Twilight skiing at Mt. Bristol

Finding the sweet spot in skiing is comparable to finding the sweet spot of a baseball bat. It serves as a guide to where you should place your body and what kind of motions you should be making. If you’re someone like me, neither of these things mean anything and you just fly down a hill, similarly to how you wield a bat like a maniac.Skiing is a high adrenaline sport. As the lift carries you to the top of a hill, you spend the whole time you contemplating jumping to a snowy demise rather than facing the high speed fatality that surely awaits you at the apex. One thing is for certain – there is no return from whence you came other than to go down the hill on your skis.When I was approached by Patrick Brennan to write an article about a ski trip he was organizing, thoughts about my first time skiing flashed through my mind. The trip is for this Saturday but the first time I was skiing takes me back eight years ago to Aspen, Col.I stood atop a mile high peak, sticks in hand and goggles on face, ready to take the plunge. The only way was down. I gulped what I was sure to be my last breath and shoved off.Seconds turned to minutes as I raced down the bunny slope. Thoughts of smashing into trees competed with worries over how to stop as the bottom approached. Suddenly I saw my brothers. Smashing into them with all of the force of a runaway bicycle, I knocked them both over and fell out of my skis. The brawling that ensued was vicious, only to be once more broken up by my frantic mother. A few near fatal falls increased my mother’s anxiety ten-fold. We never skied again.This Saturday I will be conquering my fears at Bristol Mountain. All seven of the Hall Councils and the 2005 class council will be sponsoring a trip there. Brennan filled me in on the details of the excursion. “This year is different than “this year is different than past years because people will be able to ski from 4 to 10 p.m.” Brennan also told me that he was an “avid skier” and hopes that “people have a good time.” For those on a tight budget the ski trip offers discounted prices.An evening ski pass is going to cost $15 and ski rentals run for $10 with free lessons included with the day pass. The trip leaves around 3 p.m. on Saturday and will return some time before midnight. Tickets must be picked up from the Common Market by 3 p.m. on Friday.Goldner can be reached at campustimes.org.