FALLS CREEK – LEARNING TO SKI AT 65 18th – 25th JULY, 2016

We wanted to do something really special to celebrate Joshua’s 40th Birthday. It had been twenty years since he skied in Canada and he absolutely loved it. He very willingly accepted our invitation to host him and his family for a few days in the snow.

Barry and I stayed in an all-inclusive lodge where he had once stayed before. It was a little basic but some of the meals were really nice. It quickly became obvious that the cook was drug addicted. On one occasion he was clearly desperate for a hit and his behaviour was quite manic. It had a real ‘Faulty Towers’ vibe. Barry had his own equipment but we rented mine from the ski shop. The ski clothes, unsurprisingly, were very basic black and made me feel like the Goodyear Blimp. Some of the ladies at the ski lodge were decked out in very fashionably styled attire that looked great despite the padding. If that wasn’t bad enough, I had to endure the terrifying ordeal of trying to move around on the snow wearing a pair of skis!

My first few ski lessons were a nightmare and I was simply unable to follow the instructions given. Nor could I dismount the chair lift without falling down on the ground. I doubted that I was ever going to get the hang of it but Barry obviously loved the whole experience of being in the snow and was really enjoying himself, so I refused to give in to my fear.

Although we were renting skis and boots for the girls, we bought them bargain ski clothes at Aldi and it was lovely to see their excitement when the bounded off the bus all rugged up in their warm clothes. The amount of luggage that came off the bus for Joshua, Lauren, Omega, Astrid and Isobel was astounding and it took Barry, Joshua and I over an hour to carry it up the four flights of stairs to their apartment. They even had one huge suitcase filled entirely with food.

The girls absolutely loved the snow. They couldn’t get enough of it. Taking them up on the ski lift on their first day of lessons was cause for much hilarity because farmor, predictably, fell down, while the girls just glided away. Conditions were almost blizzard-like that day and although Isobel took her lesson, Astrid absolutely refused to budge from the warmth and fun of the play room. By the end of her lesson, Isobel was skiing to a higher level than me.

It really warmed my heart to see how much Joshua enjoyed the experience and the way in which he so quickly regained his ski legs. He loved the night skiing so much that he managed to do the run down Wombat’s Ramble over ten times. Barry went down with him four times but retreated in exhaustion. Omega and Lauren also seemed to enjoy the whole snow experience.

In one of the most frightening 30 minutes of my life, Joshua and Barry escorted me down Wombat’s Ramble on a proper ski run. Not just Barry but also Joshua, was extraordinarily patient, caring and protective of me. I fell down countless times, my knees were buckling under me in fear, I prayed for it to be over, and yet the sensation of being so protected by the two men that I love most in the world, is a memory that I will treasure forever.

The time with Joshua and his family was over all too quickly but I was so impressed with Isobel’s natural prowess that I was determined to give her more opportunities to improve her skills. For my part, I continued to go down Wombat’s with Barry every morning and every afternoon for the next four days. I hated it. Every time I reached the beginning of the slope I was engulfed by fear. All I wanted to do was reach the end and stop. Yet I could actually feel a very gradual improvement. On our last day, Barry took me to the extraordinarily expensive resort clothing shop and fitted me out in haute couture of ski fashion. Clever man! Now of course I was obliged to return!