There’s nothing so exhilarating as schussing down a mountain at full speed, the wind in your hair, the snow swirling around you. Or so I’ve been told. I’m the type of skier who goes skiing once on a school trip, repeatedly falls flat on her face and then spends the rest of the day inside reading. This is the kind of skiing that is for some reason not considered an Olympic sport. That’s OK, I have no need for trophies.

Sports are great, as long as other people are doing them. The couple whose birthdays we were celebrating were jetting off on a skiing and snowboarding adventure in Europe. Sounds amazing, once you subtract the snow.

This project was an interesting challenge. I made several small round cakes of differing sizes and piled them on top of each other. Then I carved them into a mountain-like shape. Happily, mountains come in all sizes and configurations so I couldn’t go wrong here. I just needed to ensure that it wouldn’t topple over. Avalanches are nobody’s idea of a successful vacation.

I also carved some channels out of the cakes to indicate the path of the skier. Wow, that’s a hairpin turn she successfully negotiated right before we tuned in.

Now, how to get the skier’s form just right and how to express speed on a static object? I cheated a bit and rested the figure’s left shoulder and thigh on the side of the mountain. This way there was no chance she’d fall over, even though her legs are bent and she’s leaning forward at a precipitous angle.

The snowboarder should have been a tad easier but somehow no matter how I tried, his knees wouldn’t stay bent.

I intended for him to be achieving a feat of balance up there on the tip of the mountain. But somehow instead he kind of just looks like he’s emulating the statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro.

Now that you’ve seen it, there’s no un-seeing it, am I right?