I couldn’t believe it! My awful Christmas had just took a major turn for the better as I happily climbed on, rubbing my eye for effect and mentally ticking “go for a snowmobile ride” off my Canadian bucket list. And you’ll be please to know, after a lot of practicing I can now confidently ski down the black runs! Photographer - Intimateartphotography