Alta

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Today my cousin and her husband took me up to Alta in the mountains near SLC (Salt Lake City) to have a go on skis...

I am not known for my grace and poise. In fact, I am more known for my poor coordination and balance, and ability to fall over while standing still (even when there is no wind). I was not optomistic that strapping planks to my feet and placing me on a slippery surface was going to work out well for me!

I signed up for a beginners class, and forunately I was the only person that did so I essentially got a private lesson. After two hours, I was able to slide down a shallow beginners slope without crashing. All the while children of about 4 years of age whizzed past me turning, jumping, and even going backwards. All rather embarrassing really... Still, the morning was considerably more successful than expected!

SLC is at about 4000ft above sea level and Alta is about 6000ft further up. By the end of the morning the altitude was really getting to me and I felt absolutely exhausted and weak. Fortunately it wore off pretty quickly when we came back down the mountain and I was able to enjoy a beer...