The Insignificance and Vulnerability of Simplicity

Monday, January 19

Dawn came quickly..

Rose to the excitement of something that we had set out to accomplish this trip..
The highlight,

Skiing on Niseko's famous powder snow.

As I drew the curtains to the morning view..

Had a quick breakfast that comprised of salad, eggs, bread and more croissant..
We realized that the fellow diners also took their breakfast quickly.
They were already in their ski gears =)

Absolutely no idea how the rentals were like, so we piled on the normal 4 layers.
Outside Green Leaf Hotel Niseko, we couldn’t help gawking at this bona fide piece of art work..

Funny how nature made the skies so blue in a whole piece of white..
Snowflakes flirted with our hair, our jackets, our hands..
We only moved on to the car when we decided that we could no longer stand the freezing cold..
The inside of the car was also a freezing chamber..
And the windscreen resembled a car wash hehe..

In anxious anticipation..

We entered Niseko Village Ski and into the NV Snow School that was adjacent to the Hilton Niseko Village.
We had previously asked the hotel staff if we could go up the mountains to ski by ourselves without taking the lessons..
His immediate reply was,
“Yes you can, but do you have travel insurance?” o.0

We hence settled on a group skiing lesson that was reasonably priced in the brochure as compared to the rest of activities.
After informing us where and when to gather, the school personnel told us we had to get our gears at the ski equipment rental shop that was just next door.

The service personnel next door handed us a form each.
Filled in our names, age weight and the size of our feet.
The form showed a checklist of gears for you to select.
Absolutely disoriented..
Dunno which to select which to do without..
So we simply ticked the gears from head to toe..
And each piece had a rental price attached to it =x

After making our payment at the counter, the equipment issuing counter then handed us our gears based on what we had selected on the form.
Sizes of the boots are based on your feet in centimeters.
Jammed my legs into the tight ski boots..
And it was a good thing that we wore our own wool sweaters beneath..
They only provided the outermost layer.

Many patrons came in and out of the ski shops after getting what they required.
Some of them were veterans with their own cool ski gears..
The rest of the patrons were not new to skiing by the comfortable ease they walked about in the very unbreathable ski boots.
They donned Oakley goggles, Adidas goggles, Puma goggles over their beanies..
Woooo nice.

And we were there for some time fiddling with erm, gears that we had never put on before.
Till an instructor came to talk to dear..
He was asking if we were first time skiers and reminded us to tighten our boots as much as possible =x

Walked about like penguins almost tripping over countless times..
We carried the skis to the wooden railings that you could “park” your skis.
If you ask me, I thought the boots weigh a lot more than the skis.

As the lesson was about to start, we saw the biggest group of skiing instructors possible.
All dressed in green jackets, mostly Westerners, some Japanese.

The Niseko Village Snow School is directed by a Canadian native and top ski teacher and trainer and staffed by over 80 local professionals and a team of international teachers and trainers.

It was snowing lightly as we climbed atop to a partial slope to meet our English Instructor.

Unlike my casual boots, these ski boots really held the snow well.

Our lesson began with “How to put on our skis”
This part was enough to make our instructor vomit blood.
We were all hit with the sudden realization..
SKIING IS NOT EASY AT ALL!

The skis are made from very good materials like glass fibers, polymers and other composite materials..
They are not that breakable like they appeared to be.
Long and thin,

They are pointed and curved upwards for easy gliding on snow.

We put on our skis by fastening our boots into the ski bindings.
Front foot in first, followed by fixing the heel of the boots into the ski till we hear the latch up sound.
The latch sound came from the two thin brake pivots that sprung upwards under the downward pressure of the boots..
The brakes would then run parallel with the ski allowing free movement.
When the boot comes out of the ski, the brakes spring out perpendicular to the ski and stop the ski from sliding.

