The Chute. Pronounced "shoot". And it earned it's name well, being one of the scariest runs on the mountain... or is it?

"No, mommy, you cannot make me go down it!" I screeched. She sighed.

"Shannon, you can do it."

"I know I can! I just don't want to!"

"I can't make you go down the run, but please give it a try."

"No."

***

About a month later, my mom fell down another run, called Essondale. Yes, after the lunatic asylum that used to be here in British Columbia. Anyway, she ripped her MCL, ACL, Miniscus, and many other ligaments in her knee. She could not ski.

Now I was skiing on my own. She would drive up to the hill with me, and because she is on ski patrol, she stayed in the infirmary and waited for patients to come in.

So, with this new, strange liberty, I was able to try a harder run when I wanted to, or take it easy if I felt like it. I could stop in the middle of the run, though always on the side, and sit down in the snow for a few moments, enjoying the mountain-top view.

One day, I decided to try. Just try. If the Chute was too hard, I'd cut across through the trees until I found an easier run, never mind that I knew it would cross a couple hundred double black diamond runs.

So I approached the top with apprehension. The top was easy, but I knew that the rest would be much, much harder.

I got to the middle. The steep slope looked intimidating. I looked down, and for a moment, I closed my eyes. But that was worse. I opened my eyes, and let my skis slide over the snow...

"Is this the right run?" I said out loud. "Really? This is easy!" I zipped down the run, parallel turning over the moguls that adorned one side, then sliding to the non-mogul side to try to get my barrings.

I couldn't fathom it. I got to the bottom, and noticed the Face on the left. This was the right run. I pulled off my glove, and checked the map in my pocket to affirm what I thought.

Yeesh, how could I have been so stupid to avoid that run? It was crazy. So, then I thought, "Why don't I try those other ones that I was scared to ski?"

A recipe for disaster, but that is another story.

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Author guidance for This story

Skiing dictionary:

Runs: Those things that you go down- the hill.

Green: The easiest level of run. It's symbol is a circle.

Blue: Slightly harder level of run. It's symbol is a square.

Black: Hard runs. It's symbol is a diamond.

Double- Black: Those really-freaky-never-want-to-go-down runs. It's symbol is two diamonds.

Moguls: They are like bumps that everyone skis over. They can be really small or really big.

Ski Boots: You put these on your feet and attach them to your skis. In a crash, ski boots sometimes come off. It's a safety thing.

Skis: They are things you attach to your ski boot, that let you slide down the hill.

Snow: Farley Mowat described it as "the fifth element". I find that I can easily agree. Soft, white, fluffy, and absolutely detailed. Snow can come in many textures: soft, fresh, icy, hard, and all mean different skiing conditions.

I didn't really think about it until chimerakiller2 posted a comment about it, but this is a collaborative, everyone! You can add your own skiing adventures, if you so choose.

updated Feb 27 '10 by Anonymous