Snow Business Like Snow Business
The sunrises here are incredible – so bright and they last for ages! This morning’s was no exception and the clear morning was a good sign for what would be in store for us up the mountain today.
Poor Toby was still feeling crook; stuffed up and miserable with a terrible cough and a throbbing headache. Even he didn’t think it’d be wise to spend a day out in subzero temperatures with subzero energy so Ross selflessly volunteered to stay back at the Brown Pub with him for the day. He had some work he had to do so he was happy to stay and get that done.
Yesterday’s full snowsport schedule had left most of us fairly bereft of energy (& I don’t think I’m speaking just for myself here, a bit tight and sore in the legs and derrière!) Everyone was a bit weary. The raucous karaoke night downstairs in the Brown Pub, that rollicked on until 1:30am, had also taken its toll on some of the Brown Pub’s occupants, none more so than Sam, who reported at the breakfast table that he had leant against the wall in the shower and actually nodded off! He also decided to opt out of the snow for the day and catch up on sleep.
Rugged up to the hilt, we boarded our 8:30am-sharp bus ready for the precarious climb up to Mt Hutt, hoping it wouldn’t live up to its reputation of being “Mt Shut”. Mark kindly volunteered to scrape the thick frost from the windows, so we’d all be able to enjoy the breathtaking vistas along the way, and did a stellar job. The skies were a brilliant blue and the forecast predicted “Sunny”. We were in for a cracker of a day on the snow.
Being a Saturday and the official first day of the New Zealand school holidays, we weren’t expecting the crowdless runs we’d enjoyed yesterday. The volume of traffic on the winding road had increased dramatically and the car park – almost empty yesterday – was chock-a-bock today!
Squishing my feet down into the world’s most uncomfortable footwear once again, I couldn’t help but have snowboard boot envy. Someone really needs to invent a comfortable ski boot. Once booted up and fitted with skis and snowboards, we were all ready to brave the slopes again, each of us feeling a step-up in confidence from the previous day. Christine and Heidi joined the group for the first time on the snow today and booked into some lessons. Maisy and Chloe excitedly joined the ski school again, feeling now like old hands. As a credit to our Instructors from the day before, lots of us felt ready to forego today’s tuition and brave it on our own. It seemed that everyone in our group had at least one person of similar ability that they could hang out with for the day. It worked out really well.
Nicki and Karen were my partners in crime for the day – Nicki being a much better skier than us but wanting to go a bit slower due to a dodgy knee. We tackled Highway 72 numerous times under Nicki’s expert guidance and had an absolute ball on the soft freshly fallen snow. At the start of the day, just disembarking the chairlift without incident was an accomplishment (TIPS UP – I thought they said ‘tips’) but by the end of the day, it was a piece of cake and we were improving so much we could almost ski our well-worn run with our eyes closed (actually that last part was a lie!). We were certainly gaining confidence. Nicki even enticed me onto a Blue Run which was a good challenge! The boys who had only started snowboarding the previous day were also improving at a rapid rate, flying down the Highway with skill and speed. At one stage, Nicki and I had pulled over to the side of the run, completely stationary, when one of the boys, Billy, came careering into us, shouting as he knew what was about to happen, “I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry!” We remained upright but thanked him for popping in to say hello!
The Extreme Crew was in fine form again today, speeding down from the summit at exhilarating speed. They gave us the inside information that the slopes are almost empty once everyone has finished their lessons so we skied right through lunch and had crowd-free time on the mountain. Good tip fellas! It did get quite crowded as the afternoon wore on and the Highway lived up to its name. The worst thing you can do is look behind you on a crowded run. It can totally freak you out to see a mass of seemingly out of control human projectiles on skis and snowboards heading straight for you. I tried to stay focused on what was ahead but the loud swooshing from behind can be pretty disconcerting, especially when it sounds so close. I had a few surges of adrenaline when there were some very close calls.
One of the tour mums, Sandra, who had gone back for some more lessons this morning to bolster her confidence, had had her arm twisted by husband Sean to rise to the challenge of the quad chair. Jim, one of the Extreme Crew, offered to go along and share both the experience and his expertise. It is a big step-up from Magic Carpet Hill to the chair lift and poor Sandra felt quite overwhelmed, finding she had only mastered turning in one direction. It ended better than well though when Jim organised for the skidoo to pick Sandra up and speed her down the mountain, making us all a tad jealous. Lucky girl!
Karen and I tried to build a snowman after lunch but hadn’t counted on the snow being so dry and powdery and not very conducive to moulding. Karen had spotted a lone shovel by the side of the building and, temporarily acquiring it for the job, looked quite the professional shovelling snow! Though cute and despite the equipment, it was a bit of a disaster, and ended up being more of a “snowpile” rather than a snowman. We still had fun building it nevertheless!
Conditions on the snow today couldn’t have been better. The sun shone all day – not a cloud in the sky – and there was hardly any wind. We had such a fantastic day out there!
Ross reported that Toby had a huge sleep and got in lots of rest today too, barely leaving the comfort of the couch. Hopefully he’ll start to turn a corner soon and feel much better
Tonight is our final night of the tour which is a bit sad. Some of the families are staying on here in Methven while we, and the two team coaches, are flying to Queenstown in the morning (can’t wait to see Molly!). Everyone else flies home in he afternoon. It will be sad to have to part ways after such a brilliant time together. We really have had an awesome time! There is talk of making it an annual pilgrimage…
