Day 80 - Finding a New Slope to Build Confidence

It was a slower start to the morning, but in a good way. Everyone was awake around seven, straight into breakfast, then the usual rhythm. I jumped into some work while the kids knocked out their schoolwork.

The plan was to be out the door by 11 and, for once, we were actually on track. Lunches and snacks were packed, the car loaded up… then re-loaded. Because we’d had a rest day, all the gear had been drying in the warming room, so everything had to go back in again.

Being a Sunday, the slopes were absolutely pumping. The main car park was full, so we ended up right down the bottom and caught a shuttle bus up to the gondola. A new experience, but it added a fair bit of time. By the time we were waiting for the bus it was already around midday.

Once we finally got up there, we headed straight to the beginner slopes to get the legs moving again. We did a few warm-up runs, then stopped for lunch.

After that, Maddie took off to the bigger slopes, with Kia following not long after. I stayed back with Emmett to work on his turns. It took him a bit to wrap his head around what I was explaining, but once it clicked, it really clicked. We also adjusted the stance on his snowboard, and while I was doing that I got chatting with one of the guys who oversees the slopes, an Austrian who was pretty surprised to see Australians riding these very local hills.

Once Emmett started linking turns, I gave him a challenge: five clean runs and we’d head over to the bigger slopes. He didn’t quite get five… but he got close enough. Just as we finished the last run, Kia and Maddie came back, so instead of moving bags we decided to leave everything where it was and head over together.

They’d found a much better slope than the one we struggled with the day before. Instead of being steep at the top and flat at the bottom, this one was gentler all the way down, with a simple bend at the bottom into the T-hook. It made a massive difference straight away.

Emmett was far more comfortable on it, even though he forgot his turns for the first couple of runs. Kia stayed with him, helping him down, while Maddie and I did a few runs together.

We did have a classic T-hook moment. Maddie and I tried to ride it together, but she wasn’t quite far enough forward. I got the hook between my legs and tried to drag her into position, nearly stacking us both right at the start. We bailed on that idea pretty quickly and went separately. Turns out earlier in the day Maddie had already taken Kia out on the T-hook, so we weren’t exactly setting a strong family record there.

They also told me they’d initially gone back to the steeper run because they hadn’t found this easier one yet, and it was half closed for a kids’ mini-Olympics event. Narrow, steep, and busy which is not ideal. Finding this alternative slope was a game-changer and boosted everyone’s confidence instantly.

By the end of the session, Emmett was really getting it. We had this awesome moment criss-crossing down the slope, facing each other, carving turns back and forth. It was one of those quiet little wins that makes all the effort worth it.

We headed home without stopping for groceries, everything’s closed on Sundays, so we cooked dinner, and got into bed early, ready for another day.

Overall, it was a much better day on the slopes. More fun, more confidence, and real progress all round.

Emmett has the turns now, he just needs to link them without stopping or tipping over. Maddie needs to work on her turns instead of straight-lining and pizza-braking all the way down. Kia’s building nicely too, she just needs confidence in committing to the turns.

Tomorrow we’ll head straight back to that slope and build from there.