Day 1: Coronet Peak (July 28th, 2006)







The shuttle up to Coronet Peak takes about 30 minutes. Our lodge is the last stop on the way, which means we're the last ones to get on and the first ones to get off. I think that's a nice perk. The mountains up here are definitely different than what I'm used to. The view from the top of the lift was beautiful and I sat down and took it all in for a few minutes before starting my run.

Another subtle reminder that this place is not Whistler: this place is tiny. Coronet peak has three chair lifts. They're high speed and fairly long, but still, three lifts? Fortunately, despite the size, there is a lot of terrain. One reason there is so much terrain is because there there are no trees. Zero. We're up above the tree line for New Zealand native trees. Any trees that do grow here aren't native to New Zealand and are immediately removed. That's a little sad; gladed runs are my favorite, it doesn't look like I'll be doing much of that here.

But I'm here to try learn new things. I've always wanted to be decent in the terrain park, but have never really tried. Six weeks should be enough time to gain some proficiency. After exploring the mountain in the morning I decided to start improving my terrain park skills (I probably should have waited a day or two, in retrospect). The boxes (a wide flat surface about 10 feet long) are easy enough to slide straight down and I soon decided to upgrade to the rails (narrow bars that you usually slide down with your board perpendicular to the rail). I've learned, the hard way, that you need to keep your board flat while doing this. Lean back even a little bit and you'll be thrown off it before you know what hit you (and what hits you is either the steal rail or the hard-as-concrete ground next to the rail).

After a couple of falls hard enough to dislodge my goggles I retreated to the boxes. Even then, with my confidence shattered, I took a good fall on the box. Oh, and did I mention that I'm at the baby terrain park? Which means that I'm struggling to master the boxes with a group of 12 year old girls who shriek each time they go over the box (but haven't fallen yet). Sore and realizing that I need to do this for six more weeks, I decide to call it a day.