Day 78 - Third Day Snowboarding and a Big Step Up

We managed a bit of a sleep-in, which felt like a win. Still waking up tired, but noticeably better. Everyone was up and out of bed around seven, which is starting to feel like a routine now.

The morning followed a familiar rhythm. Breakfasts, kids getting stuck into schoolwork, and I spent a couple of hours doing some work. I had emails to respond to and a new job that I’m starting to look into, so that was a good little mental shift back into work mode while the kids worked away at their tablets.

The plan was to leave at eleven to hit the slopes, with both the Austrian and Norwegian families joining us. Lunches packed, hot chocolates made, gear sorted. Kia and Maddie wore their normal boots again and we carried their ski boots up, which worked just as well as it had the day before. Emmett and I walked up fully geared, skis and boards over our shoulders.

From leaving our accommodation to actually standing at the top of the mountain takes about an hour, so by the time we were ready to ride it was already around lunchtime.

We warmed up on the beginner slope again. The snow was much harder than the day before, less mushy and easier to ride. Maddie did one or two runs and was ready for lunch. Emmett and Kia did similar. I did a couple as well. Interestingly, Kia and Maddie looked like they’d picked up right where they left off, while Emmett and I felt stiff and awkward, struggling to get warmed up again.

The Norwegian family was already there, and not long after, the Austrian family arrived. After watching us do a couple of runs, they pretty confidently said we were ready to move on to the next slope. That was a bit of a moment. We’d only done a few practice runs, but apparently that was enough.

They took us across to a blue beginner run, which was a noticeable step up. The hill was much steeper than the kids’ area. The snow was softer, which helped, but once you rolled over the edge it dropped away quickly before flattening out near the lift. The slope was probably two to three hundred metres long, steep for the first half and then fast and smooth all the way to the bottom.

Kia and Maddie eased their way down on the first run. I sent it a bit too hard and ended up riding backwards most of the way, crashing repeatedly while trying to scrub speed with frontside and backside turns. Emmett really struggled. He would go a short distance, fall over, get up, repeat. The steepness clearly scared him, especially because stopping on that slope usually meant falling and sliding a fair way.

Even Kia had some solid crashes trying to link turns, while Maddie fell once all day and just kept improving. It really drove home how mental snowboarding is. You have to fully commit to each turn. Half-commit and you’re on the ground. That mental load is exhausting.

After the first run, the Austrian family helped us with the T-bar lift, which we’d never used before. Skiers just sit and get pulled up. Snowboarders have to position it between their legs and balance on one foot while being dragged uphill. Totally different skill set.

I went up alone the first time to avoid trying to balance Emmett while learning it myself. Our Austrian host took Emmett up, which was tricky because of his height and how the bar pulls on your leg. Kia and Maddie had no issues at all.

We went up and down a few more times, but Emmett was really struggling. I tried riding down with him to help, while also trying to learn myself, which was probably a bit ambitious. I took the lift up with him once and it pulled badly on my knee. That was enough for me to call it. I told him I couldn’t do that again and that we’d need to rethink things.

Kia took him up once or twice more, but it was pretty clear that Emmett needs more time on the beginner slope learning turns before tackling that hill again. Maddie, on the other hand, was thriving. She even headed off to another slope on her own and just kept lapping it.

By the end of the day, I was completely cooked. Mentally drained, nerves shot, and physically exhausted from the constant commitment snowboarding demands. I even struggled getting back down to the car because I was so tired.

The original plan was showers, dinner, then heading to the Austrian family’s place for games night, but everyone was wiped. We went straight home, showered, ate dinner, and crawled into bed early. Kia was especially tired and turned in not long after.

It was a big day. A scary day. A proper learning day.

Snowboarding is a lot harder than I expected, but we’ll keep at it. We’ve got time. Tomorrow might be a rest day, which feels well earned.

Day 78 was a big one.