Pope is pro-ski.

According to The Telegraph, the Pope acknowledged skiing as exhibiting “steadfastness in pursuing aims, respect for the rules, tenacity in confronting and surmounting difficulties.” He is reported to have said this at a private audience with Italian Ski Masters, at the Vatican. Speaking of the mountain environment, Pope Benedict considered it “an environment that in a special way makes us feel small, returns us to our true dimension as creatures, makes us capable of asking ourselves about the significance of creation, lifting our eyes to the top, opening ourselves up to the Creator”.