Day 90 - First Chairlift First Black Run And A Big Wipeout

We were all up around 7 again and straight into coffees and breakfast. I jumped on the computer to check if anything had come through work wise. There were a few follow ups and bits to chase, nothing huge, just enough to keep the wheels turning.

After breakfast Maddie headed off to the library with the Norwegian and Austrian families to return their books and grab a few more. Emmett stayed home with Kia and me. He got stuck into some schoolwork while I finally finished the last of the website tidy up I’d been meaning to complete. It felt good to properly close that loop.

Maddie came back around lunchtime. We made some sandwiches, hung out for a bit, and then Emmett was itching to get back up the mountain. The weather looked awesome. Maddie wasn’t keen. She’s deep in cardboard craft mode at the moment, building and creating nonstop, and Kia wanted to work on some video stuff. So it became a boys’ afternoon on the slopes.

We jagged a park right up the top again which felt like winning the lottery because the place was packed. Fresh snow, blue skies and people everywhere. We rode the gondola up and you could tell there had been more snow overnight. That little boost of excitement never gets old.

The plan was to meet the Norwegian family. We did one run down the first mountain, then I called out to the Norwegian mum. She said they’d wait at the top. Perfect.

Except we were at the top of the first mountain and they were at the top of the second mountain.

Classic.

So Emmett and I decided to finish off the three runs on the first side. The snow was great and we were feeling good. On the last run we grabbed the bag, rode all the way to the bottom and jumped on the gondola to head over.

When you get off that gondola you have to traverse across this sloping section to reach the T hook that takes you right to the top. It’s one of those awkward in between bits where you need just enough speed but not too much. We didn’t quite get enough.

We both drifted right down toward the edge. Emmett, being left footed, was naturally leaning into the hill so he managed to hop himself back up and carry on. I was facing downhill. I tried to dig in and ended up buried in a foot of soft snow. Had to unclip, climb out, clip back in and ride down to the T hook properly. Bit of drama but nothing too serious.

We T hooked up, met the Norwegians and I decided it was time to face the run that had absolutely humbled me last week. The one where I felt completely out of control.

This time I cruised it.

No panic. No chaos. Just controlled turns and steady speed. That felt really good. Clear proof that time on the mountain is paying off.

At the bottom we T hooked back up and then got talked into trying another blue run off to the side. They warned us it was humpy at the start and flat at the end.

They weren’t kidding.

It was chopped up from skiers so Emmett and I were bouncing around on the boards. We tried to carry speed through the flat but still had to unclip and push ourselves a bit before riding the last section into the T hook. Messy but fun.

Then Emmett wanted to hit the Fun Park.

I’d heard the final downhill out of the Fun Park was steep and partly black. The Norwegian mum told us there was an escape route through the trees if we didn’t want to commit. First lap we took the safer option.

Second lap Emmett looked at me and said let’s do it.

So we did.

The last pitch was steep. Proper black section steep. We washed off some speed at the top, lined it up and just ran it out. Adrenaline pumping, legs burning, huge grins at the bottom.

That’s when the Norwegian mum said if you can do that, you’re ready for the long blue road run.

This one is basically the access road turned into a slope. Long, narrow and a bit unforgiving. Emmett handled it well. My board is longer and on the tight sections I was working hard to scrub speed without washing out. I didn’t crash but there were a few moments where I wasn’t exactly where I wanted to be.

We ended up all the way down at the chairlift.

Neither of us had ever been on a chairlift before.

The Norwegians went first and gave us a quick rundown. Then it was our turn. Four to a chair. We shuffled in, sat down and figured it out as we went. Emmett’s legs aren’t long enough yet to properly use the footrest, so he just dangled while I rested my board.

We both looked at each other like kids.

This is so cool.

By this point time was getting away from us. Instead of riding the gondola down we decided to snowboard all the way back. That run has long flat sections where you need speed. On one of the faster bits I caught an edge slightly off and the board bucked me. Down I went, full skid across the ice with a backpack full of water bottles.

Proper wipeout.

But honestly, it was fun. It felt like we were actually pushing ourselves instead of just cruising safe terrain.

We made it down, raced home and did our now standard grocery stop because our fridge here only allows about two days worth of food at a time.

When we got back I hit a wall. Hard.

All that adrenaline from new runs, steeper sections, first chairlift, navigating tricky bits, it just drained me. We were meant to head to the Austrian family’s place for games night but my body was done. I stayed home, lay in bed and watched a movie while Kia and the kids went down with the Norwegians.

They played some kind of pitching game where you had bags of random items like shoelaces and blocks and had to create something for people to guess. Sounded like a lot of fun and they were there for a couple of hours.

Massive day. Big progression. New terrain. First chairlift. First black section. Decent wipeout.

Hopefully Maddie’s keen to hit the slopes tomorrow.