So, last I joined you on here, Sean and I were looking for jobs...
We went on a two day vacay to Queenstown, where we had a great time going out to the bars. I even won a tattoo contest and got a $50 bar tab! So don't say these things don't pay me back ;)
We had the idea we wanted to work on one of the three ski hills near Wanaka: Treble Cone, Cardrona, or SnowPark. First, we applied at SnowPark, and then we had interviews with Mush from Food & Bev at Cardrona.
18 May: After having a great interview, we found out later that evening that we scored jobs at Cardrona! The next day, SnowPark called and offered Sean a job too! (They called me over a month later asking if I'd like a job b/c someone had dropped out). We took the Cardrona jobs, but had about a month an a half to kill before training started.
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| Sean, Me, Malcolm, Sean and Mush at MINT BAR |
19 May: Celebrated our new flatmate/BHS classmate Malcom's birthday.
21 May: Such a small world. Nikki, a girlfriend from California was coming through Wanaka after working in Oz since January. A nice visit with some good Mexican food occupied our weekend.
While unemployed and on a tight budget, Sean and I got a lot of hiking in.
23 May: We hiked up to Rob Roy Glacier.
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| Near trailhead for the Rob Roy Glacier |
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| After reaching our hut @ Fern Burn |
31 May: Sean and I did a nice West Wanaka hike.
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| Malcolm and I above the clouds on our way up Roy's Peak |
The next couple days consisted of getting to know my new girlfriends, and adding a couple more: Yvette and Vicki from Bristol, England. We had ladies luncheons and dinners, did a hike or two, and knitted up a storm!
16 June: Diamond Lake/Rocky Mountain
The next few weeks consisted of a lot of movie watching, walking around town and tightening our belts before our first paycheck.
We started training at Cardrona on 20 June, and were up the hill for the next three days...a bare brown hill. Cardrona was due to open 1 July, however...snow was slightly late this year. We ended up opening the resort 8 July. We were second to open after SnowPark (who made all of their snow) and Treble Cone (TC) opened two weeks later.
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| The ladies and I in Queenstown |
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| Out 2011 Christmas card photo...just kidding. |
30 June: We all went over to Jessie and Martha's to celebrate Vicki's birthday, northern hemisphere Christmas style! We all brought over our traditional Christmas dishes and wore Christmas sweaters. Then, Sean, Malcolm and I went over to Silvia and Mikey's housewarming party, which was an 'ugly sweater' party...so that worked out well!
Vicki, Sean and I headed up to SnowPark on Saturday July 2nd because they offered all mountain staff $10 lift tickets! They only had one, hard as concrete, run open. But it was nice to get out there, try out my new 2012 Ride Rapture. By nice, I mean I ended up on my tush and knees so much, nearly in tears, that I checked out and downed a couple beers after three runs.
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| My first free climb! |
6 June: Sean and I headed out to the West Wanaka flat and did some climbing. Now, we don't have any ropes...so I decided I was going to do my first free climb. It was awesome, but I must say I like the safety of a harness and ropes at 40-50 ft...Still pretty cool.
7 June: FINALLY! It snowed all the way down to Wanaka. We were all excited, we could finally open! However...then it was TOO much snow, and it took almost another week to open...
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| View from our flat on the first snow day in Wanaka |
After we finally opened the second week of July, we headed up the hill everyday: work, snowboard, repeat.
Now, me snowboarding is a whole 'nother story...see I was given a Ride snowboard by my brother in the late '90s or so. I never mounted the bindings or rode the darn thing until my senior year of highschool at Mt. Baker (winter '04-'05). Now, I can't recall how many times I went up but it was more than 5, less than 10. The next two years I went once at Mt. Bachelor and another time at Mt. Shasta (kinda). A year or so after that I took my snowboard to Lake Tahoe, but ended up doing more partying than riding.
So I'm thinking I'm a decent snowboarder, I could get down the hill, I enjoyed snowboarding. I even had a snowboarding injury from a ballsy snowboarding-behind-a-car on a powder day. I ensured Sean and Malcolm (both good riders) that I was going to kick butt this year and maybe even try doing some jumps!
