RITE of PASSAGE

My first moment of panic came when I stood up in ski boots for the first time. I’d expected some level of ineptitude on my part on the first day of ski lessons, but I nearly fell into a bench before I even took a step. Pride would have asked me to quit then and there had I fallen before I even stepped into skis for the first time. With forced, graceless steps I left the Base Lodge at Whitefish Mountain Resort and into the snow.