It looked as if it would be an awesome end to the season, with some fresh powder for the final days at Remarks, and some glorious sunshine forecast for the last week at Mt Hutt. But with only one day of boarding left, i managed to dislocate my wrist, and get a heli of the mountain, before spending ten days and two operations in hospital.

Injuries aside, it had been a brilliant end to my first season. The Remarkables had a Spring festival, which included a pond skim competition, the return of the air bag, and the Bangers and Stash event. I entered the pond skim, wearing the all purple outfit kindly left behind by Ash, but was easily outclassed by some of the other entrants. Lacking a spare set of clothes, I was happy just to make it across the pond.

 

VLUU L100, M100 / Samsung L100, M100

The Stash is a run designed by Burton, that has loads of wood, rock, and concrete features. Every year there is a Bangers and Stash day, where people get drunk, eat sausages, and compete. Unfortunately it was the same day that the airbag returned, so after a couple of hours practising backies, I had missed out on all the sausage. It was still pretty sweet though and we were in the Stash well after the lifts closed, when the patrollers came and chucked us out.

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Although we had to say farewell to Chris, spring continued and the good weather kept coming. The slushy snow meant we could practice new tricks. I eventually landed back and front flips, but only one of each, as they are painful tricks to practice. There was a storm for the final weekend at Remarks, but Mt Hutt stays open one week longer, and the new snow should have made it a week to remember.

We planned to stay in Methven and drove there via Wanaka, where at Paul’s request, we visited Puzzle World. I can think of worse ways to spend a couple of hours. The highlight of the journey though, was the scenery. Lake Pukaki, and Lake Tekapo were stunning as ever, and the clear skies meant Mt Cook was in full view.

Methven was nothing to write home about, but Mt Hutt was sweet! The views were top notch, and I was genuinely excited when I saw the jump set up. Probably a little too excited. Having hit the second jump a few times, I couldn’t wait any longer to nail the third one. Even though Paul had already injured himself on it and had to go lay down in the car, I thought I was ready. Apparently I wasn’t.

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I didn’t take enough care to get the speed right, and ended up going way too fast. Realising this I didn’t pop off the lip, but still ended up too far down the landing, on a chopped up bit of snow, and with my balance well over my front foot. My last memory of it was planting my front foot and thinking, amazingly, that I could make it. Obviously this wasn’t the case, and I woke up to the sight of first aiders. I knew I was at Mt Hutt, but had no clue who I was with or how I had got there.

Thankfully my memory returned, but they insisted I take a helicopter and go to the hospital. In the end a dislocated wrist was the worst of it, which needed an operation to pop it back in and one more to wire some bones in place. I should be fixed soon enough, hopefully in time for a winter season in Europe.

After an epic 5 months, 94 days of skiing, and meeting an awesome bunch of people, I have finally left Queenstown… but will be back next season. I am currently waiting for my visa extension before I return home, just over one year since my departure.

Here is a video for you to enjoy. It’s the final mountain update from NZSki.com, where I don’t appear in the pond skim section, but I’m the second person on the airbag.