Glen and I joined a ski club in September last year. Anna was a member and suggested it to us. I’ve never been skiing before and Glen has only done it once but considering we’re in Canada and there’s not much else to do in winter, we thought we’d give it a go.

Saturday was the first opportunity we had to go. Unfortunately Glen wasn’t feeling well and had work to do on his research project so he stayed behind. I went with Anna and a couple of her Irish friends and when we got there we joined up with some other Aussie doctors (including one that Glen knows and who lives in our building with her partner).

Bit of hassle getting to the bus pick-up in the morning as the subway station near us was closed due to flooding. After a bit of a stop-start where I couldn’t get a helpful answer out of the shuttle bus drivers, I eventually arrived at Rosedale and then it was a few stops up to York Mills and got there with plenty of time.

When you book with the ski club, you get bus travel, ski lift pass and a lesson included all for $75, which is pretty good. We went to Mount St Louis Moonstone today but there are different locations in Ontario that the club goes to each week (Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays).

Despite my fears that getting the ski equipment was going to be extremely esoteric, it turned out to be a breeze. I hired boots, skis, poles and helmet when I got there for about $50 and then went out to find a class.

I joined a level 1 group as a “never-ever”. Initially I thought the lessons only lasted an hour but they actually go for two. In my morning lesson, we had two instructors for three of us and in the afternoon we had one instructor for four of us, which was great.

The morning lesson went really well, a lot better than I expected. Not being particularly sporty or, to be honest, coordinated, I managed to get the basics down pretty quickly. As is always the case with me, I wanted to run before I could walk (or in this case, go zooming off before I had proper control) but the instructors were great and showed me what to do and soon enough I was happily going up and down the baby slope.

We were given little student progress books where the instructors write down how you went in your lesson and whether you progress to the next level. I felt so proud of myself that I was progressed to level 2 at the end of my very first lesson.

After the lesson, it was time for lunch. One small cafeteria servicing a couple of hundred hungry skiers. It’s not the greatest food – no tartiflette or raclette here – but it was quick and I wolfed down a chicken burger and chips. Will definitely consider bringing a packed lunch next time (though they don’t allow lunch boxes in the dining room which is a bit problematic and after being out on the slopes it’d be nice to have something hot).

Anna had a collision during her lesson and while she was fine (apart from a bit of a headache) she had to fill out a mountain of paperwork which would have taken over an hour to do. She didn’t get a very long lunch break. Thankfully she doesn’t seem to have done any serious damage.

After lunch, I went for another lesson, progressing up from the really baby slope to the next one over. This time it was lots and lots of turns and learning to lean forward a lot more. Man, it was fun. You wouldn’t think repeatedly going up and down a hill could be so much fun, especially when you don’t actually go anywhere.

The second instructor was really good too and he even asked if I played sport (no) because I “looked very athletic out there”. I’ve never been called athletic in my life! To say I was beaming from this praise would be an understatement.

I didn’t get to go on the chair lift today but spent a lot of time on the Magic Carpet, which is a very slow conveyer belt that you slip onto and it takes you to the top of the hill. I think the Magic Carpet takes about four times longer to get up the hill than it takes to ski down. I didn’t progress up a level at the end of this lesson but nearly there. One more and I should be on to three.

(I did take some video footage at the end but it’s not very interesting. I think I need to look up more because really it’s just a whole lot of white filling the screen.)

Stayed out there until just after 4pm when the snow started to come in, zoomed back to the rentals, unloaded, changed and then went upstairs to hang out with the Aussies/Irish and the rest of the ski club. There was a mix ‘n’ mingle thing afterwards, which thankfully only lasted until 6pm. I was really ready for bed by then, having used a lot of energy. I could really feel my triceps and calves.

Bus ride back (if we’d had to drive ourselves, I don’t think I would have made it), then caught a taxi home as the subway was still closed. All back by 8pm to dinner cooked by Glen. We watched Downton Abbey and then crashed into bed about 9:30 for much needed sleep.

So, in short, I had an awesome time and look forward to going again. Guess what my next few weekends are going to be filled with?