Winter has finally arrived in South Dakota, and that means that one of my favorite places has finally opened for the season. If you’ve been in the Sioux Falls area, I’m sure you have heard about the Great Bear Ski Resort on the north side of town. I love spending my time here! Skiing is one of my main hobbies that I do besides being a designer.

I’ve been skiing ever since I moved to Sioux Falls. My mom had done lots of skiing when she was younger, and she wanted to introduce me and my sister to the sport once both of us were old enough. I was about 8, and my sister was about 5. My mom signed the both of us up for a lesson, but I don’t remember too much about it. The only thing I remember is my sister and I zooming down the big hill while our mom would try to catch up to us. Both of us were quite the speedsters, and our mom was always trying to play catch up!

As we grew older, our interest in skiing changed. My sister ended up losing her interest of skiing. She had lots of other things going on in her life as she grew up like tennis and dance, so skiing just became less of an interest for her. I would ski a lot with my mom, since I couldn’t drive myself anywhere. We would go to Great Bear a lot, but I also would try to go out to Mt. Kato and Terry Peak for vacations in the winter.

I’d fall in love with skiing. I was never a really big sports person, so I was glad I found something to do that I liked and kept me active. Skiing has always brought me to my happy place, just gliding across the snow over and over again was such a thrill to me. Now that I can drive myself, I can go ski whenever I need a break or to clear my mind. If I’ve got too much going on to think about, a couple times down the slopes helps me center myself again.

I’ve devoted myself even more to skiing since my younger days. I always try to improve my skills every year. I’ve been working on skiing fast, and I might even try to do some of the races that Great Bear hosts this season!

I love all of the things that I’ve learned from skiing at Great Bear. In fact, I’ve been teaching other people how to ski too; I’m a ski instructor! I’ve been spreading my knowledge of skiing to others for my third year now. I have lots of different people that I meet every time I have a new lesson. I love sharing my knowledge and teaching things to people, and I also truly love my job!

Because of all of these reasons, you’ll see me at Great Bear quite often! It is definitely my comfort place. Even during the summer, I like to visit every once in a while to walk in nature and explore the trails. If you do ever see me at Great Bear, feel free to say hi! Unless I’m really in the zone, then it would be best to wait a bit to organize my thoughts, haha.

Finding this outlet of skiing has been great for my life! Whether it may be skiing, or snowboarding, or something entirely different, it’s good to have an outlet from the real world so you can just be in your zone for a bit.

TC