Whistler Day 2
We had more production issues in NY so the phones were buzzing at 4PST but I managed to sleep through till 8. Breakfast was eggs with some onions and cheese ala Chef Elad. After checking in with some email and some work things, we leave at 10 to go pick up my rentals and get in some boarding before my lesson.
Mistake #1: Boarding with Metzer and Guac BEFORE my lesson.
By 11, we’re heading to Blackcomb Mountain on the Excaliber gondola which drops you off at 3,707ft. With the patience of Guac and Metzer and some good coaching, I’m sliding and stopping almost at will. Much better heelside than toeside and learning to lead with my front foot. It’s quite hard to not lean on the back foot. Then came the buttons concept. Metzer taught me to imagine buttons under my toes, when toeside, and under my heels, when heelside. When I want to stop, I’m pressing the buttons as hard as I can and releasing slowly as I want to move.
What I realize through all of this is that speed is scary, I’m a wuss, oh and I have no muscles to speak of. Note to self, must continue to workout once back in NY!
11:45 rolls around, and we’ve gone down 1/4 of the way and I’m slowing getting the idea of stopping and moving all heelside by shifting my weight from the left foot to the right foot. The only “turn” I can do is from getting up toeside to getting to heelside. I can’t seem to for the life of me get up heelside.
12:10 rolls around and we’re half way down the mountain and realize there’s a blue trail and a green trail but the blue seems to be the one we need to take (looking at a map, we could’ve continued down the green). By this time, Eran has joined up with us and now I have 3 guys helping me get down the mountainMy class starts at 12:45 so we need to get to the base. After much trying, there’s much ice, a larger slope and I’m just not confident enough to board down the blue. So I decide to walk down. But Eran has the idea that I should tobaggan down by sitting on the board between the bindings. Now mind you, I find out later that it’s illegal to do that. Oh well…. I tobaggan down but speed is an issue so then Eran sits on the front of my board and scrapes snow and ice all the way down the rest of the blue. Once we hit a green, I get back on the board and make my way down.
12:45. My lesson is about to begin and I’m thirsty and EXHAUSTED! They have me come down the learning slope to see what I can do and I get placed with another girl and female instructor. We learn how to turn for the first hour and then spend the second hour linking them. We manage to get in one run on Magic Chair (308ft). I’m so tired from this morning that I’m like a ragdoll. I think I must have fallen at least 30 times. Halfway through I had to get a bottle of water and managed to suck it down in one fell swoop. I must have been dehydrated!
3:00. The guys are done with their run and waiting for me to end my class. I’ve got a wet back, wet gloves, and ice in my hair. I must have been a sight! We head back to the condo, snarf down some leftover pizza and jump in the glorious hot tub. I have a nice shiner on my knee and I’m popping back some advil.
6:00 All recouperated, we head out for some dinner at the Amsterdam Cafe. The village is quite nice in the evening and there’s outside seating under heat lamps. After some burgers, ribs, and beer, we head out to a Starbucks for a nice warm drink. By 8:00, we’re back at the condo and pop in Old School. At this point, I can’t move. Every muscle hurts in my body. Somewhere, somehow, I’m in bed. I don’t remember the movie so I must have passed out and someone must have kicked me off the couch. I slept through the night like a baby…
