Jasper, it’s my favourite time of year – time to hit the slopes.

I am ready to return to skiing this year, after a much regretted one-year absence due to my living situation in the Yukon.

Last year I did a total of one run at Whitehorse’s Mount Sima – a cute little three-run hill. The day I went was to cover a snowboard competition in the hill’s half-pipe. My skis were stuck in B.C., and Mount Sima’s general manager was nice enough to lend me a pair for the day. 

I was all excited to go and looked forward to it all week, when Whitehorse experienced one of its coldest days yet – the temperatures plunged to about -25 at my house about a 20-kilometre drive from the mountain. Experience in the north quickly taught me that -25 at my house meant even colder in town, and much, much colder by the time you got out to the hill.

I have been spoiled with beautiful ski weather in my lifetime, and am a big believer in spending more time in the lodge than on the hill when it’s any colder than -20. It ended up being well under -40 with the wind-chill, as the chair-lift slowly crept up the mountain. I buried my face into my coat, but there was just no hiding from the biting wind.

After hopping off the chair, I learned all about skiing with a DSLR camera strapped to you. There is only one rule, and that is; For the love of God, do not fall down on it. 

I got down to the competition, did my photos, and by the time things wrapped up, I was so cold I thought I was going to have to check myself into the hospital. I eased down the hill and ran for the warmth of my car, and never went skiing in Whitehorse again.

I’ve had many mishaps on skis, and I often wonder why I keep trying. I’ve torn things in my knee that have never been the same after a slip on a steep run, ended up bloodied after smashing my face on a pole when trying to show off for a friend, I have hit more trees than I can count and been stuck in four-foot powder and left behind by my so-called-friends (I still haven’t forgiven you all for that) to struggle for a half an hour.

What I enjoy about skiing so much is the culture; how everyone with a couple of planks strapped to their feet is your friend, the rivalry between snowboarders and skiers, fearless little kids ripping down the hill faster than I would ever dream of going and the celebrations that follow a good day of powder.

I can’t wait to get up on Marmot. It will be my first try at a hill besides my beloved Kimberley Alpine Resort I grew up on (other than my failed attempt at Mount Sima), and I can’t wait to experience all the inevitable disasters I’ll run into this season. Opening day of Marmot Basin is scheduled for Nov. 11.

DISCLAIMER: The Last Word is an opinion column, it is meant to provoke thought and debate. As such, any opinions written here are the writers own and do not reflect the viewpoint of any other Fitzhugh staff member or the directors of the Jasper Media Group Inc.