We did the latching of the boots into the ski and taking them off numerous times.
Not a simple feat for skiing dummies like us.
I tried to latch my right foot into the ski but as soon as I tried to lift my left leg into the ski, my right foot on the ski started sliding downhill.
So I tried to sit down and put both skis on..
Then I realized another problem.
I couldn’t get up with my skis on -,-

Gradually, we got used to to taking our skis off and putting them on again..
According to the instructor, the ski poles were actually more of a hazard for beginners.

Did away with our ski poles..

And the next thing we were taught..
“How to stop as and when on a slope..”

First bad fall

We started to move..
Dear deliberately made himself fall to his sides when he realized he couldn’t stop.
I had not fully grasp the technique to stop plus I didn’t know how to fall.
I ended up moving towards the instructor like a speedball and crashed into her @_@
She was trying to catch me and I remembered feeling a hard blow on my left cheek and my skis flew out.

Alpine Skis

The boot is released by the binding if a certain amount of torque is applied
(usually created by the weight of a falling skier).
The amount of torque required to release the boot is adjusted by turning a screw on the toe and heel piece.

That explained the sturdiness of the ski when you attached your boots and the ease to which they come off the minute you fall.
Thus, it is important to give the most accurate weight possible on the form so that the equipments given to you are safe and able to withstand the torque caused during a fall.

Second horrible fall

I gradually got the hang of moving down the slope at a controlled pace.
Then the instructor was teaching us how to change direction on the skis.
Shifting your weight to the left leg when you want to turn right and vice versa.

We noticed snowfall by then had become very heavy..
Somewhat too heavy to go without the goggles.
Perhaps putting on the goggles made me lose my sense of balance.

While trying to ski to my left and right, I suddenly lost control again.
No matter how I tried, I couldn’t stop.
My speed was accelerating beyond my control and I panicked.
Crashed into the instructor again =(
Took me a while to realize I’m on earth.
My beanie flew, my goggles flew, my skis some distance away.

All these while, we could see kids slide down on their skis from the mountains with great ease.
Maneuvering in their smoothest moves, the kids were definitely better than us.

And I meant real kids, kids who had barely finished kindergarten o.0
When it was close to lunch time, a live band began playing at the foot of the gondola..
Nice music there..

A small clip on my humble camera..

Live band music in the background and the view was slurred by the heavy snowfall.

*Please do pardon the retarded face*

I began to love every minute of it as I descend the slope.
Reached the bottom, turned around and dear almost crash into me o.0
But climbing up back, the cold began to take a toll on our legs.
The instructor asked us to keep our bodies straight and bend our knees..

I couldn’t bend my knees at all..

The ski boots were cutting into my shins..
I saw somewhere in the snow, dear was as stiff as a pole too =p
The boots by then were already cutting into my flesh.
The instructor had to make sure we really master the technique to stopping before we could take the lifts.

Then it was lunch.
We slumped down instantly upon reaching the Royce Café.
Ordered hot chocolate and a hotdog roll.
Exhausted and stoned.

Royce Chocolate is somewhat similar to Shiroi Koibito Chocolate.

Both are exclusive chocolate dairy products that the Japanese in Hokkaido proudly called theirs.

After the warm chocolate break,

We bought our lift passes and were prepared to ascend to the mountains!
The instructor explained that we had to take the lifts in individual slots as we were still inexperienced for two.
She would take the first lift and asked us to leave a lift in between so that she would have time to catch hold of us when we land.

For most ski jackets, there would be a small pocket by the side of the left arm where you could zip up the lift ticket.

The machine will be able to scan your ticket from the jacket through the entrance.

This way, one need not fuss with both the ski poles and ticket at the same time.

Skis on, I had difficulty moving through the entrance.
The person in charge of the skis would sweep the snow off the seats and signaled us to go onto the lift.
The lift came quickly behind me and swept me off my feet.

