Skiing at Mt Hotham this weekend
Posted 08-30-2009 at 03:33 AM by Saracene
Went skiing with my Mum and sister for the first time in ages and second time since coming to Australia. Last time we went to Mt Buller, this time we decided to try Mt Hotham which is bigger and further away, about four hours drive from Melbourne.
The weather on the day was SHIT! Seriously, it just couldn't have been worse - showers, wind and fog all at the same time. Going down the slope was like skiing into nothingness - you could see maybe five metres ahead and it felt like you were in the white empty space a la Matrix. And my glasses kept fogging over which made me even more blind. At least the gear we hired was completely wind and cold proof and kept us snug and warm.
When we got to the mountain and unloaded the skis from the bus, I found out that one of the breaks fell off so we had to go and fix it at the store. Then I tried going down the slope, fell down immediately, and the damn breaks fell off again. Then the rain started in earnest and they closed all the tracks because of the lightning, so we spent a couple of hours in a nearby cafe. When they opened the tracks again I went and asked for my skis to be changed, and Mum and I went to have a go at the beginner's track. Which was fun if a bit too short.
Then we decided to try something harder and went to one of the longer tracks. Very soon my thighs were killing me, and so when I saw the chairlift I went hooray and hopped on - big mistake, because instead of taking us back to the village it just took us up to the hardest tracks! There was no way we would last on them, so Mum and I took off our skis and started to walk down. Then I tripped and fell and because the snow was so slippery and icy I rode a few metres on my bum before I could stop myself. Since it looked much quicker than walking, I decided to ride this way all the way down
So all in all it was a mixed bag of a day but it was good to get out of the city on the weekend and have a bit of adventure. Plus the countryside in Victoria is so pretty and green in winter - come summer it will all be burned to the straw.
The weather on the day was SHIT! Seriously, it just couldn't have been worse - showers, wind and fog all at the same time. Going down the slope was like skiing into nothingness - you could see maybe five metres ahead and it felt like you were in the white empty space a la Matrix. And my glasses kept fogging over which made me even more blind. At least the gear we hired was completely wind and cold proof and kept us snug and warm.
When we got to the mountain and unloaded the skis from the bus, I found out that one of the breaks fell off so we had to go and fix it at the store. Then I tried going down the slope, fell down immediately, and the damn breaks fell off again. Then the rain started in earnest and they closed all the tracks because of the lightning, so we spent a couple of hours in a nearby cafe. When they opened the tracks again I went and asked for my skis to be changed, and Mum and I went to have a go at the beginner's track. Which was fun if a bit too short.
Then we decided to try something harder and went to one of the longer tracks. Very soon my thighs were killing me, and so when I saw the chairlift I went hooray and hopped on - big mistake, because instead of taking us back to the village it just took us up to the hardest tracks! There was no way we would last on them, so Mum and I took off our skis and started to walk down. Then I tripped and fell and because the snow was so slippery and icy I rode a few metres on my bum before I could stop myself. Since it looked much quicker than walking, I decided to ride this way all the way down
So all in all it was a mixed bag of a day but it was good to get out of the city on the weekend and have a bit of adventure. Plus the countryside in Victoria is so pretty and green in winter - come summer it will all be burned to the straw.
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