First time snowboarding

Matt, Lucy, Jim, Vicky, Susan (all redacted) and I decided to go try the snow out this winter – somebody decided we'd go to Porter's Pass club Ski field instead of the more popular Mt Hutt one. Maybe it was simply that there would be too many people on the slopes, or maybe it was that it is closer.

We could see the alps on the horizon as we drove across the Canterbury plains; it was a crisp morning and the snow-capped ranges girded the farmlands, keeping the Westcoast rains at bay. As we drove past Lake Lyndon we found it frozen over, and made a mental note to visit it later – for now we had to make most of the day on the slopes!

As we came to a stop in the carpark beside the ski field I was a bit surprised at how small it was. Not that it was that small, it was just that I imagined ski fields to be bigger. It did not really hamper our excitement though, at least not mine. I did not anticipate to go that far down the hill after everyone has been discussing how difficult snowboarding was.

I had my heart set on snowboarding, mostly because I have tried the skateboard, maybe 30% for the cool factor and 20% for less parts. It was pricey renting parts and getting tickets! But I suppose it costs a heap to operate chair lifts, make fake snow (when needed), shops and pay personnel to hang atop a hill all day.

I decided against lessons; I'd recommend them. We went onto the "bunny slopes", a designated area for beginners which only has a slight gradient as well as a conveyor belt to ship geared-up people back to the top. This belt they call the "Magic carpet".

Snowboarding turned out to be less intuitive than I thought it to be. The board was quite weighty, and your feet are fixed flat to the board, in boots that made you feel Robocop, except no joints. My knees actually felt rather vulnerable in such a rigid configuration, but I suppose the boots support your ankles because it rose about a third up your shins. We were told to strap one foot in and walk into the bunny slope area before strapping the other in; dragging the body-length board along was pretty awkward but we soon learned that once your other foot is attached you're pretty much go. The moment I stood up after strapping my other foot in I began sliding down the slope. The snow seemed grittier and more crystal-like than the powder I first imagined. It was more like shaved ice - it didn't sound too friendly hearing it scratch against the snowboard, and it did not feel very friendly when I fell over trying to turn at the end. Who cares though, that felt friggin' awesome!

The air did not feel too cold either, and we warmed up alright, only to be cooled down by much contact with the snow by voluntary and involuntary falling over.

Jim and Matt were reasonably experienced and went for the harder slopes. I aimed to get good enough for the next level up before lunch. The next slope had a T-bar or platter lift, which is basically a plate-on-a-string you place between your legs to drag you uphill. It is kind of like the flying foxes you see around playgrounds. There were also some railings to do grinds on. Soon I joined the queue for the T-bar lift. The skiers seemed to ride it easily - it was just like going down a flying fox. I saw some snowboarders struggling a bit though, and sure enough, I realised that I cannot quite place the platter between my legs without having the snowboard at an angle. I would veer off at an angle and had to quickly let the platter out and simply hold on to it with my hands, which means I had to actively control the direction of the snowboard bolted to both feet. The board kept swerving and I wobbled crazily as if I were surfing instead of just taking a lift. My frantic efforts were in vain and it wasn't long before the snowboard nosed into the slope and tipped me over. I held onto the platter as I fell onto my back, and the lift relentlessly dragged me on. I slid along on my back, grateful for the reprieve from trying to stay on my feet. But I could see people watching from the chair lifts looking down, and the guy behind me was also watching. It wasn't the least glamorous situation I have been in, but it wasn't comfortable either.

This slope was quite a bit faster! And it was such a feeling - the speed and wind, the adrenaline and the scraping, the skidding and the balance. You kind of try to reach out with your senses to catch everything all at once, each fleeting moment, each feeling – yet you are very quickly moving from one frame to another, and you realise the need to focus, but, you don't want to miss it and – you miss it, because you fell over and tumbled and whoa let's do it again!

It was exhilarating at a slightly increased speed and gradient, imagine a proper run! I soon managed to get a few smooth runs down this slope, carving a windy path when I get too fast. Some times it didn't work, and I fell over many times. Most of the time braking ended up on all fours.

Some of us brought lunch, others bought some at the cafe there. Some of us decided to go onto the chair lifts while eating to check out the view. It was quite fun going on the chair lifts – they keep going around, so you wait for a gap and you quickly line up facing the front, waiting for the next chairlift to sneak up behind you and sweep you off your knees.

The view was really something to take your breath away, and the wind really tries to take your lunch. The wind came in blasts, and almost felt like some updraft at times, though always bitingly cold. We took some selfies, quite careful to hold tight to our phones. We could see people skiing beneath us, and some more advanced drops coming down from the sides. Everyone made it look so easy! I lifted my eyes up to the hills...where does my help come from? The snow was such a white blanket, draped on the mountainside. Presently the chairlift reached the top, but of course we stayed on. The view of the snowy valley and mountain ranges yonder was wonderful, like huge piles of icing sugar on mochi lumps.

After skiing some more we left, and stopped by Lake Lyndon to see how frozen it really was. We immediately knew it was really frozen, because we could see a bunch of people doing something in the middle of the lake. As we came closer we realised they were playing ice hockey! Outside the game was a couple of people seated by a hole in the ice, fishing. We had a chat with the fishers, who said that the group went around during the winter, looking for frozen ponds and lakes to fish and ice skate and ice hockey on – just for fun! Each of the men had a pair of stubby screwdriver-like awls tied to their chests, which they explained to be picks, to clamber on ice, just in case any of them should fall through the cracks and go down under. One of the men took us around, to show us what different types of ice looked like on the lake. He just mentioned two; one is black ice, clear, dark, hard and smooth – ideal for ice skating because it is more resistant to carving up, allowing a smooth skate without leaving much trace to trip over later. The other is ice that has been snowed upon - the snow melts and refreezes, rendering the surface rough, with icy slushy layer that is not as hard. Skating on this easily carves out a groove that disables a smooth skate, besides the surface being somewhat lumpy anyway. We could see cracks in the ice, and as we were walking around listening to his tour, we heard some deep echoing cracking noises underfoot, and he instructed us to spread the group out to distribute the weight. It was amazing!