Felt the weight of the skis as the lift ascended.
Looking down, couldn’t believe I was on one.
The scenery from the lifts was an awesome one.
Skiers below, the sun in the horizon, paths defined by powdery snow, the piste on a groomed slope made by seasoned skiers..

Third bone splitting fall

As the top of the mountain approached..

I was supposed to lift myself off the lift but my leg was bent at a 30 degrees on that steep slope..
I couldn’t get up -,-
When I finally forced myself to stand up, the surge of force made it impossible for me to stop.
The instructor was there to catch me alright but I skied straight into the pillar beside her.
My legs did a split and I almost pulled my hamstring.
And my skis flew out for the umpteenth time.

When I finally meet up with the rest of the group members, I saw those behind me..
One by one..

Either ended up at the hedge in front while landing or dipped straight into the snow or like me into the pillar.
Dear did the first stunt, into the hedge..

What a sight!
Beginners ahoy =x

LOL

Assembled at the beginning of our course, she did a demonstration for a part of the slope.
We tried and mostly were doing fine.
Then came another two more sections, all ended well.

Had this taken at a gentle slope..=)

Fourth disastrous fall

This segment of the course was a much longer and steeper one as compared to all.
Skis pointing inwards, my legs were sort of aching from all the force exerted at attempting to stop down the slope.
Suddenly I was going too fast and the phenomenon of losing control seeped in again.
The instructor had her back to me, and I couldn’t find my voice to yell..
When she finally turned around, she could only raise her right arm to stop me.
I did a flip and I landed hard on my head.
Couldn’t remember if the impact on my head was due to hard snow or was it the weight exerted on my neck..

“Are you alright, did your head hit hard snow?”
“What happened to the excellent skiing just now?”

I was..numbed.

Continued our lessons, took a second lift back up..
This time this round, no one fell after leaving the lifts.
Wooo everyone was beginning to get the hang of it.
I finally saw what the skiing poles are for.
They were not used for balance.
They were used to increase speed on some parts of the slopes where the gradient was minor.

And I still had the cheek to take pictures of the ice-capped Mount Yotei..
“The Mount Fuji of Hokkaido”
The snow on the mountain was reflecting light off from the sun in reddish translucence..

Lessons ended around 3:30pm.
We had 2 more rides on the lifts.
Dear and I decided to go up ourselves.
This time I felt more adventurous to take pictures of the surroundings..
The sunset was..

Stunning!
But the minute I took off my gloves, hands stung by the cold till the finger tips were painful.

The sun’s soothing glare peeked through the pines..

Heavy skis mid-air held on just fine.
Dexterous moves, the skiers, the snow lines.

Temperatures so low that fingers were no longer mine..

As I glided down the slopes, finally felt myself moving like a proper skier.
Stopped by some parts to take pictures =p
And the best thing, no more hiccups no more falls..
Heh heh.
Soooo fun the minute I grasp the technique.

Even managed to take pictures of Jeff san in action..

The last lift ride saw us skiing into the night.

Night skiing was very very fun too =)

The skies were turning darker every minute..

Everything nice had to end somehow..

This, was the last I had atop the Niseko Village ski slope..

Changed out of our gears returned them and settled back down at the Royce café.

Faces flushed and red.

All that was left was sore thigh muscles, aching calf muscles, bruised shins and a head that still had that impacted sensation..

In quiet contemplation..

Paused a while, sipping my hot chocolate.

Suddenly hit with an overwhelming awareness that we had done it.

Everything was definitely well worth it..
The experience of a lifetime..
We will be back on the ski slopes someday..

Back at the ryokan,

Off to the convenience store again.
I went for the hot spring bath thereafter..
And this time I sneaked my camera in =p
The good thing was there wasn’t anyone else..hehe

Soaking the sore muscles in the hot bath was such a relief for the pain inflicted during the day.

In fact, the extreme cold during the day made me appreciate the hot spring bath even more..

I could not ask for more.
I wasn’t on Earth at that point in time.

*****

irony @

5:27 PM