The green run of death

A couple of weekends ago we went back to Jasper, this time with Ian and Lorn, to have another go at the bizarre sport of skiing. We spent the morning on the nursery slope, remastering the magic carpet and the snow plough:



Bearded fool and unknown man on the magic carpet




Bearded fool aka 'the milk tray man' takes on the slalom in a straight line


Wife of the bearded fool on the magic carpet...





...and showing him how its done







And after a couple of hours after that, Ian and Lorn decided we were ready for our first green slope. First we had to master the T bar, which was a skill in itself, but we got to the top relatively unscathed.

For the large group of you non-skiiers whose ranks we have only recently left, the green slopes are the easiest, with a gradient similar to the nursery slope, only about 20 times longer. The idea is that instead of going straight down, you zig-zag from side to side so you can control your speed. However, this requires the Skill of Turning, something it was evident that Richard and I hadn't mastered as I saw Richard disappearing into the middle distance, with Ian chasing after him. We both managed to make it down with a several falls and much help from Ian and Lorn. So next season, it's back to those nursery slopes to master turning, but at least we know a green slope is achievable.

Many thanks to Ian and Lorn for their help, patience, and ability to laugh at us.