Even if you aren't a skier, you'll be able to appreciate the
humor of the slopes as written in this account by a New Orleans
newspaper.
A friend just got back from a holiday ski trip to Utah with
the kind of story that warms the cockles of anybody's heart.
Conditions were perfect, 12 below, no feeling in the toes, basic
numbness all over. The "Tell me when we're having fun" kind of day.
One of the women in the group complained to her husband that she
was in dire need of a restroom. He told her not to worry, that
he was sure there was relief at the top of the lift in the form
of a powder room for female skiers in distress. He was wrong,
of course, and the pain did not go away.
If you've ever had nature hit its panic button in you, then you
know that a temperature of 12 below zero doesn't help matters.
So with time running out, she weighed her options.
Her husband, picking up on the intensity of the pain, suggested that
since she was wearing an all white ski outfit, she should go off
in the woods. No one would ever notice, he assured her. The white
will provide more than adequate camouflage. So she headed for the
tree line, began disrobing and proceeded to do her thing. If you've
ever parked on the side of a slope, then you know there is a right
way and a wrong way to set your skis so you don't move. Yup, you got
it. She had the skis positioned the wrong way.
Steep slopes are not forgiving, even during embarrassing moments.
Without any warning, the woman found herself skiing backwards, out of
control racing throught the trees, somehow missing all of them, and on
to the slopes. Her derriere and the reverse side were still bare, her
pants down around her knees, and she was picking up speed all the while
she continued on backwards, totally out-of-control, creating an unusual
sight for the other skiers.
The woman skied, if you define that verb loosely, back under the lift,
and finally collided violently with a pylon. The bad news was that
she broke her arm and was unable to pull up the ski pants. At long
last her husband arrived, put an end to her nude show, then went to
the base of the mountain and summoned the ski patrol, who transported
her to a hospital.
In the emergency room she was regrouping when a man with a broken leg
was put in the bed next to hers.
"So, how'd you break your leg?" She asked, making small talk.
"It was the darndest thing you ever saw," he said. "I was riding up
this ski lift and suddenly I couldn't believe my eyes. There was
this crazy woman skiing backwards out of control down the mountain
with her bare bottom hanging out."
"I leaned over to get a better look and I guess I didn't realize
how far I'd moved. I fell out of the lift."
"So, how'd you break your arm?"