We left on Sat. morning and stopped at the Nagano Olympic cross country ski course for an afternoon of skiing. We chose the "easy" 5k course...and the downhills were incredibly steep. I can't imagine what the moderate and hard trails were like.
Here is Ian all bundled up for his first time in the snow:
Ryan volunteered to ski with 35-40# of Ian and backpack on his back. Ian is way too heavy for this to be comfortable for Ryan...although Ian had a great time.
We paid $4 to ski the course and each received a Nagano paraolympic jersey to wear. As you can see, the scenery was gorgeous.
If we closed our eyes, we could just imagine a stadium full of people ringing cowbells for us as we hit the final part of the trail. We let Ian out at this point so he could finally experience the snow.
He loved it! He actually managed to walk pretty well despite the 5# of layers he was wearing.
On Sunday, Ryan went downhill skiing with a bunch of friends. Here is his boss pointing to a vending machine on the hill. That's right, a vending machine. In Japan, you're almost always assured of having drink options nearby.
These pictures make me a tad jealous that I wasn't able to get up higher...
While they spent the day downhill skiing, Ian and I checked out the kid park on the hill. Ian's favorite part was the magic carpet ride. They had a conveyor belt that we stood on to get to the top of the kids' hill.
They also had sleds for us to use. Ian wasn't quite as excited about the sledding, but he tolerated it because he knew it meant another trip on the magic carpet.
We spent Mon. morning cross country skiing at an easier route, and then headed down the valley back to home. What a treat to have a weekend in the snow!
Looks like a great trip -- lots of snow fun. I can see why Ian liked the magic carpet.
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