The Fall Line

The ski-instruction manual, The Classic, states that the fall line "has nothing to do with falling." If only that were true... The book went on to say: "The fall line is simply the steepest line down any slope." So what happens if the skier goes beyond the fall line? Well, they go tumbling down the slope.

The interesting thing is that often the best line to ski is the fall line. It does, however, seem counter intuitive. If the skier leans too far back, their skis go out from under them; too far forward and they tumble down the mountain, which, by the way, is not what usually happens. What usually happens is the skier sits too far back on the skis. Why? Because leaning forward towards the fall line feels awkward, unnatural, down right scary and...a little crazy. "Hey, you want me to what? Lean out away from the mountain down the fall line? Yeah, right!" Yet, this is always where the skiing is best, easiest, and most fluid.

It's the same with any challenge, new venture, or adventure; it feels awkward in the beginning, so we tend to sit back, hoping we don't fall or fail. Yet, because we sit back, we do fail. Often we just have to trust the people who have done what we want to do already. We have to let go of our fear, let go of the awkwardness, knowing that if we push forward just enough to align ourselves to the fall line, it will work.

I am not saying we won't hit bumps and won't occasionally go too far and tumble, or too little and slip. We just have to know it's okay and get back up and lean out again...until we find our fall line.

If we don't push to reach our fall line, we will never feel the glory of success. Here's to you finding your fall line.

~ Dennis