Descriptive Essay: Skiing Experience

My First Skiing Experience

It was the winter of 2015, and my family and I have just arrived at a skiing resort in Korea. We have been asleep on the bus from the long drive and was extremely excited to finally be able to get off. The resort was magnificent. It had a very nice modern architectural structure, a wonderful skiing mountains behind, and everything was covered in shiny snow. However, being too engaged in the scenery, we did not expect the danger that awaited us. As we grabbed our bags and stepped out of the bus, we all started shivering like a group of abandoned puppies on a cold evening. It was around negative ten degrees Celsius, and we were only wearing thin jackets, long pants, and normal shoes. We felt like we just walked into the world’s coldest walk-in refrigerator, so we ran into the lobby, escaping the life-threatening cold.

After checking in and renting skis, another surprise came. The ski boots were very heavy, causing me to feel like I was walking around with huge sandbags tied to my legs. The area was also filled with tourists, so finding a spot to put them on was as easy task. Around half an hour later, we finally got into the skiing area. The skiing mountain was a path up to the heavens. It was glowing under the sunlight and the top was covered by shiny white clouds. We have seen pictures of it on brochures before, but it was nothing compared to what we saw in real life. My dad then proceeded to teach me how to ski, since I have never done so before. I practiced on a couple of small slopes on the side, and before I knew it, it was time to go on the ski lift. The machine may look slow from a distance, but when it was our turn to get on, I became petrified. We were told to stand at the waiting platform, and as I looked back, the seats came at great speed. It swung around the corner, not seeming to slow down at all, and came charging at us like a raging bull. The seat hit my calf, and it caused me to fall onto the seat. After a while of listening to the cranking noises, we were greeted with a marvelous view. We saw the entire resort, including the ski route we were about to go on, the nearby city that was decorated with beautiful lights, and the snow covered mountains that surrounded us.

When we arrived at the top, we were to ski onto the platform area while we get off so you don’t get hit by the ones behind you. I was not prepared for this, so I crashed into the previous passengers and luckily stopped before I actually went down the slope. It looked much steeper at the top than it was at the bottom, and it caused my legs to shake a little. I remember I also started to sweat because I was imagining the things that can go wrong. What if I crash and tumble the entire way down? What if I break my legs and will never walk again? My dad calmed me down, and we slowly slid down the mountain. This was when my skis decided to not listen to me. It controlled my direction, and it drove me straight into the sides, causing me to fall. I became dizzy, and as I looked up, it turns out we were only a couple feet down. One of my skis fell off, and I felt like I was going to have a heart attack because there was still a long way down. My dad came to help me up and reminded me how to stop and turn. We held onto the netted sides for a while, and when I regained confidence, we decided to continue to the bottom. I watched as a few experienced skiers fly by, and the next thing I remember, I joined them. This time, I had complete control of my skis, twisting and turning around the others, gliding down the mountain like I was a professional. I was probably going at a very slow pace, but in my mind, I was a lightning bolt zooming to the ground. My dad hardly kept up, and after a few seconds of cold wind crashing onto my face, we were at the bottom. Although it was terrifying at first, it was the best experience I have ever had. Of course, because of the adrenaline and excitement, we went on the route over and over again, until the resort closed for the night. That was my first skiing experience, and it will forever be listed as one of the best days of my life.

 

Link to rough draft

https://docs.google.com/a/ics.edu.hk/document/d/1c2PRVc633LOcds6bbEGQqj19PpxCbwwuMdgXzplfUGs/edit?usp=sharing

Reflection: Writing this piece was an interesting experience since I rarely write these types of essays. I made sure I included all the fun bits while describing the adventurous events with detail. However, I also encountered some difficulties while writing this piece. This was because we were to tell a story while including the specific details. This was somewhat challenging because it felt unnatural, where when one casually tells you about their experience, they wouldn’t use expanded moments or repetition to tell you about it. It would seem odd, especially if you told somewhat that the ski lift was like a raging bull charging at you. Another reason why this was a challenge is because while including the details, I had to make sure it was not too much. It was difficult to make it so it does not seem forced, having them fit into the piece, editing it so I was not simply fitting in as much detail as possible.