Skiing on Mt. Buller, Melbourne.

I'm going to attempt to track all my holidays I made in the past half a year and post it here. That should give me a good ground to start blogging again.

I finally went back to Melbourne, for the 3rd time. Motivated by the fact that I did'nt manage to go skiing in the last 2, I make it a resolution not to miss is this time, not matter how much it cost. To make sure it's a go this time, I even drag Nick, who drag his French gay partner, Sebastian, and Ching Yee to come along.

It's just that I never anticipate that the cost was so exorbitant, that I nearly pass on it again. A 3 day trip is going to cost 600 Aud dollars, nearly equivalent to my budget for the entire trip. In the end, Ching Yee and I decided to take only a one day trip that cost 200$. Nick and Sebastian who have the cash to spare, decided to spend some alone time and head up there for all 3 days. Damm, those working guys.

It took 4 hours to get from Melbourne City to Mt. Buller. Even though we left at 6.30am, it was nearly noon by the time we get our ski equipments and reach bottom of the skiing area. With the amount of money I paid, I only have 4 hours left before heading back down towards the city at 4pm. 

So that's 4 hours for learning how to ski.  Nick and Sebastian (who already knows how to ski/snowboard) already had a number of runs by the time we arrive and meet them on day 2 of their trip. Thankfully, skiing wasn't as horribly hard as I imagine it to be. I was expecting to fall like crazy and not be able to walk for days after that. 

I manage to move on my first try. The only problem was stopping. So I had to fall to stop, which was not too bad considering the numerous layer of cloth I was wearing to withstand the cold. (4 tops and 3 bottoms, underwear not included.) But ultimately, I think having ice skated a lot in the past helps tremendously. The snow gave a very familiar sensation with ice, and the brakes techniques can be adopted as well (hockey stop).  

Right after my first slope, I ran to purchase the lift card (cost me 50$) and tried to ski all the way down from the station. It was terrifying. The slopes was much steeper than I can imagine, and I was speeding so much that I'm was almost certain I'm going to get a ticket. Unable to stop at that speed, I had to fall again before I hit someone else. The fall was so hard, that the skis came off from my leg and the poles were more than 15 meters apart. 

Funny enough, I stood up and didnt feel much pain. I took me 5 runs before I finally manage to control my speed. Until then, I nearly crash into the ski lift's supporting pillar, ran off the skiing area (into the walking area with no snow), almost knock into some kids and an old man, caused another amateur skier to fall to avoid me and got a warning to have my lift card revoke if I continue skiing like a madman. 

Lol. Remember to avoid going to the same mountain the next time I come skiing.