NISEKO TOURISTS
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| James & Peter |
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| James & Chris |
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| Allen "Fancy Pants" and Greg |
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| When in Hokkaido, drink Sapporo! |
DOWNTOWN NISEKO
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| The Indians are everywhere! |
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| The Irish are everywhere, too! |
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| And snobbishly overpriced lattes are everywhere, too! |
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| There's a Bear Club in Niseko? Tee-hee! |
NISEKO MOUNTAIN RESORTS
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| Chris, my beloved |
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| Photo taken during a blizzard, that's why nobody's out. Except Hyperactive me. |
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| Trees on the slope make me panic. |
Greg was humming Edward Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance (The Graduation March) as we unclipped our snowboards for the last time on our first season in Niseko.
"You've graduated!" Greg enthused.
"Yes... I suppose I have!" I said. I have just completed Greg's Snowboard 101 For Snow-Deprived Hyperactive Filipino Gay Boys course(non-credit, non-diploma, non-license).
I did the Hirafu baby waddle slope a grand total of four times on our final day in Niseko. I used both my toe-side edge and heel-side edge. I showed my snowboard who's boss. I controlled its directions. I managed to do 360 degree turns. Eight times. By myself!!!
Snow is exotic to me. We only get two seasons in the Philippines: Wet and Dry. Baguio City possibly has the lowest average year-round temperature - and you can get by in Baguio with just two layers. I've only seen snow once before, in Squaw Valley. I was 16. I was travelling with my uncle Henry's family, who are not equipped, either, with a "winter instinct." I was wearing five layers of clothing in Niseko, including full thermal undergarments. In Squaw Valley, I wore a t-shirt, jacket, khaki trousers, white tube socks and a nice pair of Clarks school shoes that my Aunt Lina bought on sale from an outlet mall in Secaucus, New Jersey. My school shoes fell apart after half an hour in the snow.
(By the way, I just had to taste snow the first time I saw it. Tasted like coconut water.)
There were many things I was scared of, going into Niseko.
I was scared of the cold. I come from a country where people are used to wearing as few pieces of clothing as possible because of heat, humidity, traffic, etc. We don't "layer" - what's that?
I was scared of being unmasked as a poseur, because "snowboarding is for cool people." What if I were truly, madly, deeply uncool? Being Hyperactive, I'm more likely high strung and therefore panicky. Definitely a liability on the slopes, where I can hurt myself and other people.
But mostly, I was afraid that I wouldn't, for the entire holiday, be able to set aside my troubles with my residency in Hong Kong, employment, career, finances, etc. If I failed to eject myself from the dark depths of depression and inertia, I knew I'd make my friends miserable, too. And I'd have screwed up the entire holiday for everyone.
"You have a great sense of balance," Greg said as a way to encourge me to try using my heel-side edge, too. That way, the Philippine Snowboard Team wouldn't be boarding down slopes backwards only.
"You just made your way through a blizzard, on a very long run," Peter said. He saw that the confidence I built the past few days evaporated instantly when heavy snowfall made it impossible for me to see my snowboard - never mind my feet.
Allen was terrific with recording my every little progress on his iPhone. He was always the brightest spot of sunshine on the slopes. Upon arrival in Niseko, he bought a pair of roomy snowboard pants in a big, loud plaid print. That's how Allen got the nickname "Fancy Pants" throughout the trip. Allen perhaps hasn't done as many winter holidays as Greg or Peter or Chris, but his commitment to stamp his presence on the slopes inspired me.
By the end of my first season in Niseko, I was able to do two intermediate runs. I was scared shitless; the slopes were steep. I could swear that one looked almost vertical. But I had no choice once I started. It's not like you can quit a run midway, especially when gravity's doing its job. "Heel-toe-heel-toe..." I chanted as I made my way back to Hanazono without breaking any bones. Thank God.
Greg tried to stay a good 20 metres behind me the entire time. But at one point, he couldn't resist the lure of the "obstacle course" anymore; he needed to go towards the trees for a satisfying challenge. I did my best not to look for him because I knew that if I panicked, I'd surely forget my "Heel-toe-heel-toe" and promptly fall. I only had one direction: DOWN. But Greg, at his age 9almost half a century), is still doing crazy tricks on a snowboard. That is cool. If he isn't worried about any creaking joints or possibly breaking a bone, I shouldn't either.
"Heel-toe-heel-toe..."
When I finally finished two consecutive, breathtaking runs, I found Allen waiting at the base, filming me with his iPhone.
Peter was all congrats, doing his best to clap even whilst attached to his ski poles.
Chris did away with the après ski hot chocolate at Tanta-an and treated me to a celebratory pint of Sapporo, instead.
So it looks like I've graduated from being a Wannabe Snow Bunny to being a Snow Bunny-in-Training. Couldn't have happened if I weren't surrounded by people I love, at the time I needed them most. Pomp and circumstance, indeed.
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| James Gannaban, The Hyperactive Gay Boy™ |
// WITH AFFECTION,
THE HYPERACTIVE
SNOW BUNNY-IN-TRAINING™ //
