Day two of learning to become a snow queen, otherwise known as 'bring the pain'

I had been told by several people in the lead up to this ski trip that whilst skiing is relatively easy to pick up and run with, it takes quite some time to then actually get good at it whilst snowboarding on the other hand, is somewhat difficult to pick up, and you will hate it because you will be hurting from all the falls you take, but that once you've got it, you kick proverbial.

Today proved the hurting and hating part quite satisfactorily with a bend towards being an over-achiever. I spent a great deal of Valentines Day in quite an unpleasant amount of pain, coming close to tears on several occasions due to frustration and my sore knees and coccyx.

After a two hour lesson this morning where I practiced descending straight down on my toe edge, and going down on the heel edge in the falling leaf, I ascended with the group to the top of the mountain to have a go at my first blue run. After a few minor falls initially, I managed to get quite a bit of speed up... completely unintentionally... and then managed to pull off what I can only imagine was a spectacular forward somersault with a half twist that left me on my back, head down the mountain, with my beanie and glasses scattered some meters behind me. At this point I came to realise the value of having a ski helmet... Head Vs Mountain came up in a definite win for the mountain.

After a few self-pitying moments I managed to pick myself up, clean off the snow that had been hard-compacted onto my glasses, and carry on down the slope to where the team were waiting for me. We carried on for a bit (only a few uninteresting falls following) before a tricky left-then-right turn came up that I navigated disastrously. Coccyx, meet hard, compacted, thin layer of snow upon hard mountain-top... Coccyx Vs Mountain came up in another definite win for the mountain.

At some point further down the mountain, as I was nervously navigating my way down a reasonably easy slope (multiple falls, and an inability to control the board properly combined with a sudden drop off the cliff on one side of the run and a wall of rocks on the other makes for a nervous descent) right near the end of the run, a man on ski's, who I'm hoping can blame his ineptitude on his beginner-status, came up behind me and, in order to pass me, grabbed me by the waist and moved me out of the way, throwing off my precarious balance and slamming me down onto my knees. Knees Vs Mountain; yet another convincing win for the mountain.

So all in all, today was a day filled with pain, frustration, and almost-tears. But, a hot chocolate with Bailey's did help a little, and the great group of people I have managed to fall in with certainly made the day much better than it otherwise would have been. Now, laying in bed with my aching head, bruised knees, and bruised coccyx, I'm psyching myself up to tackle the mountain again tomorrow. It can't get any worse right? And besides, I have new ski gloves and goggles - that's got to make a difference!