The Leap

It was probably five below. Exposed, I sat swinging from the chairlift of the local ski-mountain. I was fine for awhile, but after what felt like an hour I began to get worried. The lift had stopped, leaving me stranded above the ground in the middle of January. I was alone and only the lifty knew I had gone for that ‘one last run’. I thought the mountain offered night skiing, but as the sun began to set I was no longer sure of anything.

I sat, curled up into a ball, trying to convince myself that someone was coming for me. The wind howled in my ears, trying to persuade me otherwise. I watched the last sliver of sunlight fade from the sky and knew I had to do something soon. I had left my phone in the lodge, surely granting me contendance for the Darwin award.

I had to jump, a fact I had been trying to push out of my head for the past hour. There was surely no way to last the night in such an exposed manner. I took a deep breath and pushed the safety bar up over my head. I looked down and immediately regretted it. I debated keeping my ski’s on but didn’t want them to influence my fall. I popped them off as I swung my legs to ensure they landed away from where I was planning.

Three, two, one… and down I went. I landed in a clump of snow with a quiet plop. I stretched and checked my extremities, no broken bones. I looked back up at the chair and realized that I had barely been 6ft off the ground. I popped my ski’s back on and hurried down the mountain to safety.