Off Campus Life - Life Lesson on Ski Slope

My good friend, Chris Yang, was from the Geography Department of the University of Alberta. Since her lecturer and a few students were going to Banff for skiing during the Reading Week, she invited me to join them.

I love downhill skiing. After falling down for the umpteenth time, I finally managed to ski first the beginner's slope and finally the intermediate slope which I consider as quite satisfactory for someone from the tropics!

The moment I was seated on the chair lift, I lost the grip of one of my ski poles. I felt a foreboding of impending trouble. As we were ascending, I felt uneasy, as if the loss of the ski pole was a kind of bad omen. Suddenly the chair lift jumped and I thought the J hook which suspended our chair was going to fall off but luckily it did not. All the chairs came to an emergency halt. I tried to be positive and told myself that it was not everyday that you get to see such a majestic view of the lovely mountains. The winds became stronger, and we were swinging like trapeze artists in the circus! I was on the windward side and hence received the coldest brunt of the strong winds which sometimes even gathered some snow. I did not wear a scarf because I heard it could be dangerous as one of the skiers had suffocated herself when her scarf was caught in the ropes and she was accidentally strangled to death.

It was getting colder and colder. In Canada, you can sometimes have 4 seasons in a day! It was shining brightly and the temperature was only about minus 7 degree celsius when we started skiing. Shortly after the sun had disappeared and it became cloudy and windy soon after, the temperature dropping to minus 15 degree celcius!

Rescue operation was slow because of the height at which we were suspended. By the time the rescuers reached us, I was semi conscious. Someone carried me piggy back to the centre where a nurse tried to rub my arms and legs with her hands in an attempt to bring my body temperature to normal. I had hypothermia and the doctor said it could be fatal if I had been rescued 30 minutes later.

The above narrow brush with death had not deterred me from downshill skiing. The line between death and life has made me treasure family, friends and associates even more. The very uncertainly of life has made me aware that it is important not to take people for granted, but to treat each day as if it were my last on earth!

Downhill skiing, anyone? Would be glad to provide free lessons if you are interested.

Gan Chau