After an early morning 'OH MY GOD I'M GOING TO BE LATE' sprint to the bus stop (not late), we departed and pulled up two and a half hours later at a ski and clothing rental store. I rented skis, sticks (poles, I was corrected), ski pants and goggles (I didn't need them, I just wanted to look the part). The first pair of ski pants I was given were peach coloured. Firstly, they would have looked horrible with my mainly black and blue clothes and secondly, I didn't want people to think I was skiing naked (from the waist down). I managed to change them for a black pair and all seemed well.
Things were soon to go downhill (downhill, get it? It's a skiing joke get with the program).
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| Just tilt your computer 45 degrees, or 90 if you want to see us on a more difficult slope. |
Arriving at the slopes, the beginners were taken for their skiing lesson. During the lesson, I learnt how to fall over without impaling myself on the sticks (poles.. poles) and this was very handy information, as without it there would have been approximately 752 impaling opportunities throughout the day.
After the lesson, a couple of friends and I headed to what we thought would be an easy slope. Turns out it wasn't, and after chirping a cheery but nervous 'BYE' to one of my friends at the top, I spent the next ten minutes skiing at superspeed for five seconds until crashing and being saved by the staff. At one point my skis actually went through the fence and I thought I was going to follow. Luckily, I latched on and just swung around like a rag doll. Post-flapping around (a side effect of stopping when travelling at the speed of light)
I managed to untangle my skis. Eventually I made it to the bottom, a great deal sorer than when I left, with a painful knee thrown in for free.
Did that stop me? No it did not!
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| At some point in the day, some of the stitches in my trousers ripped open. The rental people LOVE me... |
After some help from a friend, I learnt how to stop and slow down effectively and spent the next couple of hours on the beginner slope.
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| If there ain't enough danger - do it at night! |
I also bought a night ski pass and went up to the top slope (BIG MONSTER SLOPE) with three friends. They told me it was a beginner course and of course I didn't believe them even after they promised, but I still took the gondola up with them. The slope was great and we did that course around six or seven times that evening, trying to fit in as many as possible before closing time. We decided to go *one last time* and took the lift up to the top. It was at this point that one of my friends promised me an ice cream if I could catch up to him. I accepted. Bad move, Daniel.
They were faster than me, but when we reached the final slope, I realised that if I was ever going to win that ice cream, it was now. It was at this point that I started Olympic speed skiing and raced in between the two of them, feeling on top of the world and relishing in the fact that I had just earned myself an ice cream (it is what I live for). Then I fall. Then I roll. Then I roll. Then I roll some more. In this spectacular fall, I rolled a few metres, lost both of my skis and one stick (POLE) and managed to attract just a little bit of attention (everyone). I even managed to break one of the skis so it was unusable. I was fine by the way, except I was still three quarters of the way up the mountain. After sliding down to half way on my bum (like a dog wiping it's you know what on your new carpet) I managed to take a lift down to the bottom.
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| Okay, finally made it a quarter of the way. |
That night there was a meat and soju party, followed by fireworks and bed - A great end to a great day
Unfortunately it was the last weekend of the ski season, so until next year, Phoenix Park!
Arriving back in Seoul, me and a handful of friends went to get some food. We went to a place called Hong Cup in Hongdae, where you can buy a cup of chicken, rice cakes and mini hash browns covered in garlic soy sauce and cheese. Delish. Getting inside to eat was a bit of a mission as we needed to climb a steep staircase up to a mini loft which was big enough for two people, and there were four of us plus bags. It was cosy.
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| Hello. |
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| HELLO. |
Gamsahapnida for reading,
Denied an ice cream for falling over.
P.S. K-POP by 2NE1 with 'Happy'
