Like a pig in mud

I’ve been trying to blog for months now. I wasn’t sure what to write about as I don’t have epic outdoor adventures to post about. I have been on some fun hikes, I am training for a marathon and I’ve been doing cool weekend activities, but none of that is very interesting. My corporate life is really all consuming. I work, a lot. I’m still not sure I love it, I’m not sure I want to be a lawyer and I know I miss the mountains more than anything. However, the reality is that I am enjoying aspects of life. I like that I’ve settled down in Melbourne, I like the friends I’ve made and that I’m using my brain. Though chatting to my friend Cara from Kashmir the other day reminded me of what I’m missing and that it’s easier than you think to fall into this life and think it’s necessary. Hopefully something more will happen for me soon-ish.

 

Today I do want to post as it’s snowing. LIKE REALLY SNOWING – 50cm in 48 hours!! More importantly, this weekend I headed up to the snow with a new friend who has seen snow twice and skied once. When we arrived late Friday night after a long roll up the Hume, a breath test by some police who assured me I was driving at more than 40km/hr at the old entry gate and after waiting for a truck clearing a mud slide on the road there wasn’t any snow. My friend seemed rather excited that there was no need to negotiate slippery slopes up the hill to the apartment.

After watching the Tour de France ride into a little town in the Alps of France where I stayed during my adventures this past summer and collapsing with tiredness after a long week in the office I slept pretty well Friday night. Waking up Saturday we were in a legitimately wild blizzard by anyone’s standards. It had snowed about 15 cm overnight but there was that classic snow/ice/wind combo that you only see in the Australian high country. With only the Big D and Summit trainer open I decided it wasn’t the best day to learn to teach someone to ski. Funnily enough just teaching someone to negotiate the snow to go for a walk was almost enough of an adventure. Ice in your face is apparently not that pleasant for someone not accustomed to it.

It snowed another 20cm as we watched Finding Nemo, a football game and ate delicious food. So, on Sunday, there was to be no excuses. Learn to ski day. Instead of forking out the $150 it would have cost for a lift ticket and hire for my friend I decided cross country skiing (on the parents’ skis) was a better option. After finding thermals a particularly feminine spotty neck warmer and old gear of mine that fitted we both headed outside the apartment in the still very windy icy world. My friend was surprisingly adept at plodding up the hill and started to get the hang of snowplough for the downhill, and so off we trundled down past the Big D, the General and all the lodges. It was a big success, I think, with only a few crashes for each of us. Most of these were into powder which was a nice cushion! A good intro into the snow.

One of the best things about this weekend was realising that the snow really is my environment. When you realise how difficult that kind of environment is for someone totally unused to it, it is increasingly apparent how comfortable I am up there. I’m happy. I’m relaxed. I feel good in the clothes I wear, fulfilled by the things I do and confident with the people I know up in the alternate universe that is a ski resort. I love showing someone the good things about that life and how it can be amazingly fun despite the cold, wet and windy inhospitable environment. So, this past weekend, has refreshed and re-inspired me to make sure I use what I’m doing now to find a way to live in my place, and to be who I want to be. Even if I have to wait.

 

Keep smiling!

 

Alex