We had a second super day of skiing today. We both woke up early today and yesterday but managed to ski all day and stay awake in the evening. Hope that we can mostly skip jet lag..... We saw a patch of blue yesterday but not today - though the visibility was good. The snow is incredible - dry and light and we like to ski the glades. It is truly incredible and we have never seen snow like this. .....I am so glad to finally see what Andrew does and where he does it. Last night he offered a seminar to all interested on avalanche awareness. He did a great job. He is good at getting the group to participate. That is the way I also preferred to teach - rather than just give the information... He did say that he is working so hard and needs to find some time to sleep. He has an office in a bigger village that is a five minute drive from here this year so every year there are changes and growth.
There are quite a few young people staying at Black Diamond that are taking photos or making videos. People trying to make a living following their passion. It is great to be here - skiing and meeting a few people.... The lodge here is wonderful - Japanese style with the wicker on the floor and quilted type mats to sleep on. Friendly people, lots of wood furniture, good food.... I must say though that the indoor heating is uneven. I don:t think that the windows are double glazed. But it is relatively warm except for the bathroom.
The main slopes are pretty easy terrain so we prefer the glades - going between these trees that have no leaves or more specifically no needles. It is not green trees but there are bamboo shoots coming out of the ground. There are no lines and the ticket checking is all automated and your ticket is read through your jacket. There is someone there sometimes with thin gloves and an almost bow and always a few words as you get on the lift or sometimes they sweep the chair or gondola free of snow. There are a lot of directions or instructions for the Japanese. Often there is a loud speaker giving information across some slope or sometimes a nice quiet female voice giving instruction as you get off the lift. Sometimes there is an area where you hear rap music or some other music. I am glad that I can not understand the Japanese - it reminds me of the safety regulations on a plane - they are always the same and constant.
Buying lunch is fun. Yesterday we looked at samples at a machine, paid the amount of money into the machine, received a ticket and then take it to a human being who then makes up the order. Today was a little different - all sorts of lines and you choose the line for the food that you want - soup, salad, ramen, pizza, steak, curry and then stand in that line. They put your item on the tray and then you go to pay. So many little ways to make it seem quite efficient and quite fast.
I had fun in the toilet at lunch today. Besides the heated seat, warm water bidet spray if you want, I pushed yet another button and presto I had air drying my behind. It seemed to have 5 levels of air pressure intensity. So even going to the toilet can be a cultural experience! And then some live kind of music to entertain the people during lunch.
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