Ski Hell; The Lift

It was very quaint.  North Carolina ski areas like Sugar Mountain in the early 80s before everything was ultra developed were rustic and fun. Log cabins and stores and buildings steeped in small town nostalgia and covered with Christmas lights set the mood.

Early the first morning they were off to rent skis and head to the slopes.  She hoped she wouldn't have to use the bathroom...so much work to get out of all those clothes. It was cloudy and snowing lightly as they put on their skis and headed toward the lift. So much work hauling all that gear in those uncomfortable boots but my owner is nothing if not a good sport...well at first. It would have helped if he hadn't lied to her when she asked where they were going. "Bunny slope". He helped her onto the lift and she enjoyed the ride, although she began to wonder where this mysterious bunny slope was since they seemed to be climbing steadily higher up the mountain. "Are we going to the bunny slope?"
"Oh no", he said "to the top". 


Now that would have been  bad enough if he had explained to her that coming up soon was a snowy ramp and when the lift approached it she should put her skis on it and prepare to stand up, ski down it and move rapidly out of the way. He didn't.  


From what I could gather from my place in the closet later in the evening it went something like this:

He stood up and skied down the ramp. She was caught by surprise and didn't immediately move.  He (along with a few other people) began to yell, "JUMP", which she did. Skis immediately went flying out from under her and her and she fell backwards and hit her head on the packed snow and ice. While she tried to stand up on the hellish devices attached to her feet, no one helped except to holler in the most irritatingly excited voices she had ever heard, "MOVE" and "GET OUT OF THE WAY"! She sort of pathetically crawled over to the side where he asked, "Why didn't you stand up and get off the lift when I did"?  She was fuming but sure that making a fool of herself and nearly killing herself  so early in the day that it had to get better. Now came the skiing part, and that would be fun, right?