Turning to the Dark Side

Yes, the rumours are true, I have finally turned to the dark side and joined the ranks of the two plank brigade. I am now a proud part time member of the school cross country skiing club. Now don’t for a minute think that I have forsaken my roots and left my board gathering dust; far from it, I have been snowboarding the last four days in a row, enjoying the delights of a tasty local dish, known as Japanese Pow Pow. However, living in an area that gets more snow in three days than England gets in a decade, I wanted to add another string to my snow cannon, and thus cross country skiing seemed like a plan.

Having only ever done it once before, I am complete beginner. I thought the transition from one plank to two would be easy, but it seemed that my six years of experience on snow counted for nothing, as my first attempts saw me falling and flailing all over the place, much to the amusement of my students. At one stage, the hilarity of my actions was so much that one of the students was actually rolling around in the snow in mirth at me.

However, after a few more attempts, I am now getting the hang of it, and I really look forward to cruising around the track after school each day. The 70 odd centimetres of snow covering the baseball field provides the perfect circuit for training; it’s certainly an excellent work out, (i.e. it’s bloody knackering) and I love being out in the snow. Depending on the conditions, I often spend an hour cross country skiing, and then hit one of the local ski areas for a night boarding session.

What with cross country skiing and snowboarding several times a week, plus plans for some backcountry hikes in March, with a possible Mount Fuji backcountry trip come spring in the pipeline, the future is bright, the future is white.