Why falling on your butt is important from time to time.
I was lucky enough to get away on a trip down to Victoria recently with Renae and her kids, including three days of skiing up on Mt Buller. This was my first time to the snow, ever, so was pretty exciting. I decided to give snow-boarding a go; simples, right? Needless to say I fell on my butt quite a bit, and at the end of it all, remembered a valuable lesson. Oh, and had heaps of fun! Here’s how it unfolded.
Renae had headed down with her kids a few days earlier and I was to come down and meet them on the Sunday. We were staying in Mansfield with friends, so I had booked a 7am flight to Melbourne and aimed to ideally get on the 10:30am bus from Southern Cross Station to Mansfield. Given the flight was due to land at Tullamarine at 9:30am, this was looking like being a stretch. Back-up was a midday train to Benalla but at 40km north of Mansfield, that would have required a decent drive to come pick me up.
Luck was definitely on my side that day; in a complete reversal of the normal trend of flying, the flight to Melbourne departed on time and arrive fifteen minutes early! Baggage collection also went relatively smoothly and by just after 9:30am I was on the shuttle bus to Southern Cross Station. I jumped online to buy the bus ticket, picking up the second last available seat on the Mansfield bus. Miraculously I arrived at Southern Cross terminal with thirty minutes to spare, even having time to grab a bottle of water and a muffin ahead of the trip.
We’re going to Bonnie Doon! I’ve known about Bonnie Doon, like many, since seeing The Castle, but didn’t actually know where it was and was surprised to find it on the road to Mansfield!
The bus trip was smooth (and I was delighted to find that it took me through Bonnie Doon; the serenity of the place was amazing) and I arrived in Mansfield early afternoon, meeting Renae and friends at the pub in town. That afternoon was spent hiring ski gear from a shop in town, settling into the house that had generously been offered to us for use during our stay (thankyou Jane and John for generously offering up your house for our stay!), and having a lovely dinner with Marian, Heath and their family.
The next morning it was up bright and early to head up the mountain. It was cold (thankfully, otherwise the skiing part would have been a little difficult) and it was dark, the sun suggest a suggested glow on the horizon. There was a lot of gear to cart up and ski boots are heavy! But Renae was super-organised, I was happy to act as a sherpa (carrying a lot of stuff, as opposed to having any skill in the snow!) and we got away in good time.
Just outside of town we caught glimpses of the white tops of Mt Buller, the only peak visible on the line of mountains with a frosted tip. The roads were clear and soon we were at the mountain, climbing up the winding road towards the peak. Frosted fields lay in the hollows of the valley and an icy but beautiful stream paralleled the road, promising invigoration and extreme shrinkage for anyone game enough to bath in it. The snow-capped top of the mountain could be seen rising above on occasion, before disappearing behind the trees of the next bend as we wound our way upwards. Snow drifts appeared increasingly as we reached the upper part of the mountain.
Needless to say my Samsung S10 did not take this snap! I didn’t think to get a shot from the car as we approached the peak came into view, but it looked a bit like this.
And then, appearing around a final bend, the peak was before us. Snow covered slopes bathed in glorious sunshine, bordered by trees and chair lifts. The buildings of the village gazed out from the slopes, snow on their rooves and balconies that would no doubt offer amazing views. The scene was a foreign one for me, used to the more sun-burned aspects of Australian landscape. It was a beautiful sight.
Renae, the kids and I at the village and ready to ski!
But before we could reach the village and the slopes, we first needed to park and then catch the shuttle bus. Sounds simple but with five sets of ski boots, helmets skis and a snowboard, water and snacks enough for two adults and four kids, it was quite a mission! We made it with sanity and backs intact and all too soon I found myself waving bye to Renae and the kids and in a beginner’s snow board lesson, struggling to strap my foot onto the snow board. There were about ten of us, all looking and feeling pretty nervous about our ability to pick up the skills needed to board, being the first to fall face-first in front of everyone or, worse, being that person who careens off wildly down the slope, taking out three children on the way and ending in a tangled and bruised heap in the tree line.
But everyone had a go and for the most part we all managed to do some very apprehensive J curves, left and right in a small section of the lower slope, away from the ability to cause any real damage. I was just starting to think, okay, I can start to get a handle on this, when after barely fifteen minutes the instructor started us moving towards the chairlift! Judging from the look of my fellow trainees I was not the only one feeling seriously unprepared for getting on a chairlift or, more specifically, getting off it at the other end! I wasn’t so worried about falling myself; it was just the thought of causing a pile up with the four or five other skiers on the lift.
Despite our fears, we all found our way shuffling forward in the queue, one foot strapped to the board and edging closer to the lifts. The getting on part proved easy enough and we were soon up and away. The view and the quiet calm of the lift was a stark contrast to the busy chaos of the slope. Below, a combination of experienced and not so experienced skiers careened down the slope, groups of learners sitting and listening to their instructor, squads of kids playing follow the leader, and teetering individuals fighting to keep their balance.
