The Winter Ski Experience

One important thing that I will always remember about skiing: It will forever be such a hard sport unless I eat a full breakfast and get more than three hours of sleep the night before I get on to it. Hahaha.

I spent the night yesterday trying out skiing for the second time with workmates. Quite redeeming, I must say. The first time I tried skiing was just two Saturdays ago, and it almost killed me as I geared up for the sport with barely three hours of sleep and very little food in the stomach. Then there were the slightly defected ski and ‘pole-less’ attempts to glide in my bloated ski outfit. These, along with the long lines for the lifts under the surprisingly glowing sun on that snowy weekend, really let me brand skiing as such an exhausting sport. Nah, but first time experiences will always be memorable for me.

How it went the second time around was a night-time ski experience at Vivaldi Park, which is a two-hour car drive from Seoul to Gangwon-do. The team cut three hours short of its regular working schedule on a Friday that normally ends at 6pm, to allow for the travel time. We then spent the early to late evening hitting the snow slopes. One officemate told me that they really prefer skiing at night time to avoid the crowd that form when people fall in line for the lifts. They also prefer going in February when rates have slightly gone down, given that the winter season is about to end. My manager who came up with this team building activity happens to be a very good skier, and even need not rent anything because he strutted with his own, highly-cool ski gears and outfit. He was in his uniquely 'rock-on' winter fashion statement. Gearing up for the sport can get pretty hefty, if I may say-- money-wise and body-wise. Basic equipment that one has to buy (since ski resorts don’t usually rent them out) includes ski gloves and ski goggles. The ski and ski poles, along with the ski clothes (jacket and pants) can always be borrowed at the resort.

I remember how my officemates gathered around my manager in his yellow Schumacher-like suit (I don’t know who else to compare it with, my manager’s outfit had sewn tags all over, wahaha) to check on it and have a feel of his seemingly branded gloves and goggles. Then these officemates of mine started asking how much it cost him to buy those, and more talks followed among them as if comparing how and where they got their own ski stuff. I just find it surprisingly amazing how it seems a lot easier for Koreans to talk about the monetary value of what they own, and not feel like bragging whenever they say they bought such an expensive item. Or I dunno, maybe Koreans are just used to their own personal bragging rights. People in the Philippines tend to cover it up by saying, “Oh, it’s not that much”, as if saying it has actually made them such down-to-earth individuals.

Anyway, ski was initially very intimidating because the ski blades look too heavy for me to glide through the ice. They actually are, except that it is exactly why poles were included in this sport, so that I can strike them firmly to the icy ground as I pour my force onto its grips and push myself forward. Since there officially were three of us in the team who were new to the sport, the manager found the need to conduct a quick tutorial. First, he taught us how to ride on the ski by attaching our ski boots to them. He then showed a quick demo on how to properly get up after having fallen off. I really think it was very considerate of my manager to do that, since it is the falling that has always bothered me. The boots are practically stuck on those long ski that extends to my front and back, so falling sideways seems to be the common thing to happen. It can really be a challenge to get up because of the weight of the metal ski that should be carried along with the person’s own weight.

My first few slides down the beginner level slope were the cautioned ones, and I was with my 과장님 (loosely said, my senior-- he's not exactly the only "head of the department" as how english translations would go for this word) who would tell me when to make the big A's and small A's. I actually found that amusing, how he translates the need for me to speed up or speed down. Basically, you make the A-shape with your ski when you want to do the brakes. His big-A means slow down or stop, while his small-A means speed up or no-stop. When the professional skiier in him eventually got bored with the beginner slope, he said how I have learned so quickly for him to leave me skiing on my own. Way to go!!!

I managed to go to the level next to the easiest slope after I got bored with the beginner level's almost flat course. I must say that the cool gush of air that my ski speed gave me was relaxing. It was night time so the brush of air was sometimes even freezing, but I loved it. I am actually close to saying that the feeling may be one of those very few times that I enjoyed being out in the cold. Now once I was done, I started heading back to the rental area to return the ski. It was quite an effort, too as I walked on those heavy boots and carried the ski on my shoulders. But over-all the sport was fun and turned out not to be difficult at all. Worth another try, I must admit.

I might give it another shot next winter, who knows.