Last month, we sent our cold and winter-hating editor, Mark Gentili, out to learn skate skiing at Walden Cross-Country.
Spoiler alert: he fell a LOT, which made for a very amusing video (you have to watch it if you haven’t already), but also, reportedly, a huge bruise on his hip.
So what did I do immediately upon returning to the office following that disastrous ski session? Yup, I booked him a downhill skiing lesson at Adanac.
The half-century-old Mark, who last downhill skied at the age of 14 on a school trip, figures I’m trying to torture him, or maybe just hoping to take over the editor’s chair via misadventure.
OK, I admit I was looking forward to more hilarity. But with Norwegian blood in my veins, I have a passion for skiing, and I naturally just think everyone should love it as much as I do.
To my surprise … Mark did great! He had some understandable anxiety leading up to his lesson, even worrying about breaking a leg (in the literal, not the theatrical, sense). But he didn’t fall once, and he even graduated from the bunny hill to the big hill.
And I got to go skiing for free on company time and call it work. That’s always a good day.
Thank you to the folks at Adanac and ski instructor Jack Anderson for making it happen.
If you’d like to get out there, more information on Greater Sudbury’s two ski hills, Adanac and Lively, including operating hours, lessons and equipment rentals, is available through the City of Greater Sudbury’s website.
Do you have an idea for an activity you'd like to see a member of our staff try out on video (for your amusement)? Email the [email protected].
Heidi Ulrichsen is Sudbury.com’s assistant editor. For the record, she’s not trying to kill off Mark.