Fog had casually settled over Carbon County throughout January, and it was pure weather luck that on the 25th the sun had made an appearance for my first lesson at Blue Mountain Ski Resort in Palmerton.

A July-born Cancer, I've never been a big fan of winter. Sure I can build a snowman with the best of them, and I make one heck of a snow angel, but much beyond that I'd rather sit inside wearing snuggly boot-socks while drinking a mug of hot hazelnut coffee. At the top of the new year I had made a resolution to "be brave," so when the opportunity for a free ski lesson at Blue Mountain became available, I was obligated by my self-made rule to take it. Borrowing my 16-year-old nephew Tyler's snowpants and jacket, I suited up and hit the slopes.I arrived by noon for my lesson with Sheri Miltenberger, ski instructor and manager of the learning center. Miltenberger assured me she had easily instructed more than 1,000 lessons in her nine years at the mountain and that I would be able to make it down the easiest trail in no time.According to the experienced instructor, form is the biggest challenge for first-timers."I have to redirect people who have watched the Olympics," she said.Not much of a winter sport watcher, the only experience I had under my belt was a handful of tries on the bunny slope of Okemo Mountain when I resided in New Hampshire.I was barely 19 years old at the time, and even though I was more fearless, my "instructor" had been a micromanaging boyfriend who quickly grew frustrated when I couldn't "carve" well enough to make it down a steep hill even though I was using the fancy Burton snowboard he had loaned me.That's when my snow-person building career flourished and I learned ski resorts have the best indoor fireplaces. If only I'd been old enough to add some Jameson to my coffee I might not have minded the annoyed calls of, "use your calves," heavy sigh, "you have to bend the board with your feet," tongue clucking, "rock back on your heels, now to your toes. You have to use your calf muscles."Thanks, boyfriend, those are very good instructions for my first time down a hard, snow-packed mountain. Let's never do this again.Miltenberger was the complete opposite. From the moment I checked into the resort, she took the time to teach me a few balance exercises indoors to prepare me for my first time down the mountain. Miltenberger had me run through all the starter moves, turning by using my toes, bending my knees and letting my weight rest in the front of my boots, pizza and french fries. We spent over an hour on the sun-shined snow hill making turns and stops. I only almost fell twice, but fortunately my arm flapping saved me from making full body contact with the ground.After my experience I would recommend the thoughtfully designed terrain resort to both novice and experienced sportsmen. The staff was friendly and the scenery is beautiful. So grab your skis, boards or your relative's equipment and shush down those slopes before the much anticipated spring season takes hold of the area and winter is just a cold memory.For a video of Kelley Andrade's ski lesson, go to the Times News Facebook.