Skiing @ Mt. Hotham 12th - 13th July 2008

Mt Hotham one of Australia's big ski resorts is located about 4 hours drive from Melbourne. We were fortunate to stay at the apartments above Fountain restaurant. - a walk from the main ski lifts. It was pretty cheap too - cost about $70 a day per person.

Mmm... it was absolutely wonderful to be back again in the alps. The scenery is magnificent!! Its so white outside and the air is super fresh, crisp.

It was "coming back home" down Hotham's "Summit" run again - the best (and easiest) big runs - its great for beginners and slack intermediate skiers like me. Its wonderfully wide - and it has just that bit of gradient to make it that more fast and fun (and makes me look quite pro too haha)

I found the Blue runs at the Heavenly Valley section very challenging- Milky Way and Lower Imagine - but it may be because I got lost and ended up doing the Black runs. They are all mixed up together and its hard to see which is which sometimes.

I did find the ski down Mother Johnson/ Gulley Catwalk and the dive down to Slalom Gully more manageble.

I've got major problems attempting the very steep slopes esp ones with very slushy snow and bumps. Its hard to turn properly. I lose control too easily. My muscles get exhausted. And then I lose confidence and forget my technique. The sensation of staring down what looks like a sheer cliff drop off - and then trying to ski down it - screwing up a few runs - psys me out. Once I am that way - everything goes wrong.

I did find that when I put aside my fear (of falling down and killing myself lol) and focused and concentrated more on my technique - things got a bit easier. A bit only! Worry and self-consciousness can become a self-fulfilling prophecy - if you think you're going to screw it up - you will.

Another problem is my weird flexibility. My hips are stiff like rusty hinges. And you need to turn your hips to where you want to go to. Problem is - my hips are not turning - and my bizarre flexible knees go in opposite 90' directions. ARGHHHH!!!!!!

Oh well, I really need more practice. But its not often I go skiing - and I would like to have a good week tp iron out my advanced skiing skills with a good trainer. But these ski trips - usually last about 2 days - and bad weather can just wreck it up. On the 1st day - visibility dropped down to 5m - and temperatures plummeted to minus 10C (if you take into account the wind chill factor). And on the 2nd day you're rushing to pack your gear home... Not to mention the fact that those ski lifts can be sooooo slow. I was practically frozen at 4pm on the first day and I had to drag myself indoors for a good cup of hot chocolate to thaw me out; waste of time!


I'm also glad I didn't have any collisions - there were so many snowboarders and skiiers - a bad stack was inevitable. I saw 4 nasty accidents that required medic stretchers on Sunday afternoon - one on easy pie Mother Johnson - of all places. That's like coming to grief at Dayang jetty. Unlike scuba diving, where everyone is required to get a license to dive - there are no such requirement for winter sports. Consequently, you have a lot of idiots who have more balls than brains doing risky and dangerous runs. Any fool can go at 100km+ an hour on the slopes- doing it safely and with proper care for the well being of other users - takes more skill.

Sadly, a number of people don't give a rat's ass - they are just out to have fun. If they have to stop by literally colliding into you at 20 - 60km/h - big deal shrug. These morons fail to see that their snowboard or ski or pole can do fatal damage to another person at that speed. That's a steel plate on the boards - and getting it in the face or flesh leaves horrenous injuries.

Of course, they  don't mean too - but at the same time they don't really give a damn. They just mumble sorry, and ski off. I wish I could helidrop them on the highest remote mountain and let them discover the meaning of an apology.

I got hit hard on the leg at Falls Creek by a novice skiier a few years back - it cost me $1,000 in physio and medical expenses. Thankfully, my medical insurance covered half of the cost. It still was an unnecessary accident. All I got was a pathetic sorry from the person who hit me. In short, its a highly dangerous sport. But fortunately, accidents are uncommon.

Sidenote - I had trouble sleeping during the car trips. I was wide awake for hours. Yet why is it that I instantly fall asleep 10 minutes into church sermons - but I stay wired peering out into the darkness of a black night sky for hours? I think I'll talk about that some other time.