Today is gonna be our first day on the slopes.Chris a I have skiied before, about 6 years ago in New Zealand, and Kate and Laura have not skiied before. Chris and Laura are gonna ski board and Kate and I are gonna ski. Chris has been talkin it up for months so we have a competition...first day straight up take the ski lift to the top and first one down wins. Im pretty confident I can winn that one but I am sure it will be a different story on the last day.
Breakfast was great but we are all excited to get out and onto the slopes. We picked up our gear and went to look for a suitable slope to have a bit of a test drive. Hakuba is a small village and is built at the around the base of the mountain range so there are a few slopes within walking distance. Our lift pass allows us to use almost any slope so it is just a matter of finding one suitable.
The first slope we tried was in the runoff area. It drops about 3mtr in 30mtr so you cant get much more than walking pace. Kate and Laura were struggling but doing OK, I was pretty good and Chris just couldnt get the hang of it. After a couple of goes I was right as rain...or so I thought. Kate and Laura kept trying and were slowly getting the hang of it and chris just couldnt get it. At one stage he was gonna go back and swap the board for ski's. I said we needed to get on a proper slope and give it a couple of goes cos the one we were on was just too small. We got our lift passes and headed for the nearest beginner slope. From the bottom it looked pretty easy so we thought lets give it a go. From the top it was a completely different story. There was a ridge and when you go over that it is MASSIVE, sooo steep. I nearly packed my dacks. OMG maybe this was a mistake? I made it down with a few falls and beat Boy so that was mission accomplished. The others made it down but it was very slow and lots of falls. We decided this was not a good mountain and went looking for something easier.
We found another slope that we thought looked a bit easier so gave it a go. Same as the other one, they look OK from the bottom but it is a different story from the top. On the ski lift to the top it looks easy and there are big open expanses of snow but from the top they are just sooo steep. Chris and I made it5 to the bottom but Laura and Kate got stuck and just kept falling over. We decided to have another run and pick up the girls. As I was getting on the ski lift I fell over. The young girl hit the emergency stop button just as the chair was going over top of me. Two young girls had to pull me out from under the chair and stand me up again. That was a tad embarasing. We eventually made it to the top and down to Laura but Kate was at the bottom cos a couple of ladies were giving her a lesson. The three of us made it back to the bottom, I had a couple of stacks but still made it. Chris is starting to get the hang of the board, Laura and Kate are still struggling but getting there.
This morning was so hot we were all stripping off and skiing with our jackets open and no beanie but this afternoon it was biterly cold. After lunch we went back to the first slope for another try. Boy is pretty confident he can beat me now so the bet is on again. Take the ski lift to the top and first one down is winner. Laura decided to stay down and practice. I managed to get on the ski lift this time and we went to the top. I was half way down before boy got his board on so there was no contest. Im a winner again.
We have found another easy slope for tomorrow so hopefully more fun and less scary.