Skiing in Slide Brook

Danger

"Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. The fearful are caught as often as the bold."

Helen Keller

       Danger is everywhere, lurking behind every corner of life. At any moment in time, danger can spring up and attack you as fast as a pack of wolves smelling fresh meat. Everything can be dangerous, from the smallest grain of sand, to the biggest meteor in the universe; it all depends on how meteor is used. The same me while I'm skiing in the woods, the trees can be my greatest ally, or my greatest enemy. It was twenty-five degrees out, there was no cloud in sight, a perfect day for skiers. It was mid December of last year, just before the huge snowstorm that we got for Christmas. My ski group and I were at Sugarbush, a ski resort in central Vermont. We were going to try skiing Slide Brook, a valley made in between the two mountains of Sugarbush. There was not much snow pack, and there were not a lot of people going into the valley. Since the whole valley is completely trees, and no runs, it was dangerous to ski, and the bad base of snow added to the list of problems. I had just taken a turn. The snow was very bad,and there were many roots, and twigs that were popping up from under the powder. I was going towards the end of our group. I have always been a cautious skier, so I go toward the end to see where the twigs are, so I can avoid a face plant into the snow. I rarely crash in the woods, because my mind goes into overdrive, to avoid the many trees, twigs and roots. I rounded a corner, pole planted to turn, and felt the taste of snow in my mouth. I looked behind me uphill at my legs, to see a tiny little twig sticking up from the snow, with my leg right next to it. I was not hurt or anything like that, but the twig was only a few inches long. I lied there in awe wondering how such a little thing could make me fall. If I had been stopped right over the twig, it would have done nothing, but me moving at about 20 mile per hour, and hitting it, caused it to trip me. Even the smallest things, can make a huge impact on what happens to us, while skiing, or in many other places in life. Sometimes, the most unlikely things to be dangerous to us, are the most dangerous in the end.