Tuesday, August 16, 2005
Yet to blog about my snow-boarding trip last sat.
Shall do the honour now.
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The mere 4 hours of sleep on Friday night definitely did not help. Lai did not even fall asleep at all. It was a long 4-hr ride to Mansfield, where we rented our equipment and jackets and pants. The rest of the ride up the mountain was a refreshing one, as we were surrounded by snow-piled-up road, which leads all the way up to the peak.
It's a good thing skills like snow-boarding are part of procedural knowledge, which do not easily get erased off your memory. Crystalized knowledge, that's what psychologists call it. Otherwise, I'd prolly waste some considerable time recalling the tactics and balance techniques.
I soon got the hang of it, thou falls were inevitable. The good thing with the slopes at Mt Buller is, you do not get palpitating heart beats as you board down the mountain, like how you wld normally feel over at Falls Creek. The beginner's trail at Mt Buller was nothing like Falls Creek's Wombat trail, where bumpy snow lays the ground and the shape of the mountain forcing you to manouveur left and right stably.
Lai and I lost the rest of the group (Keith, Samuel, Daniel, Paul & Abigail) and decided to venture on our own. Like all Singaporeans will do, we decided to make our money and time worthwhile within the short time span of 4 hours and braved the intermediate Empirates Discovery trail.
I was glad, and to a certain extent, proud of the fact that I did not crack my ass as many times as I expected to, after a long 2-year interim. The only huge embarrassment we made of ourselves was when we had to board down the chair lift when we reached the top of the intermediate slope. Twice we acted cool and pro. Twice we stumbled upon the snow and lost our composure. hehz.
Just when I would like to proclaim my reasonably steady snowboarding techniques (it was so much better than my beginner's trial 2 yrs back!), and the not-too-many-disastrous bumps, I got hit spot on by this little asian kid right from behind. It toally caught me off-guard and I landed on my bum disgustingly with minimum support from my palms. My wrist twisted slightly and the impact on my ass was indescribably painful. The kid's ski pole got kindda stuck between my legs and the board, and I was paralysed for a few seconds. At that moment, one image flashed across my mind. The exact same thing happened to me when I slipped and fell hard in my living room not too long after the floor was moped. Tears flooded my eye instantaneously.
Thanks to Lai, I managed to cripple my way to the ski lift and enjoyed the very last round of snow-boarding, at least for me, that is.
If given a chance (hopefully, a fully-subsidised snow-boarding trip), I want to relive the whole experience of sliding down the slopes once again!
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