Mr. Behrendt Goes To Washington: Snowshoe Skiing

Snowshoe Skiing
On Friday, February 28th, I set off to Snowshoe in WV to ski with members of the Patent and Trademark Office Society (PTOS). Two of my friends picked me up at the Vienna metro station at the end of the orange line on I-66. One of the friends works at the USPTO and started working at the USPTO at the same time as me. The other friend was the first friend's husband. The drive was about four and a half hours to Snowshoe. Along the way we stopped in Harrisonburg for gas and lunch at Sheetz. I had never been to a Sheetz before. When we were driving in WV, we were driving on mountain roads with high grades and sharp turns. Those factors significantly cut down on your speed on the road and thus increased travel time. Also in WV, there appeared to be signs of poverty with many run-down looking mobile homes and abandoned homes and barns.

When we arrived at the mountain, we took care of settling in and preparing for the remainder of the trip. I signed up for a 1 hour and 45 minute ski lesson, which started when the slopes opened at 9:00 AM on Saturday. Since I have never skied before, the lesson for people who just started skiing. Next we went to the ski barn to get our ski and snowboard rentals. I rented skis, ski poles, and a helmet. My friend rented a snow board and her husband rented skis and ski poles. We stopped at an office building for my friend and her husband to pick their season ski passes that are good an entire year from March 1, 2013 to February 28, 2015. The passes were a great deal. Eventually we made it to our lodge. Then we met the other seven people who would be staying with us in our lodge. Six of the seven people were patent examiners and the other person was a friend of one of the six patent examiners staying in our lodge.

On the evening of February 28th, about five people went night skiing and snowboarding together including me, my friend, and her husband at a nearby slope called Silver Creek. This was the first time I have ever skied. The ski boots were tight. It was difficult to walk and maneuver on stairs with the boots due to the boots not allowing my ankles to bend. I went down one of the green circle slopes. About every ten feet I would fall. I tried to get up with the help of my poles, but I was not able to get up. I had to unclip from my ski, stand up, and clip back into the ski. There was always at least one person around me to make sure I did not get run over and sometimes provided tips or suggestions. Also when I fell sometime a ski would come off by itself. On the first run, I probably fell at least 20 times. After the first run, I probably made about three or four more runs on short green slopes. Each time there was at least one person nearby in case something were to happen. A few times, I was going pretty fast and fell. I was not injured in any major way on those falls. By the end of the last run, I was able to get off the ground when I had both skis on by pushing myself up on my poles. However I was still not competent on steering and slowing down to a complete stop without falling or coming close to losing control.

Saturday, March 1st was the big ski day of the trip. At 9 AM, I participated in the beginner ski lesson. The lesson went for an hour and forty-five minutes. We went over how to do the pizza wedge or snow plow to slow down, what to do to turn, and what to do when we become of balanced. We practiced turning and getting on and off a ski lift. Even though, this was an adult class there were still two children who were brother and were ages 9 and 11. One of the two brother was perfectly fine to be in the lesson, but the other brother was not. He would not listen to the instructor including when the instructor said to stay still. He would move and slide down the hill until he fell or the instructor skied down and caught him. He would also whine to his Dad up the hill to get him his ski poles. After the lesson, I did not think I learned too much and I did not think I would be any better on the slopes. Later I found out, I did pick up something because my skiing skills greatly improved. At 11:00 AM, I met my friend and her husband. We went and had a break at a bar near the slopes. Afterwards we went skiing some more on difficult, long, steep green slopes on the main mountains of Snowshoe. A link to a map of the slopes at Snowshoe is here. This time skiing, unlike last night, I did not fall as often and I was able to turn and stop much better. This was a good thing because the slopes were much narrower and more dangerous if you went off the main path of the slope than the night before. On a few of the green runs, I only fell one time. On the last run of the day, I did not fall at all! While I was skiing on this day, I saw how skiing can be dangerous. I saw two people on the back of a snowmobile in a sling, an evacuation helicopter flying, and a girl going up a ski lift in a leg brace while crying. I made sure I had a helmet when I skied. In the evening, the people in my ski house and I ate, drank, talked, played cards, and hung out.

On Sunday, March 2nd, my friend, her husband, and I went skiing early in the morning before we had to leave to get back to DC. We only made three runs. I did not fall on any of the runs. Actually on one of the runs, I accidentally went down part of a blue square slope.

This was a great trip! I had a lot of fun and I learned how to ski! Also I am so thankful to my friend and her husband for giving me a ride and helping me so much with skiing!

Below are some pictures from my ski trip.