Who's the man?!!!! :D

There aren't many days you can say this about, but today was about the awesome-est day I have had in a while. And just in case you didn't get it, to say that that was an understatement, would in itself be an understatement of some significant magnitude :). And given that yesterday had already been a brilliant day in its own right, this weekend has been the best I've probably ever had here!!

We went snow-boarding :). Well, I went snow-boarding, and another 7 rather reckless people with equally little clue about sliding on snow on board type things went skiing :D. Let me tell you one thing right at the outset, crashing out on a snow-board looks way cooler than on skis :)). No tangled legs, no bits and pieces flying off all over the place, just the cloud of freshly plowed snow :P.
My first attempt at this had been during my last trip here. I'd learned from that occasion and duly had my old 'Norway' gloves handy. And boy, do I now have respect for them or what!? But it must be said, I have made significant progress. Put it this way, that last time, I only made it down the slope one time, and during the entire painful length of it, I stopped several times. Only, my version of stopping then was to merely turn back, fall face forward on the slope and pretty much drag half the mountain side down till I ground to a stop :|. Yes, not very pretty. And of course my fingers bore the brunt of that trip. I forget how many strangers asked me on the way down if I was quite alright :|.

This time, I am very proud to say, I realised I can actually stop. As in properly! And in a very controlled manner make my way down even relatively steep slopes :D. I am obviously totally over the moon :D. What I haven't been able to do yet is let myself go and gather too much speed. As they say, you crawl before you can walk.
It helped that Kongsberg has a special, quite tiny, slope especially for beginners :D. And believe it or not! I was actually approached for advice on how to stop with a snowboard!!! By a Norwegian!!! Okay so she was like 2 years old or something. Maybe 8. But again, I was totally kicked :D. This is the land where people (I refuse to call them kids on ski-slopes :|) reaching about as high as your knee go sailing past with complete control on skis and snowboards, backwards, while you are trying to get back on your feet, yet again :|.

But what I really am glad about is the fact that I actually mustered the courage to go to the top of the proper slopes, and then make my way down the 2.2 km 'easy' slope! Tell you what? Felt like 200 kms :|. But the views were so totally spectacular (when I was sprawled out on the snow and hence looking around instead of concentrating on not ending up sprawled out on the snow :|). If only my cam hadn't run out of battery half way down the slope :-<.
Yes, I am going to pay for this. Tomorrow, probably even the rest of the week :D. What with the bruised knees, ankle and wrist, and God knows how many other bruises that are yet to reveal themselves... But it was so totally worth it!! Now if only I can actually squeeze in another trip on Friday before I leave!!

Feeling: on top of the world :D
Listening to: Khaled Sara - Aisha