Today we went skiing. Well, not really. First of all we hired snowboards (they had one in my size, yay!) for a fairly measly 40 Zł each for 24 hours (about ?10 or AU$20). We met a nice guy, Donny, last night and he told us to head to Bialka, a ski village with some really good beginner and easy intermediate runs. Unfortunately, we had to wait 45mins to find a bus that went there, and it was an old, dodgy looking 16-seater minibus and we were a little sceptical. Nonetheless we got on board and half an hour later, with the assistance of a Polish skier who walked us in the right direction, we found the runs. We were expecting a dodgy little town operation, but it was a very professional setup with about half a dozen chairlifts and some more t-bar lifts, and a cool magnetic ticketing system like a Oyster card where you just scanned in for each lift ride. We got an unlimited 9am-4pm pass for 65 Zł (around $32 each). The runs were magnificent, and the snow was amazing. When you go skiing in Victoria, the snow is really wet and icy, and you end up drenched. Here, however, it brushes right off you and we just wore jeans and our regular jackets and didn't get cold at all. I didn't even bother with a beanie and Keeley just wore her earwarmers, and we were fine. This was just as well, as I spent the majority of the first hour on my bum while I tried to learn to snowboard (something I've never done) by trial and error. Fortunately I worked out the theory fairly quickly and once I gained a little confidence I was enjoying myself a lot. I did feel bad for holding up Keeley, as she knew how to snowboard and had the added benefit of practising last night, but once I knew what I was doing (after lunch) we weren't that far apart in speed and she didn't have to wait longer than a couple of minutes for me at the bottom. I was lacking a lot of technique, and I struggled to turn on my toes, but for one day I'm pretty happy with myself. It was enjoyable and that's the most important thing. My legs are very sore though; not only am I lacking general fitness but holding the standing position for over a kilometre at a time was not easy.
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