The slopes were pretty busy; not a great prospect for someone worried about taking other skiers out! Especially when my eyes kept drifting to that view!
Soon we were at the top, the bar was lifted, the chair slowed enough for me to get my board on the ground and pointing in the right direction, and I managed to stand and slide down the gentle slope without falling or taking out anyone else in the process! My confidence was growing. Everyone in the group made it and we found a spot at the top of the slope to begin the real part of the lesson in earnest. Thankfully it wasn’t an off you go I’ll meet you at the bottom type lesson but a series of stop/start runs, starting off with heel-side and leafing our way down the slope from stop to stop.
Once again I found this fairly easy and could see that most of the people on the lesson were getting it reasonably well. Having gotten fairly comfortable with heel-side, we touched on toe-side and this proved significantly harder. Something about having my back to the slope and not being able to see properly where I was going or who I was about to bump into made this feel much more difficult. And then suddenly, before we’d really had a chance to practice at it, the two hours were up, the instructor said her goodbyes and we were left to our own devices to terrorise the slope.
Some of the slopes were quieter, but the view was amazing everywhere. And we were blessed with perfect, blue-sky conditions.
Feeling good that I had managed the basics without any major falls or crashes with other skiers, I touched base with Heath and he suggested we head up together and do some more runs. This is where things got a bit trickier. The slopes we went to were great because they were a little less busy and so took away my chief concern of taking out other skiers, in particular the hordes of children who were on the slopes and far better skiers than I. But they were also a little steeper and I was focused on keeping up with Heath and not wanting to slow him down rather than continuing to practice toe-side and start getting my turns happening.
I shouldn’t have worried as he was very patient. But when I did try to string some turns together I found my speed increasing and my concern at getting out of control and not being able to stop growing. There were a number of tumbles, one of them particularly hard on my tailbone which I knew I’d feel later! This caused the hesitation to grow and I found myself leafing down most of the slopes and not really progressing in my overall boarding skill.
Regardless, it was super fun. I did create a habit of falling over just about anytime someone I knew was watching, and getting up with a great big board strapped to my feet felt particularly clumsy. We had a good laugh about it on the way home, and after a delicious dinner, a couple of beers and some good conversation, we were all well and truly ready for bed!
The next day on the hill I didn’t book a lesson in; figuring I could get up there an continue to practice and improve. Not my best call ever! The good thing was I was able to help Renae get the kids into their lessons and settled in. The downside was that I was feeling fairly sore from the first day; not so much from falls but from the strain of using little-used muscles that comes with taking on new physical pursuits. My wide feet were pretty sore in the boots and when I tried to practice toe-side I felt the strain here in particular. An early fall on my butt was a painful reminder off the tailbone bumps I’d picked up the day before and I found myself hesitant to pursue proper turns and defaulting to leafing. It was still a fun day on the ice, but by the end of the day did not feel like I had overly improved my skill on the board.
Somewhere over to the east it may have been raining.
That night I booked in a second lesson for our third and final day, something I should have done on day two. After the morning scramble on the shuttle bus (with a driver that morning who made bus driving an extreme sport!), helping get the kids into their lessons, I headed to my lesson. It definitely helped on getting a chance to practice toe-side and get a bit more insight into how to get the S turns happening properly. I also made some boot adjustments and managed to get them feeling a little more comfortable which definitely helped.
After the lesson I met up with Heath again who was keen to hit a slope that would take us to a little Mexican bar and restaurant at the bottom. It sounded great and I was keen, until I saw the top of the slope as we passed it on the chairlift. Heath’s description of the run which included phrases like “pretty steep”, “quite narrow” and “hook turn” didn’t do a whole lot to instil confidence on my ability to tackle the slope. So I bailed and we jumped onto some other runs.
Reflecting, I was a little disappointed by this. I definitely let a level of fear of getting hurt slow down my ability to learn and improve on the boarding. It’s been a while since I’ve been in that situation. It happened occasionally on the footy field (backing in under the high ball for example), but not something I’ve had to contend with for a while; probably since I was a boy. It was the speed, or potential speed that got me; gravity slows you down on the footy field, where on the slopes it speeds you up, significantly.
This was a useful insight, reminding me of how my boys, and most kids, might be feeling when approaching tasks or challenges that are new to them. It also reinforced the importance of learning to do things well; if I had done lessons on day two (and maybe again on day three) I think would have been further along than I got and might have gotten down that slope with Heath, smashing some grub and tequila at the bottom. I’m still not certain the tequila shots proposed by Heath would have done wonders for my boarding ability, bit it sounded pretty great.
So happy and blessed to be at the snow with this lovely lady.
It was an opportunity missed, but it will give me something to aim for next time! And despite this small disappointment, it was an amazing three days at the snow and I’m so thankful for the opportunity to come along. To Renae for inviting me and organising the vast majority of the trip. To Jane and John, Marian and Heath, and their beautiful family for hosting us and sharing good food, good drink and good conversation. To Heath for agreeing to board with me even though it probably kept him from a few of the more advanced sloped, including the taco’s and tequila. Next time!