Went to Falls Creek over the last weekend. Made a quick dash after work, and Jason had planned it nicely for us to crash right after work. After 5 hours drive and a tidy sleep, it was time to hit the slope, and tame those nerves.
Decided that I will dump the skis for a board this time. If anything, carrying 1 board is 1/4 times easier than carrying 2 poles and 2 skis. Not to mention that boarding boots are much softer to walk around with. Barring the physical baggage, there was too much psychological baggage associated with skiing, such as finding yourself few inches away from the sharp drop.
Falls Creek was less crowded and was very pleasant compared to Mt Buller. The lodge was warm and cosy, and Sam was our chef for the trip. The weather was great, we narrowly avoided the gale that stopped the lifts the day before. I had to remove my beanie and was nearly happy to wear just a tank top. Unfortunately, I over-enthusiastically took off my gloves and scratched my knuckles in the process.
The learning curve for the first hours of snowboarding was definitely more trying than skiing. With skiing, you could at least stand up and shuffle along. With snowboarding, the first few hours are usually dedicated to your bum. I must have fell a thousand times until I was too tired to regain my dignified position. Only completed half a real run and a few short ones. At the end of Day 1, all the muscles you never knew you had was aching, you panted on a cold day like you never did before, and being speed-height adverse, I was prepared to find some lame excuse to avoid it altogether for next day.
Day 2 proved to be much better. Although there wasn't a scumptuous breakfast, we went for the Level 2 class. The class was much bigger, 3 instructors and students who behaved very much like nothing can drag them down. Chris, my instructor for the first day was there, and I had to ashamely confessed to him that I still sucked when he asked me how I was doing. As a happy result, he took me and another girl out of the class halfway to personally coach us. He literally turned my bag of nerves into steel, and I was able to be more confident about anything 'toeside' after that. The happier confession was that he ran up the Poma with me, which just means I get to comfortably ride the T-bar lift upslope and he has to do the job of holding my hand, running along and doing a titanic 'I'll not let you go'. Was quite a smitten kitten after that... how can anyone resist a uber cool nitro-boarder with so much patience and fitness to spare?
For the uninitiated of the Poma/t-bar, I love the following description of it, since falling down 2 times on it:
"The T-bar is a cruel joke on snowboarders perpetrated by the skiing industry, but since more and more people with money are snowboarding instead of skiing, these abominations will soon die the hideous death they deserve on scrap heaps around the world. If you do see one the best response is to make a hissing sound in the back of your throat, the sign of the cross with your fingers, and a sharp exit in the direction of a more civilised lift, or possibly a bar of a different kind."
I am now a snowboard convert. Am itching to get up there again but the season's officially over by end of this month. The snow is melting, and it costs an arm and half a leg to go there. Speaking of half a leg, the experience comes with bruised knees, wham-bangs on the head, tailbone and red wrists.. not to mention a sore bum for the not-too-well-endowed.
Such a physical epiphany.
The intellectual epiphany is that I will now grudgingly study for CPA while dreaming of being an aspiring snow bum. I have also since thought of working in Borders/Subway to augment my winter budget.
Awesome blue-sky weather
From the balcony of Cloud 9 cafe (my fave 'watering hole' on Day 1)
The girls after lunch
Hanh and I- the only boarders in the group
My bruised knee
