Stuck in a Tree...YUP That was ME

As I skied across an open slope up in Bogus Basin, I was a bit unstable with my skis and poles. My newly made Friend Rebecca had her Father with us. He spent most of his time waiting for us to catch up, but he was never impatient. As nervous 15 year old girls we often took our slow time moving down the wide open slopes. Or we stopped randomly on a snowy tail to take a brake. "Hey Girls" Rebecca's Dad named Bill called out to us from down the slope. "I found a new trail I have never seen before, so follow me down here, Careful Debby now pull your other foot in towards the hillside." I liked Bill very much for his teaching wasn't ever arrogant. He never called us stupid or slow. Rebecca was a very shy friend and when she skied with me it was mostly early afternoon then she was done. I followed Bill in a new trail not sure what to expect while Rebecca and her father chatted together waiting for me. Suddenly I felt the ground move and change under my skis, It was solid ice as the trail narrowed with pines trees and snow banks. I naturally panicked at not having control over my skis, I felt my legs go right out from underneath me but instead of just following to the ground (Like I should have done) I grabbed a tree branch, everything was slanted by the snowy slope and this hidden trail wasn't really setup for the safety of beginners or second year skiers like myself. I grabbed the branch at the moment of impact only to be pulled up into the cold air when the rest of my body was still going down. I was (in no less then a second) actually stuck in a tree! My skis were flying out from under me going in the opposite direction of each other while my arms hanged on to the tree branches as my whole upper body swung out over the sharp cliff side on the mountain. I thought glancing down at the pointy tops of trees that THIS was the scariest moment in my whole life! I thought to myself "I am going to fall to my death!" But the shouts from my friends brought me back to where I was. I had dropped my poles for 2 strong thick sappy pine tree branches, I now hung there with my butt facing the edge of a scary drop off. My legs having pulled in the most unnatural way possible left me hugging the tree trunk with my thighs. "Ouchy! My legs are going to snap off!" I exclaimed to Rebecca and her Dad who came running over to help, while I was hanging there trying to move my feet in those tight ski boots attached to those crazy skis.For my skis were the only things holding me back from falling into the unknown land down below. I pulled at my legs again with such pain for I realized I was in a human knot. "Debby don't panic just try to move around the tree trunk slowly." Bill advised as he had taken all his gear off so he could pull me away from the cliff. "What happened?" Rebecca exclaimed and I burst out laughing at what a sight I must be. Yet my arms were burning from the swinging pine tree as I looked straight up into the blue sky through the branches of that tree. I felt very dizzy but I wasn't going to let go. "Can you grab the tree trunk more?" Again Bill asked as he was trying to unlock my jammed deeply into the snow bank skis. "If I can get this ski loose then I want you to move at the same time on to THIS side of the tree trunk." He and his daughter had to dig in the snowy dirt to finally reach my boots and unlock my skis. Every time they pulled on my legs I cried out "That hurts! that hurts! that hurts!" I wondered as my face leaned into the bark of the tree trunk  if I would ever see such a sight as this again. Bubbly sap was frozen in place between the bark wedges and the layers revealed a glossy jell, it was another world leading into the heart of the tree. I also had pine needles sticking into my neck and drops of snow hitting me on the head from the branches up above. The moment my boot came free I swung my body up on to the safe side of the tree trunk. "How in the world did you get that tangled up?" Bill asked as he pulled me all the way up onto the icy patch of the trail again. My whole body felt like I had just slammed into the tree. Being sore from hanging over the edge so long and from pulling my limps in ways I never had done before. Once safely setup again on the remaining slope we all laughed good and long over what a scare that was. Then I commented "Maybe I should watch "George of the Jungle" again." Rebecca looked at me funny "Why?" 
I chuckled "Because they say WATCH OUT FOR THAT TREE!"