It seems easy to do when you watch downhill skiers on TV. They make it look so effortless, unless they take a tumble of course. Cross Country was the first skiing sport until the invention of tow lifts which brought Alpine Skiing. The Austrians, Swiss and Italians have dominated the sport. As soon as they can walk, some young children in the Alps region can ski and ski to school everyday.

Most people ski as a leisure pursuit and leave the Olympic ambitions to the daredevils. Snowboarding, particularly popular with the young, has joined Alpine Skiing. Racing down slopes on planks of wood does seem a crazy thing to do. Having done it myself, I know how thrilling it is. I have skied in Scotland in the fog and over sheer ice.

I hit a sheet of ice one day and couldn't stop myself from crashing into a picket fence. There was a log cabin at the top of the mountain where they sold hot chocolate, coffee and snacks. You can also feed from your hand the local herd and reindeer when they came up near the cabin. Yes Alpine Skiing is something else! I had another great skiing experience in Austria. The weather and snow conditions were almost perfect there.

Nothing can beat Alpine Skiing when the sun is shining and the snow glitters in the sunlight. I love Apres Ski too and I remember drinking a lot of good wine. I resided in a picture postcard village in a real Alpine lodge. In the small village, there was this amazing church which was adorned with frescoes and gold. One night, my friends and I went to a local bar and I had rather too much schnapps. I suffered the next day and my Alpine Skiing had to be put on hold.

I promised myself to go skiing again and try to improve. A very big dry slope has opened near my home, which would be a good way to get back into it again. I might even take snowboarding lessons; I don't see why the young should have all the fun. When I was in Austria, we had a trip to Innsbruck and we visited the old site for the Winter Olympics there. I went to the top and stood where was the ski jump hill, and the incline is unbelievable. You can't get any idea of what ski jumping is like from television.

I am sure it must feel like flying sometimes. The only time that I ever flew was by pure accident!.

This well known author is an Internet lover and enjoys to share his passion with you. You can discover more about skiing and regarding Alpine skiing ideas at his website www.skisskiingsnowboarding.com