Every time I see skiing scenes on TV, I feel a strong yearning—imagining myself one day wearing ski gear and gliding down from the heights, experiencing that sense of speed and the thrilling feeling of being in control out in nature.
But due to global warming in recent years, this so-called northern city hasn’t seen much snow for a long time, and those beautiful scenes of heavy snowfall have become rare. Still, my desire to ski only grew stronger. I had planned to go skiing last year, but for various reasons, it never happened. This time, when I saw a skiing event organized by Brother F and Lexiang Club, I signed up immediately. We were headed to Shijinglong Ski Resort, and the lift tickets were half-price ones found by Brother F.
We left very early in the morning. On the bus, Lexiang Club gave each of us a Gore outdoor neck gaiter—so stylish that it became our one and only uniform in the snowy wonderland: everyone wore a Gore neck gaiter around their necks.
At the ski resort, we spent quite a while just handling the check-in procedures. After finally getting our ski suits and equipment, the moment we saw the snow, everyone was thrilled.
First, here are a couple of “group photos” from our skiing trip. Can you guess which one is me?
There were several first-time skiers in our group, including me, haha. Brother F was extremely responsible—he waited until we had adapted a bit before changing into ski boots and suits himself. Brother F is truly a dedicated and reliable team leader.
On my first attempt at skiing, I couldn’t even put my boots on properly. Sister Tianyuan found me a handsome instructor to teach me. It felt quite different from what I’d imagined—once I put on the ski boots, I could barely walk. The boots were huge, heavy, and tightly wrapped around my ankles, making me feel like some character from Transformers just trying to move.
There were four snowboarders who got super excited the moment they entered the resort. Before even getting into position, they charged straight down the slope without turning or slowing down, crashing right into the safety net. Haha, their snowboards stuck straight into the mesh.
With thick ski boots, long skis, and poles in both hands, I had no idea how to properly handle all this gear. They all seemed to work against me—if I wasn’t careful, I’d fall and couldn’t get back up, just waiting pathetically for the staff to rescue me. So I figured, screw it—I took off my skis, walked to the top of the slope, and watched the world go by, observing the many ways people wipe out on the slopes. Haha, good times for rest and photos. Haha.
Brother F, who had taken the cable car up, saw me “slacking off” and started teaching me skiing techniques. Even the experienced Brother F was knocked down by me a few times, tumbling head over heels. He kept taking photos of us the whole time—if not, I would’ve included a picture of him too.
Gradually getting the hang of it, I began to enjoy the thrill of swooshing down from the top. First, a pull-up lift (a kind of cable tow) pulled us up, and then we’d ski down on our own. At first, even staying balanced on the lift was a challenge—I’d fall after just a few meters with Sun Sun. What a tough climb. After about 500 meters, we finally reached the top of the slope. Standing there and looking down, everything below seemed tiny amid the vast expanse of white. The view was breathtaking.
Because the spot where I was standing was way too slippery, I started sliding down before I was mentally ready—and fell midway. On average, I fell three times every time I skied down. That became the unbreakable law. Fell so hard I got hand cramps.
Skiing is all about having the fearless spirit of not minding falls or injuries. This girl was determined to keep going. Rolling, crawling, and jumping under everyone’s watchful eyes—after all that practice, haha, I could finally ski down from the very top without falling. Haha, I was secretly overjoyed.
Here are some little behind-the-scenes moments.
A few shots of my own “glorious” self.