Back to the Japan Niseko posts, by the third day, we were feeling more confident and decided to venture higher up the peak.

Morning ritual: I’d be the first one to get out of bed. So I’ll sneak out quietly to wash up without waking drea, and prepare some brekkie and hot water for the rest. I make myself a hot cup of coffee and that’s when the rest of the chalet starts to stir.

Over the kitchen island, Chris and Mich will start planning the day’s routes and runs.

Soon we all start to get ready and gear up, and make the long trek up to the ski lifts. And for the rest of the day till dark, we’re on the boards or on our bums.

But I must admit, was really proud of first-timers Kimmy, Drea and myself for tackling the blue and black runs. And we had blue and black bruised bums to prove it. Even if we were doing the “Falling Leaf” most of the way down, at least we gave it a solid attempt to stay up!

I really really enjoyed snowboarding, and hope I’m able to do it again sometime soon. Korea? China? Kashmir? Canada?