Okay. So I probably didn’t choose the best weekend; there just wasn’t enough snow. I guess it was kind of cool that I did a little snowboarding with just a long sleeve shirt on at one point! Weird, but cool.

I didn’t plan things in great detail, but I was going with a pretty chill crew so I figured – who cares? We organized everything through Oz Snow Adventures – all in, it cost me about $480 including two days of 2-hour group classes (AU$ 10 for both days!). I paid a pretty steep price for a 2-hour private lesson (AU$ 206) but it was SO worth it. Breakfast is covered for both Saturday and Sunday, dinner is covered for Saturday night, and you’re on your own for lunch. The options aren’t very good, but you’ll be so preoccupied with sore muscles, good runs, lessons, and drinking that you hardly notice. There’s also a sweet beer hall just at the bottom of the mountain, next to Friday Flat!

It was such a college-like trip. We left CBD at about 6:30PM, stopped for dinner at McDonald’s at 8:30PM and arrived at our lodging around midnight. Then you line up for ski/board hires, which takes (easily)  another hour and a half, so bring your own gear and you can sleep early.

Accommodations were very dorm style (at least, where we stayed). We lucked out with a private room for 4 – 2 bunk beds – the bathroom was shared with another room, but there really wasn’t any issues with sharing. They provided towels, sheets, and blankets, but…… you might want to bring your own. There were also blackouts that sporadically happened because someone was using a hair straightener in one of the rooms – that was the excuse we got from reception. And the heat didn’t stay on all night. But like I said, it was like a trip for a student and you just take it as it goes. I thought it was a pretty good bargain.

I got separated from our main group a few times – last minute bookings are pretty bad. You don’t want to be booked among the last, because they’re very strict about which bus you’re placed in. Ugh… we got placed in a bus full of drunk backpackers, one of which spewed up front and the other about mid-way down the bus. I managed to squeeze myself out of there on Day 2 – no clue how the rest of the passengers managed.

Day 1 was easy (sort of). My first 2-hour group lesson was at 9:15AM and I practiced from 11AM-1PM. I ate for 30 minutes, rested and went straight to my private lesson at 2PM. It was brutal. I don’t think I’ve ever taken that much of a beating…. ever. I must’ve stacked every 10 minutes. I was a train wreck when we finished. BUT I got an okay to go up top on the mountain. I wonder how many newbies decide that it’s a good idea to go up after their first day only to find themselves staring down a blue run and wondering how else to get down without actually riding it. Slow, baby…. I took it REAL slow. And a lot on the heels. After about 30 minutes of that – I started venturing into those turns and carving S’s to relax my legs a little bit… -laughs- you should have seen me crash from one end to the other as I made my way down the Village Trail. Lesson learned?

Day 2. Not really. I practiced (a lot) on Friday Flat. I probably spent about 5 hours on the bunny slope and then ventured up top again. Hmmm… just greens, sticking to greens. Why don’t they warn you when greens merge with a blue or sort of intersects with a black? There was probably a sign. I didn’t see it. More falls. Lots and lots more. And these were the kind of falls that made it obvious we humans definitely have a tail bone.

I’m SHOCKED that my camera survived. I thoroughly love my digital camera. I wish I had action shots though. It’s just tough when everyone’s a newbie and people are too concerned about getting down in one piece (preferably, unharmed). One of the girls did an awesome job taking pictures though…. she and I will probably cross paths again (on and off the slopes).

I seriously need to buy a board. It’s gonna be bad ass. And I want another pair of pants. Maybe orange or yellow next time!