“Such a good skier…”

Over the weekend I watched the ski races in Killington and in Lake Louise, and on many occasions, I thought something like “She’s such a great skier!” Top athletes have honed their skills to become so impressive these days. 

But what does that expression means? To me, there are a few fundamental ingredients that make a great skier: Fearlessness, physical strength, nimbleness, feel for the snow and hard work and not necessarily in that order. 

All this to say that if the first four attributes listed add up to the creation of a “great skier”, the latter element, hard work, is often capable to raise or equal them all and sometimes reach the top, acting as a formidable fuel and becoming that great equalizer all of us strive for. 

Then there's the “spark” called passion, and depending on its intensity it can magnify and transcend the ordinary and open up the door to the remarkable. 

Natural talents are also very dangerous as they often tend to get the athletes that are endowed by them, thinking that they are invulnerable and truly the best, which then in turn can be fodder for their downfall. 

If natural talents were not dealt to you and yet you want to become an exceptionally good skier, just rely on some extraordinary hard work and you’ll become “such a good skier” too!