7/7/12 Queenstown

Today Jay and I went to The Remarkables! The Remarkables is a range of mountains. Jay and I were going skiing/snowboarding there. Jay had decided that he wanted to try snowboarding, but I wanted to stick with skiing which I have been doing for four years at the local ski hill at home, Chester Bowl. You can read about Jay's adventures here.

Since Dad would not be going with us, (here are the reasons why: he had to attend some sessions for his conference and he was is to wimpy and scared to even try skiing) Jay and I went up to the mountains in a bus that picked us up at 8:20 in front of the hotel. We had already rented our equipment, skis, ski boots, snowboard, snowboard boots, poles, helmets, goggles, and snowpants so we were ready to hit the slopes! Unfortunately, we were participating in a "Kea Club" lesson which met at 10:00 and we got to the mountain at 9:10 so we had a bit of time to spare. Jay and I got on our boots and went outside to wait. When 10:00 finally came around, we were separated by snowboarding and skiing. Then we went into different groups based on our skills. At first I was put in  level 3a. The instructor was from Argentina.

After waiting to make sure nobody else was coming, levels 3a, 3b, and 4 all did one run together to make sure everyone was in the right group based on how well we did. I was moved to 3b. The instructor was from Canada.

There were only four kids in 3b including me. We did a lot of runs down the same green (easy) slope. We worked on parallel turning which means that we go across the hill in large curves to control our speed. It was all really easy for me. 


Next we had lunch. It was Mac & Cheese that had been baked in a pan so it had a hard crust. It was really bland and not very appetizing. After I was done eating, I asked my instructor, Kim, if I could move to level 4. She said that she had been thinking of moving me. 


I did end up in 4. That was the perfect group for me. It was fun and hard, but not too challenging. We did backwards skiing which I know how to do, hockey stops which I am very good at, and go down the harder hills at a faster pace which was the perfect speed for me. My instructor's name was Valentine and he is from Russia.

After many runs down several paths, one of the girls in my group got her ski caught in a small hill, did a front flip, and hurt her ankle. Fortunately, she felt better after just a little bit, but we went inside for a break anyways. Inside, my group all got hot chocolate and talked.

When we finished, we checked the time and found that it was five to four. The Kea Club ended at four so we didn't do anymore runs. The bus that Jay and I were taking back to the hotel also met at the parking lot at four so we got progress reports that our instructors filled out saying how well we did (Valentine said that if I go back tomorrow then I would be in level 5) and we headed off to the bus. Jay fell asleep on the way back to the hotel.

We made it back and we met Dad. After starting this post, Dad and Jay left to return the ski stuff back to the place that we got it from. When they came back, Dad had a surprise for me. He had booked us for The Ledge Bungy for tomorrow!!!! I am so excited!

After another reception, Dad, Jay, and I wandered around town for a bit looking for something for dinner. we had almost decided on a place when we turned a corner and saw Fergburger, a world famous burger place. We decided to go there. We got two burgers to share because the burgers looked huge. The three of us decided to get The Fergburger with swiss cheese and The Bombay Chicken Burger and fries. They were all good but the Fergburger was the best. Even with the three of us eating, we only finished one and 3/4 of the two burgers.

We are now at the hotel about to go to bed. I will add pictures later.