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For people who haven’t lived in Arizona very long, they’ll be surprised when snow is in the forecast or even falls to the ground.

But one of the things I love about Arizona is the array of climates and scenery. From the high plains of Cochise County to the cactus-filled deserts of Phoenix and Tucson to the pine-filled forests of the northern part of the state, Arizona offers a little bit of everything.

Over the New Year’s holiday I went north to Show Low, Lakeside and the White Mountain Apache Indian Reservation with my family and some friends to get a fill of the snow and cool weather. We also went skiing at the Sunrise ski resort on the reservation, a place I had never visited.

Skiing hasn’t been part of my winter vocabulary. I just never had taken the chance to try downhill skiing out.

That all changed in the first few hours of New Year’s Day 2010. In the morning, my family and friends arrived in the snow- and ice-covered parking lot at the ski resort, crammed our feet into the boots, and made the clunky walk from the parking lot to the resort. We learned how to put on our skis and then tried out our balance and ability to stop and survive a fall. I could get up on the skis, but was tentative to move. My family had varied levels of success, with my youngest ending in tears. My tip for moms and dads is that if your child hasn’t hit the slopes before, lessons are worthwhile, if only for the chance for you to figure out how to ski on your own.

After a morning of trying to help my sons get adjusted to the slopes and feeling like a failure, I was able to try my luck. Though I frustrated myself when trying to put on a ski and not understanding that my binding was backward, I found on the bunny hill that I could stop and turn and not fall too much.

With only about two hours left in the ski day, I finally was able to hit the real slopes. My friends and I took a lift to the easier run, but I was able to test my skills and found again I was able to stop, turn and balance down the hill. The only fear I had was running into those quicker than I.

On my first run, I found myself down in the snow a couple of times, but by the end of the run I had the feeling.

We got in line and tried again as the minutes raced toward the end of the skiing day. My final run was on the same route, but I found the joy of gliding down the snow, hearing my skis cut into the snow as I made tighter turns and tested my leg muscles and balance. I found that I could stop and start with confidence.

I was excited by the end of the run. I hadn’t fallen. I had skiied the hill with a touch of grace and full of confidence that I could go higher on the mountain the next time around.

And I hope there will be another time around. It was a refresing way to start the new year.