I want to share with you how I almost fell out of a chair lift and died…

At least I thought I may fall out and die or break lots of bones.  Let’s just say I am quite afraid of heights.  The scariest ride to me at a theme park or fair is the Ferris Wheel.

Being up high is bad enough but when I am up high and moving slowly I am absolutely terrified. You can imagine my fear of cable cars & ski lifts.  This past weekend I was a guest at a women’s fitness retreat in Invermere, British Columbia.  My good friend and tour guide Shawna Kaminski asked if we wanted to stop for lunch on our way home at the Cliffhouse Bistro in Banff, Alberta.

It sounded like a cool place.  The two guest trainers from the U.S. – Dawn and I said “Sure”.  What we did not know was that getting to the bistro involved riding a chair lift up the mountain almost 7000 ft. Yikes!

ALLI, SHAWNA, & DAWN AT 7000 ft

I was terrified but at the same time I wanted to see the views from the top.  I realized that I couldn’t have

CHAIR LIFT RIDE

my cake and eat it too.  The only way I could experience the breathtaking views (the experience of a lifetime) was to deal with my fear and ride up the mountain almost 7000 ft on that creepy looking chair lift.

All the way up I studied the mechanics of the lift trying to figure out how the cars connected to the cable, how the cables stayed on the tracks, and how I would land if I fell off.

Every now and then I stole a glance at the scenery around me.  I said lots of prayers for myself, the chair, and the cable line to all make it in one piece.  Finally we made it to the top.  My hands were wrapped so tightly to the metal bars that I had to pry them off.  My knuckles were bright white.

CLIFFHOUSE BISTRO

Once off the creepy chair lift, I got to experience the most breathtaking (in a good way) views I have ever seen.  I enjoyed some delicious soup at the Cliffhouse Bistro while looking out over the mountains.  The whole experience is up there on my list of most amazing things I have ever done.  It was a wonderful reward for overcoming my fear.

And then we had to get back in that creepy chair lift and go back down the mountain 7000 feet.  I was more scared going down than coming up.  I held my breath most of the way.  It was a long, scary, and beautiful ride.

I am happy to report that I made it to the bottom.  I did not fall out.  I did not die.

VIEW FROM TOP

Once I got off that creepy chair lift I looked back up the mountain.  This time my reward was a sense of excitement.  I did it.  No more creepy chair lift.  My thought now was: “I just had the experience of a lifetime”.  I may forget a lot of days in my life.  But for this day I will remember my silly fears, surviving, and experiencing the most beautiful views I have ever seen.

Isn’t life just that way?  If we give into our fears we miss out on the most amazing experiences.  We miss out on the most beautiful views we have never seen.

If we take on our silly fears we get to experience life from the mountain top.  We can accomplish any goal.

What creepy chair lift are you struggling with?  Today is the day to take on that fear so that you too can reap the reward of the views from the mountain top.  You too can say “I did it!”.

UNTIL NEXT TIME