Okay, so I suck at skiing but I’m awesome at sliding down slopes. In an effort to avoid the annoying school groups, we went up Mount Hutt pretty early. The plan didn’t work. We got there about the same time as the first busload of school kids. Oh well.

I got myself to the top of the kiddie run and promptly fell over but it was a controlled fall this time. I got about 10 metres down the slope when I fell over. Not dignified at all but I did manage to get back on my feet. Me being me, I ended up careering down the slope way too quickly with no control. But I didn’t fall over which was good I suppose. The only reason I managed to come to a halt without falling over was because the end of the run has a rise so I just stopped.

I got myself back to the top and once again fell over. I took my skis off so I could get out of the way and then all the school groups arrived for a lesson. I couldn’t see myself getting down the slope without crashing into someone so I decided to walk down the slope. Whimpy I know but it’s better than injuring myself or anyone else.

Kim and I messed about on the slope and even made snow angels. Then we decided we should do what a group of kids was doing and slide down the small slope that separated the green run from the kiddie slope. It was awesome fun and we did it repeatedly – so often I ended up with snow down my pants. But it was totally worth it because it was so much fun. I’ve found a snow activity I can actually do that doesn’t require any coordination at all.

I look like I should be going golfing in those pants not skiing.

Kim, Andrew and Mel all geared up to hit the slopes.

Andrew and Kim at the top of the slope we were sliding down.

Kim – It’s totally awesome duuuuuuuude!

Me in the car after sliding down the slope repeatedly. Much happier face this time.

The summit of Mount Hutt on the way down.

It’s a long and winding road up to the peak of Mount Hutt.

Mount Hutt in black and white.

It’s a little dusty on the way up the mountain.

Yeah, just a few skis.

Snow bunnies. Uh huh… you can stop laughing now.

Mmmm… check out the beanie hair! Me after the skiing lesson when we’d gone inside for lunch. I really wasn’t sure about the whole skiing thing and the last thing I wanted to do was put my skis back on. So I didn’t.

I went on a scenic helicopter flight with Kim instead. It was much more fun than skiing.

Rakaia Gorge as seen from the top of Mount Hutt. Well, in a helicopter anyway.

Some of the Southern Alpine Ranges.

More snow covered mountains but this time with cool colouring.

So yeah… I wouldn’t rate today’s skiing a success at all. I found it incredibly difficult. But I don’t know why I thought it would be easy. It’s incredibly unnatural to strap two pieces of plastic to your feet and barrel down a snow-covered mountain side. I might have excellent balance and be coordinated but that seems to count for naught when it comes to skiing. Perhaps I’m thinking about it too much. I think about it too much and I get panicky that I’m going to fall over. Then when I do fall over, I get frustrated. I get frustrated which stressed me out and makes me upset. It’s a vicious cycle that I work myself into. Tomorrow I’m going to try to relax a little more and not get so worked up about it. I’ve been told that only falling over five times is actually pretty good for someone who’s never skied before.

But it bothers me that I’m finding it so hard.