Apex Alpine Adventures Part II: Hitting the Slopes

By Kevin Cheng and Michael Maruno

Day 2 Kev Narrative: Hoski was sober and the Mikes set out to make us some breakfast. With our engineering biological clocks working, though, most of us woke up and dressed an hour or so after the breakfast was prepared (I'm sure it would've tasted just fine an hour ago). After breakfast, we all prepared for a day of skiing. Getting on the multicolored ski suits, working out coupon deals for ski lift passes and ski lessons and other little details. Albert, having no head gear, decided on the burglar look and wrapped himself in multiple scarves making himself look more akin to someone who belongs in the desert at night that on the ski slopes.

Around 10am, we all made our way to the slopes. Hoski, Hougee, Maruno, Frances, Denise and Shirley took to the bunny hills for their lesson in wipe outs. Albert, Jesse and myself took to the nearest green hill to warm ourselves up and consequently, to the first of many blunders on the trip. As we headed down the slope, we came by a fork. Like the great skiers we are, we went down the blue slope.... fully intending to continue down the green one. This was not the least bit amusing to Albert, who'd never gone down a blue before (his exact words were too sensitive in nature and won't be printed here). We adjusted quickly, though and continued down.

One more hour before lunch time and the set time to meet with the beginners. We decided that was more than enough time to try the 5km green trail affectionately named "The Grandfather's Trail" just to see if it was a good trail to take the other guys on (disclaimer: the term "guys" here and anywhere else is used as an inclusive word and refers to both "guys" and "gals"). Up the four person ski lift we went, enjoying the view of skiers wiping out below us. Anyone who's skied before to any extent knows that a trip on a ski lift should be peaceful, quiet, and serene. Well it was... until we had to get off. I don't know what velocity the winds were blowing at but suffice it to say, when we finally got ourselves off the lift and onto a reasonably flat surface, our ski poles became a vital part of keeping ourselves stationery.

Although the Grandfather's Trail is supposed to be one of the easiest trails in Apex, one's often inclined to miss out the little details. One such detail: in order to get to the easy part, you must face the wind and cross a narrow path which branches off to several black and double black diamond slopes. Needless to say, when Albert and I each wiped out, we were not thinking happy thoughts. Eventually, we managed to get on our skis again and reached the meat of the trail.

The rest of the way down was uneventful and ended by the bunny hills where we watched (and took pictures) of the others learning the snow plow.

"At least I look good when I go down a hill."

Lunch consisted of last night's left-overs and if you were ambitious, a sandwich. Complementing the lunch was a Japanese cartoon movie someone had brought to the trip. Leaving little time for digestion, we were soon on our way once more with a far larger crowd. A trip down the Grandfather's Trail together and then we were all going our own ways, exploring every nook and cranny of Apex in groups of 2-5.

Maruno Narrative: Meanwhile, the "beginners" took on the subtlities of going through the routine of setting up our equipment rentals and lessons. After taking a few precautions (like having the right boot on the right foot) we went out and "hit" the slopes, some more litreally than others. After a few minutes of just getting used to the skies we (Frances, Hoski, Hougee, Brian Chan, and myself (Maruno)) ventured off and got started with our lessons. One of the first things that we learned was how to get up after we've fallen down ("Help I've fallen and I can't get up"). Unfortunately we (or I) didn't realize how often this would be helpful in the upcoming "adventures" we went on. The next step was to learn how to climb up hills and go down them and eventually come to the stop using a "snow plow". After a couple of tries at this our instructor directed us to the bunny hill and we took on the challenge of going down a steep (for some) hill in a zig-zag manner. After a few tries at the bunny hill our instructor left us to conquer the rest of the mountain (for the adventurous types) or to hone our skills on the bunny hills. Seeing that it was very close to lunch the whole group went to munch on sandwiches back at the lodge.

After lunch, being the thrill seekers that we were, and quite frankly being bored to death of the bunny hill, the "beginners" decided to take on the rest of the mountain and joined the "experts". Fortunately for the less skiing-inclined, the guys had planned a "light" day of skiing and the rest of the day was spent going down various runs. After hearing about the Grandfather's trail many of us (the beginners) were intrigued and we decided to hit the run. We all managed to get down the hill eventually after a few tumbles here and there. During the run down the trail, Hoski decided he was tired of going down hills snowplowing or paralleling (somewhat) in a zig-zag manner and decided he would gung-ho it and just tuck all the way down the hill. His motto for the day, "At least I look good when I go down a hill." Unfortunately, for the first while, stopping was another story. A couple of other common sights on the first day were glimpses of some weirdo wearing a muffler on his head, some guy in a bright red ski suit, many people falling (and possibly shouting/saying profanities afterwards) and a bunch of people having a good time.

After a brief break, most of us were treated to spaghetti provided by Frances, Jesse, and Kevin. Dishes were done and the late night activites began. Most of the night consisted of card games with gummie bears and/or casino chips for ante. Shirley ruled the night, cleaning out all of us with insane wagers which she always won. After some enlightening fortune telling from Jesse and his deck of cards, we played an elimination match of Jenga with Mah Jong pieces. Derek, one of the other guys on the trip, made the finals with Kevin and eventually won the title of Champion Mah Jong Jenga of the Cabin. Finally, those of us who hadn't showered yet decided to do so (now that there probably was hot water again) and we wrapped up for the night, expecting another full day of skiing. Stay tuned for Day 3/4....

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