My first two weeks as a lifty has been such a great experience. It’s been 2 weeks since my last post because I’ve been so busy on the mountain and too exhausted to do anything else.
I started work on June 14th with a week of training. That week consisted of A LOT of snowboarding, tubing in the tube park, getting to know my co-workers, and drinking free hot chocolate. (Free hot chocolate tastes so much better than regular hot chocolate). I made 39 instant friends that are all backpacking though New Zealand and will be working with me as a lifty all season. I think my favorite part of training was going through an evacuation procedure off the lift from 50 feet up in the air. We had to abseil down a rope and then get our “pretend guests” off as well. Then ski down of course. I felt like MacGyver! Abseiling off a lift is so much better than cleaning toilets…
Every morning we get to do avalanche control with the patrol and the maintenance crew. Last week was my first time to ever actually see an avalanche. And now it’s an every day occurrence. Avalanche control is before the mountain opens so the ski field is empty and its completely silent. It’s just you and the mountain. The sun is just starting to come up so it makes the snow glow, and then you see a roaring wave of white coming down towards you that just gets louder and louder until it settles over the rocks. It’s a beautiful way to start each morning.
My day begins at 5 am and ends at 7 pm. I get home and sometimes I am too tired to change out of my snowboarding clothes. I just fall on to the top of my bed and wait for my alarm to go off to do it all over again. My arms feel like noodles from shoveling so much through out the day. It’s great because I can’t afford an actual gym membership, but now the mountain is my gym. I’m constantly moving, shoveling, bumping chairlifts, snowboarding, climbing, and hiking uphill. It’s the best gym membership I’ve ever had.
Last year, there were 40 liftys and over 82 injuries between them. Everything from a crushed arm, to a cracked rib, to a sliced off finger. I'm just waiting for my special day. I'm already covered in the bruises but no serious injuries yet. I did get hooked to a chair lift with 2 kids on board and was dragged up about 8 feet by my glove. But that's already happened to 2 other liftys, so it's not anything out of the ordinary. I'm sure I'll have some interesting stories throughout the season.
During the first week, I got the first employee award for the season. The award was a nomination for a scholarship for 2,000 dollars to further myself in the Ski/Snowsport Industry in North America. Throughout the season they nominate a few people within the entire company (NZSki) and they get a chance to move to Canada or the USA to work at a resort. It’s such a big honor and for me to be the first nominee for the 2010 season is so exciting! The CEO of all the surrounding New Zealand Ski areas presented it to me last week and now when he sees me, he calls me by my first name. For the last 6 months I’ve felt like just another poor backpacker making my way across the country. It’s such a great feeling to know you aren’t invisible in a foreign country anymore. Now I am being recognized for something I worked so hard for.
Last night my boss took us to the bungee bridge for a barbeque and free bungee jumps. He drew names out of a hat and they got to jump free. My name wasn’t drawn but I didn’t mind since I jumped off the same bridge a few months ago with Katie. We got free dinner and drinks as well. It’s the most deserving beer I’ve ever had. As I drank each sip I knew I deserved it for all my hard work so it made the moment even better. A few liftys got to bungee free for jumping naked in (-3) degree weather. It was hilarious! I consider myself a daredevil, but jumping off a bridge naked at night while it’s snowing is not something I would ever consider.
Today is my first day off in 12 days and it feels so good to just relax and get stuff done. I've been playing guitar in my pajamas all day long and loving it. Tomorrow I get to ride all day with some friends. I still can’t believe I get to be lifty in New Zealand for the next 3 months. I ride up the lifts throughout the day and stare down in awe, knowing I’m about to snowboard back down the mountain…..and I’m getting paid for it! Paid to ride back down and keep smiles on all the skiers around me. I’m so thankful I have this job. I finally get paid next week and it will be over 800 dollars. I haven't had that kind of money in my bank account since I was on the North Island months ago. No shopping for me though....I'll still be eating oatmeal and broth for a long time. I need to SAVE SAVE SAVE for so many different things...hope this makes you smile Dad.
If it's not obvious, I am a very happy girl. Things are just getting better and better. Thank you for all the prayers!
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