Last week, I joined 900 of my closest friends in Telluride, Colorado, for the annual Kellogg Ski Trip. I knew that I would have a lot of fun partying and de-stressing after an intense exam/recruiting period.

What surprised me was how much I would come to love skiing. The experience that I felt when I first went down the magic carpet slope was as exciting as the experience I felt when I first stood on a surfboard in Bali last year. There is a very special feeling that comes from sports that interact with nature and both skiing and surfing

Skiing is all about confidence

While I found skiing more intuitive than others, and was able to grasp the basics quicker, I believe that my quicker progress on the slopes came down to differences in confidence. I was more confident (and potentially reckless) than others. I knew that I would improve if I kept going down a slope and pushing myself to do more things. To do so, I woke up early and reached the slopes as early as possible, so that I could practice without a lot of other people around me to get in the way. I was more willing to fall than other and I knew that, in case I lost control, I could take a tactical fall to avoid serious injury.

I also had the good fortune of skiing with friends who were far more skilled than me (thanks J, Andy, Chris and Steve). These friends, who completed runs in ~2-3 mins and shot down the slopes, showed me what was technically possible and what I could achieve over time. Beyond that, they encouraged me to try more difficult challenges and gave me targeted guidance in order to improve. All of these gave me the confidence to push radically beyond my expectations and go from never having skied to completing a blue run without falling or stopping in 3 days.

Skiing is exhilarating

Going down a mountain at speed is a thrilling experience that creates an incredible adrenaline rush. I think that much of the rush comes from the inherent risk in skiing and putting yourself in some danger. As safe as it is to hurtle down a mountain, my brain felt that there was some chance that I might lost control and crash. I think it is the fear associated with this risk that makes it such an exciting activity for me – much in the same way that I enjoy roller coasters.

I also believe that part of the thrill comes from pushing yourself to go beyond what you previously thought was possible. Whether that is going faster, going on a harder trail or doing harder things (e.g. jumps), there is satisfaction and joy that comes from going outside your comfort zone. As Ray Dalio says in his Principles “Evolving is life’s greatest accomplishment and its greatest reward.”

Skiing is a visually stunning sport

The practical necessities of skiing make it the most visually stunning sport I have every participated in. Skiing requires slopes with snow, which almost always tend to be mountains (although Dubai provides an exception to this). During my time on Ski Trip, I loved moving through the beautiful nature of Telluride. My favourite section was a sweeping curve next to a pine forest that narrowed out to provide a stunning vista of a mountain range in the distance. The contrasts of alternating between narrow and wide spaces helped increase the sense of awe and grandness of the space that I was in.

Beyond the actual act of skiing, sitting in chairlifts also provides contemplative moments of beauty and reflection. Especially on cold days, a ride in a chairlift often involves sitting in silence, with wind blowing through your hair as you move further and further up in the mountains. When I sat in chairlifts by myself, I often just stared at the scenery around me, filled with gratitude at being able to experience the wonders of Telluride in Winter.

Skiing will be with me for life

One of the joys of business school is to discover things that I had never experience but have come to love. Skiing is one of these things that I can’t wait to do a lot more of.