Best 3 months of my life

Timberline was a big step for me, I had been a pretty anxious kid, and I’d never been away from home for more than 3 weeks my whole life. I went into it feeling pretty excited, but skeptical that I would be able to truly thrive, being so far away from home. Within the first week my entire reality had shifted, to a place of calm, and my mental state was like nothing I had ever experienced. I felt truly calm, and excited for what the future held, rather than fearful of the unknown. Being in BANFF absolutely blew my mind—the community there was so strong, and I quickly found people who I felt happy with. And this was all before I even went skiing. After a few days, we had our first day on the mountain, and being someone who had never skied out west before, I am being serious when I say it was like nothing I had ever experienced. The terrain, the space, the sheer scale of the mountain was so far beyond my highest expectations, and every day there for the next three months felt just as incredible. Coming into the program I considered myself a “decent” skier, and I quickly discovered I didn’t know the first thing about being on snow. The instructors at Lake Louise were all amazing, and I learned so much every single day. Off the mountain things were just as fun. The social scene in Banff was amazing, and the locals were all incredibly friendly and welcoming to me and my group. Other than skiing, we spent time with Timberline learning about the indigenous people who inhabited the lands before us, and I found that to be an incredibly valuable addition to the program. I really enjoyed all of the extracurricular activities that we did and I’m so happy they were included. The Timberline staff were all amazing, and always there to support you if you needed it. Overall, I can certainly say that Timberline was some of the, if not the best three months of my entire life. My only regret is that it wasn’t longer.