We had our first skiing adventure our first Sunday here; we left Christchurch early to there for a 10:30 ski lesson (as Wells had never skied before and I had only once 4 years ago, we both needed it). It takes about an hour along the highways from Christchurch to get to Mt. Hutt but mind you, these 'highway's are curvy 2 lane roads with one lane bridges- mostly along sheep farms. Once you get to Mt. Hutt, it is a 30 minute winding, cliff-side, gravelly driving adventure with signs like this:
But views like this:
Our little car has certainly proved herself, twice over now!
As hectic as it was, the panoramic views were really unbeatable. Maybe it's just because I've lived in Florida for so long, but it is crazy to me to see grass growing above the clouds. You certainly believe that this is one of New Zealand's highest skiing points.
On our first trip, we both took a ski lesson and stuck to the beginner slope and at the end of the day we were doing pretty well (considering I managed to only bring 2 right ski gloves from Florida..). We did try an intermediate slope, but a near white out experience steered us away from trying that one again! The second day, Wells went back to snowboarding and blew away my 3 days of skiing skills. He whizzed down the mountain while I tried in vain to make it down in one piece. I definitely got better as the day went on and got more comfortable picking up speed, which was a bit scary when trying to stay away from the edge of the runs. I remember my first time skiing in Canada: lots of soft white snow, short but steep hills, nice full evergreens... But here it was different: steep, never slowing slopes with a view of the valleys and clouds below you. From up there, there was no mistaking it. You were on the top of a mountain!
Cheers!
I think I recognize that jacket...
ReplyDeletewow. the mountains are literally breathtaking! I'm living vicariously through all of your world travels! -amber :)
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