Waiting games

This morning brought the earliest start to a ski day that I can remember. With snow falling since yesterday afternoon, Tom and I woke in time to catch the 8:05 shuttle to the mountain, expecting to find deep Japow. Joined by Jon, a fellow lodger from Sweden, we were riding our first lift by 8:20. And for our ambition, we were rewarded with a few inches of fresh snow on top of crust.

View from the Hakuba Powder Lodging porch during a rare break in the clouds

Crust, because the weather went downhill after Saturday’s snow and sun at Cortina. Tom and I skipped skiing on Sunday and apparently missed nothing but treacherous winds (other lodgers reported crawling along ridges and being knocked over by gusts). Monday brought heavy rain that wiped out a good portion of the snowpack. Tuesday brought light snow, but not nearly enough to compensate for Monday’s damage. But we had our fun, skiing with Jouni and Katja from the lodge as well as Kate from New Zealand and Andy and Sarah from the U.K. Fake falls, skiing like gapers, Jouni skiing while juggling snowballs. I even switched gear with Andy to snowboard for half a run. We (Tom, Jouni, Katja and I) closed out the day while waiting for the shuttle by playing What Sport Am I, in which we pantomimed various sports.

Games have become rather popular here in Hakuba. On the drive to Cortina on Saturday, Kirsti introduced Tom and me to the “Who’s Touching Me?” game. Much less sketchy than it sounds. One person closes his/her eyes, waits for another person to touch him/her, and then has to guess who did the touching. Who’s Touching Me has since spawned Who’s Feeding Me and What’s Hitting Me. Yesterday also brought the Who Can Get the Most Lift Rides With a Girl game.

The games have kept us entertained during the dearth of prime skiing. Hence the hope for good snow today. Alas, no such luck. Now the optimism shifts to tomorrow. Snow came down steadily all day, particularly at the higher elevations. Each run we found deeper snow, although the combination of clouds and snow made for limited visibility in the alpine. Snow was sketchier in the lower elevations, with a strange layer of frozen slush beneath the fresh stuff. By our last run, however, enough snow had accumulated in the woods to leave us feeling encouraged for tomorrow. And so, the waiting continues.

Jon finds hope for Thursday