FAIL. Oh fail. I hurt, I cursed and I cried until finally breaking down one day and LISTENING to my boyfriend. I took direction, I followed the majority of commands, only flipping him off ONCE! It was a miracle...I was linking turns and falling rarely. How nice!
Unfortunately, due to Sean and my schedule, we were unable to ride together. He worked at Captain's Cafe, in a different basin than my coffee counter, and we only had one day off together. We would sometimes get 1 hour ride breaks, and I eventually started pushing for more (as I was enjoying it). I ensured Sean I was getting better, but then every time we would ride together, I would get nervous and eat all kinds of snow.
In addition to my nervousness around Sean, I was constantly having altercations with 6-year old mini-skiers. They go down the hill in a crazy S pattern, which is hard to navigate around, they do not usually follow the "Person in front of you has the right-of-way" and don't really care if they cut off anyone, and that 'anyone' eats sh** to avoid slamming into a child.
31 July: Anyhow, one day, we were riding up at Treble Cone with Malcolm, Silvia and Mikey. They are all far more fantastic boarders than me, so I urged them to go ahead while I got some caffeine in me, and waited for Vicki (who works at TC) so we could ride together.
Vicki and I rode down the only easy trail TC has, Easy Rider, it's basically a speed course with switchback turns, it was rad! It was the first time, I didn't fall, not once, on the way down. We went down once more before she had to go back to work and I took a break.
Sean and the rest had gone over to the Saddle Basin, a dream for people who can link turns on steep, steep terrain (not me). He gave me a call and asked if I wanted to meet up, I was heading up the VW chair lift again and he was coming back over from the Saddle, so we agreed to meet at the bottom.
I'm heading down Easy Rider, ripping it up. Going as fast as I can around turns, swerving around people and having a blast. I can't believe how far I've come, from the tears of frustration and bruised knees of 2 July at SnowPark....to shredding TC only a month later!
Then I see them. Mini-skiers. Three of them with an instructor,taking up the whole trail. "I'm going too fast to stop, they are all over the place, wtf do I do?"
Well. I'm feeling pretty badass, so I decided to slid up on the side and go around them. Great idea! I get up on the side of the trail, doubt myself, come down to early and thanks to my fast stop on my heel edge, only knock over the kid...not completely traumatize it (probably).
As I'm sitting on my ass, watching the instructor pick up the silent mini-skier, apologizing my butt off...I turn around and guess who is behind me, laughing. Sean. I, of course, forget there are three small children in front of me (one who is traumatized), and I curse him for showing up at that exact moment.
After he has finished laughing, he assures me that he was following me the entire time and saw how good I was doing. And, also knowing my past with mini-skiers...saw an accident coming with the children.
Post-TC, the five of us went back to Mikey and Silvia's new pad and made nachos, drank coronas and swigged back a little tequila...to celebrate a good day on the mountain.
The next few days were my last at Cardrona and I took every opportunity to get out snowboarding, took lots of photos and savored my last few days of snow until next southern hemisphere's winter. We also celebrate my friend's Yvette's birthday by donning mustaches and drinking beers!
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| The first Cardrona Staff Party. My last :( |
6-8 August: One of the # 1 things I wanted to see on the south island was Fjordlands National Park and Milford Sound. So, before I flew out on the 9th, Sean and I took another small road trip.
We left Saturday and headed to Te Anau, the weather wasn't that great and it was due to snow. If the roads were too bad, or the weather was crap, a cruise in Milford the next day would be a disaster, if not impossible.
Thankfully, we woke up to a dusting of snow, and a requirement to carry chains, but the roads were fine and the sun was out. After a breathtaking drive through Fjordlands, we bought the tickets for our cruise and checked into our backpackers.
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| Driving through Fjordlands |
We got on the smallest boat, and it had only 12 passengers! Milford Sound was one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen, and reminded me a lot of Southeast Alaska. Because we were in the Fjords, the captain could go right up to the side, getting almost underneath waterfalls and so close to seals we could smell 'em (not necessarily a good thing).
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| One of Milford Sound's many, many waterfalls |
22 August: Well, as it is now I am back in the states. I'll update you more on that...sooner...rather than later :)
