DAY ONE OUTDOORS PROFESSIONAL
My current professional and community commitments keep me very busy and I don’t get to ski as often as I would like (which could explain why my skills as a skier have plateaued). So when that one “outdoor friend” invited me to Yosemite, I was happy to say yes to my very first visit to the national park. That experience also motivated me to try other outdoor experiences. I must admit that while I’m still not the best of skiers, I continue to enjoy skiing as much as I did day one – that hasn’t changed one bit. That first experience has led to many others. In addition to the physical joy it brought to me, it also allowed me to temporarily put aside all other worries, concerns, and distractions and simply focus on the skis, the mountain, and me. I liked the snow and learned how much I liked skiing on powder. I loved being on the mountain and challenging myself to get down while gliding through the snow. Nonetheless, it put a genuine smile on my face.
I didn’t pick up skiing easily and struggled quite a bit.
I took ski lessons the first half of the morning and skied the rest of the day. My trip to Tahoe changed my relationship with the outdoors. I was a working adult who could now afford the ticket to go skiing and to see the snow. It wasn’t until I became an adult that I had that one “outdoors friend” who encouraged me to take a trip to Tahoe because she knew someone who could get us discounted tickets to go skiing. I do remember making it to Santa’s Village in San Bernardino in the early 80’s and seeing some snow used to decorate the place. As a young first-generation Latina from Southern California, snow was not part of my reality. I didn’t grow up visiting ski resorts but remembered hearing about them and wondering not only what Mammoth was like…but also what snow was like. I vividly remember coming back from winter break and sitting in a high school geometry course and having all of my tablemates tell me about their visit to Mammoth over the winter vacation. Growing up, I was surrounded by kids in schools who talked about skiing and going to places with snow.
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