Finally, I can move my battered body to type this. The weekend last week was quite unimaginable, displaced but rewarding. On Friday which was an occasion to remind me how many human years I have left before I crossed my sacred barrier and Sat was imprinted obstinately in my mind.
Snow started falling in the afternoon of Sat when I was taking my brunch after an overdose of whisky on Friday nite. It continued for like almost 4 to 5 hours until everything was covered in 5 cm of snow and that was when I started to have the snow syndrome relapse again as it had been weeks since the last great snow. Ran to the car, grab my EOS to capture and materialize these bytes of information...
Went to get a decent hair cut in Komoro and got more than I had bargained. If only, yes, IF ONLY SG had this kinda of service, one running the barber shop would have made millions. For a cool SGD$30 odd, my hair was neatly cut, washed and nourished, my face (eyebrows, nostrils, etc.) and ears massaged, warm-lathered and clean shaven, and then my back massaged. What an experience!
Sunday, apparently a well planned snowboarding trip that went disgustingly haywire midway. Went up to Asama 2000 in the morning by my friend's car without 4WD or snow tires and had to pull out before noon as the car simply couldn't gain any traction on the ice frozen uphill roads. Acceleration was at max with the throttle fully depressed, the car was "stationery" sliding left and right with the front tires spinning on an uphill road. Backed out and skidded dangerously downhill to another less mountainous resort. The place was packed with pesky irritants, dirty facilities and offers only 3 lousy runs. That was where I was robbed of my virgin snowboard run. Bad experience, bad falls, battered body but managed to pull it off at the end of the day with just the basics of snowboarding.
Monday, 14th Jan, The Coming of Age Day which is a national holiday in Japan. Went up to one of the most surreal towns in Nagano Prefecture for yet another round of snowboarding but this time round, I drove my little snow-equipped 4WD car instead. Had absolutely no negative influences along the way except the occasional near fatal crashed due to me admiring the fantastic snow covered scenery. Colossal resort, great runs, marvelous scenery hooked me like ecstasy and I am down to visit this place again even for only shutter chances.
At the end of the day, here the gradient amateur's report -
「Snowboarding is not that hard to learn but not that easy to master. I picked it up on my 1st maiden day with only 2 tips given by my semi-pro Sensei with 12 years to his record.
1. Lean on your heels and let gravity do the rest.
2. See you at the bottom.
Yep these are the ONLY 2 tips given to me right at the top of the run, after taking the ski lift to the top of the hill. When I was at the bottom of the hill all strapped up and good to go, my Sensei told me, "The fastest and easiest way to learn is to learn the way I did so just follow me." and I did. Ended up on the top of the hill fully comprehended my Sensei's perspective that is to attack the most vulnerable ambiguity, FEAR, head on. Getting off the ski lift is a bit tricky with one foot strapped in on the board and sliding down the first gradual slope. Falls are imminent and there's no way to get around it unless you are a quitter.
Standing at the edge of the drop I sucked in a whiff of fresh air, took a second to rid any sanity, fear and the mere guilt of my naive decision, looked far and took my first decent. After I got to the bottom, I could already balance despite all the tumbles, bruises and trauma sustained. Immediately went up for a second run, followed by a third and so on...
At the end of the day, my bodily liability was no match for my rigid mind for I wanted to accomplish what I had initially set out for. So the next day of consecutive snowboarding was ever rewarding as I was fully able to weave in and out on my toes and heels which is the entire concept of snowboarding. Took a huge gamble and descended an intermediate level drop wavering at a 80 degrees angle to near vertical plunge which sent my heart racing for the next 1 hour. The intense shock was an accomplishment to take home given that I had only less than 10 hours of amateur snowboarding and it was then I knew I was treading on the brink of life and death. Not a wise decision so I shall carefully analyze and weigh my next move.
Still recovering from the aches which prevent me from standing up for more than 5 minutes or climbing half a flight of steps but I will be fine and awaiting for my next practice run.」
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