Busted

I grew up in a state that has a lot of skiing. And, back in the day, the more famous ski resorts actually gave out free season passes to kids. I loved skiing, and pretty much only wanted to ski moguls, the double diamonds, jump off stuff, or be in the terrain park, which was a new thing at the time.

My parents also skied. It was fairly common that we would go and we'd drive some of my friends up there, and my and my friends would ski while my parents skied what they wanted.

One day when I was a teen, my mom drove me and my friend, we'll call him Colton, to the slopes. Colton and I split off and went to ski what we wanted while my mom skied what she wanted.

Well, that day, there was enough snow that a cliff we had always wanted to jump finally had a landing zone. Fresh stacks of fluffy, white powder glistened at the bottom of a drop off that, in the summer, would at least break your legs.

This particular cliff also happened to be right under a lift.

This was Colton and my moment! We skied to the top of the cliff and looked down. Still looked good, although it looked pretty tall from the top of it. People on the chair saw us and started to cheer. I dropped it. I landed, and it was a good landing. Colton dropped it and lost a ski, but other than that it was a good landing. People on the lift were howling at us. I felt good. But we had to find Colton's ski.

So there we were, putting around at the bottom of the lift, trying to find his ski the waves of powder, when the lift above us stopped. And I then heard my name. I looked up and my mom was on the lift, staring down at me. She was using the mom tone of my name. Everyone on the lift was now watching this with glee.

"DID YOU JUST JUMP OFF THAT CLIFF?" my mom yelled.

Thinking fast I said, "No."

"YES YOU DID."

"No, I just skied over here to see what it's like."

Meanwhile, Colton had yet to find his ski.

"Well where is Colton's ski? I see he lost it. Possibly because you JUMPED OFF THAT CLIFF."

Colton, as all teenage boys are masters of, was searching the snow with the intensity of a thousand suns and was not acknowledging my mom at all.

"He lost it after we got here?" I tried.

At this point the peanut gallery of the chair lift couldn't keep silent. A chorus of BUSTED! erupted from every chair in hearing distance.

Colton then found his ski and the lift started back up.

"WE ARE NOT DONE TALKING ABOUT THIS," my mom was yelling, but she was moving past me.

Colton had his ski back on.

"Good to go," he said.

And to sky of cackles, BUSTEDs and my mom's fading voice, Colton and I bombed down the slope, not stopping until we reached the next lift.

"Whoa, bad timing, huh?" Colton said.

I agreed. But it was totally worth it. I had always wanted to jump that. And I had, and I'd even landed it.

"You think that cliff over in the back bowl is in?" I asked.

And Colton, not one to be deterred by a public shaming said, "Let's go find out."

And it was a very, very good day of skiing, even though I knew, we weren't done talking about it. But that was a problem for future me. Current me was going to ski the back bowls and love every moment of it.

And I did, and it was totally worth it.