By: Jason Seol
January 3rd, 2026
It was 5:00 AM. I was wearing my ski supplies, all buckled up in the back seat of my mom’s minivan. I looked to the front, hoping to enjoy the snowy landscape, but the only landscape I could see was a thick sheet of snow blocking my view of the beautiful white snow falling from the sky.
As I observed the dense snow pile on the minivan’s front glass, I began to wonder: how was my family going to go to Cypress when the highway leading to the mountain was infamous for its slippery conditions during the winter? Finding thought to be exhausting at such an early hour, I closed my eyes, hoping to recover from the lost hours of sleep.
However, just as I thought I had gotten comfortable, I heard a sudden loud honking sound of different cars as other Cypress visitors were trying to push through to find their own parking spot. I truly believed that I had only closed my eyes for ten seconds, but it turns out we were already at the entrance of Cypress Mountain.
Luckily, we found a vacant spot and parked as soon as possible. My dad’s voice rose above the cacophony of honks and beeps outside, saying, “Alright, we have to get our stuff and move on to buy our ticket as quickly as we can!”
When I heard him say that, I immediately unbuckled my seatbelt, opened the door, and grabbed my ski and my two poles as fast as I could. It felt like I was energized with energy I didn’t even know I had.
After the sudden rush of adrenaline, I began to regret following my parents to Cypress Mountain this early in the morning because I was tired and hangry. However, everything changed when I traveled to the peak of the mountain.
I could see a sunrise. It wasn’t any sunrise; it was one of the most beautiful sunrises I have ever seen in my entire life. I saw the pale blue and navy sky radiating the remaining colours of night in the back of the trees, eventually branching toward and entangling the yellow and orange light of morning.
I could see the bright sun reflecting towards me, my parents, and the snow on which I was standing. The snow itself was sparkling, as if it were the reflections of the river on a hot summer day.
As I skied down the mountain, I resisted seeing the trail I was heading down. I wanted to observe the gorgeous sun and scenery more.
By the time we skied down to the finish point and were ready to head back home, I already wanted to do the trip again. I know my parents will love it when they hear me say this, but I didn’t really care about skiing with my parents; I just wanted to be in that moment, one more time.