Somehow an entire season has come and gone, almost without me knowing. I've been working a lot, and when I've played it's been up at the field where I work, so...things have just felt normal. Not noteworthy. But as I'm packing up to leave Ohau and continue onwards in my adventures, I realize I haven't shared very much about this winter and the past few months of my life. This post has been a long time coming, I guess, so I've pulled together a few snapshots and stories to sum up the season:
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| The shack at the top of the chairlift. Cory's domain. |
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| The view from the top shack. Lodge waitresses Katy and Mary on the lift. The mountain in the lake is Ben Ohau (this is important for later...) |
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| Boredom + extra snow = snow throne. Complete with homemade yarn beard. |
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| A refreshing change of scenery - hiking up the North Temple Valley with Cory and Lyn. So nice to get out in the bush again! |
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| Junction of North and South Temple Valleys. Looking down the South Valley. |
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| Another good adventure with Lyn - climbing Ben Ohau. Across the lake you can see the access road to the ski field. |
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| On the shoulder of Ben Ohau. Orientation: the ski field is above Lyn's head, access road zig-zags up by her left shoulder, the Lodge is right behind her, and the village (my house) is to the right of the small lake by the left edge of the photo. |
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| A cool perspective of the ski field, located in the snowy basin the center of the photo. Hemis, one of the best backcountry runs accessible from the field, is seen just to the left of the main bowl, just to the right of the little patch of cloud - like a straightaway between two ridges of rock. |
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| Happy Lyn and Happy Kendall. |
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| My favorite view. The river just says, "Come hither." |
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| Lake Ohau from Ben Ohau. |
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| It can be truly beautiful on days like this one, when it's not foggy or rainy. |
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| Rental shop on the mountain. |
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| Cafe. |
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| Base area on closing day. Not much snow left... My ticket office is between the snowboard bench (left) and the people (center). |
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| Fellow ticket tart Tamara jumping for joy that it's the last day of the season. |
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| View from the deck. |
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| That's our little ski field. No trees and almost no snow. |
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| Beginning of the season.... |
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| .....end of the season. |
Working at Ohau has definitely been a mixed bag. It was nice to have a winter after chasing summer for two years, but by the end of it I learned (rather, remembered) why I was chasing summer - I like sunlight and outdoor activities too much for me to be content with the darkness and limitations of winter. Every day was the same: wake up, press snooze on the alarm a couple times, go to work, snowboard on my lunch break when it wasn't too windy or foggy, come home from work, eat, sleep. Repeat. Not much variety or adventure that didn't have something to do with the ski field, at least until the end of the season when spring challenged winter's grip.
The people we worked with here are all fun to be around and interesting in their own respects, and it's been nice meeting new people. I found, however, that there were very few people who I really connected with, and it feels a bit strange to end the season without having gained more than a couple new friends. Maybe it's that everyone working here is on a transient, season-driven path, while my own path feels different somehow (but don't ask me how, because I don't really know, not yet).
I'll look back on this season fondly, but right now I'm very much looking forward to new things to come. When I finish writing this, I'll head back to my house, finish packing up my things, put the finishing touches on the cleaning, and hit the road again. Cory and I have a couple weeks left in New Zealand before we have to leave, so we're planning a last road trip to explore some more of the South Island. The plan is: Mt Cook, Moeraki Boulders, Dunedin, Southern Scenic Route, Invercargill, Te Anau, Queenstown. Boom. From Queenstown we'll sort out bank accounts and selling the car and other puttzy things before flying to .... Melbourne! It's a bit of a spontaneous move, and about as different from Ohau as you can get - city environment, lots of people and good food and culture and activity. Sounds refreshing. We've got working holiday visas that will let us stay in Australia for a year, though somehow I think we won't be there that long. I'm chasing summer again...
Love from the Southern Hemisphere!
