My first trip with NSC was Squaw Valley – a new resort for me, one time Olympic host, a place I’d heard about through friends and the media. One thing I noticed was the high elevation – at 6200 ft the resort entrance was already pretty high up. When I reached the top of the Funitel where my lesson was held, it was 8200 ft and overlooking the lake at the highest resort I’d visited aside from Heavenly. That day fog covered the Lake, making it appear mysterious. Some of the newcomers in my class had not realized that it was the Lake.
John, the instructor on my first day, taught us how to ski in low-, bumpy, and high-sloped terrain. I was excited and confident to be in the class. We learned to turn our uphill knee out and to align our skis. The bumps were a special treat, but we stayed on the green slopes. The second day turned out to be much icier after overnight rain, and my practice run before the class was a disaster – I had no confidence under these snow conditions, as it was too easy to slip and lose control, and I hadn’t gotten over my fear of falling. As the class got underway however I just followed our leader. At one point, though, he went down a steeper slope, the kind I had no trouble with the day before, and I hesitated and took an alternate route. Later, I got over my fear and was able to follow him down the steeper hills. We learned to “pet the puppy above us” on turns. He also demonstrated the sideslip technique which was later useful when he took us down a narrow path on a blue slope. I was excited to try my first blue slope on the Gold Coast Express. It had a detachable chairlift, like the Funitel, and as a result was the most gentle lift experience I’ve had. It was a long run but when we followed the instructor it turned out pretty well. A great first intermediate slope experience!
The classes ended at 1pm, and I joined our group at the Gold Coast mid-station. Everyone had already arrived and was finishing their lunches. Although they all looked exhausted they were gung-ho to tackle the slopes again. What troopers! I didn’t have the energy to do any more on the first day but on the second, I tried the Gold Coast Express again with Debbie Fong and Joel Hayashida, the club president. I made it, although at one point I balked at the steepness – a tendency that’s all mental because I’m afraid of heights. I noticed I’m a little out of shape since no one complained of burning legs. Perhaps there is a technique for skiing without much exertion to their legs. I hope to learn that technique in my next ski lesson.
Throughout this 2-day trip, I got a lot of help with my equipment from my “valet”, Tom Lee. He’s not my actual valet but he wasn’t skiing so he volunteered for the job, which was very nice of him. He carried my skis while I trudged along in my unwieldy boots with the poles. He also brought back my shoes when I had to return the rental equipment. Hi Fujii, an octogenarian who was the only member to qualify for a free lift ticket (wow – I can’t wait to get older and get these terrific discounts), hinted that he wanted a valet too, but was mostly ignored for his efforts. Tom wasn’t about to carry two sets of skis. I started to imagine what it’d be like having a valet in other areas of my life, like getting out of my car in the rain with the groceries.
All in all, it was a very nice first trip with the club, and I gained hope to improve my ski skills after listening to others tell stories of how they used to be like me but got to their present level. I would really like to be an intermediate skier, able to go on the high slopes and enjoy the scenery from up there, not to mention stop paying for expensive ski lessons. I even thought about getting my own skis. One thing I forgot to mention is my sun burn. I peeled for 3 days and it hurt. I had to use aloe to soothe it. Next time I’ll have to have better protection from the sun. The food was very well planned and it was a pleasure to hang out with the club members after skiing. Thanks especially to Debbie and Joel for taking the time to take me around the slopes at Squaw. I am looking forward to my next trip with NSC.
