Hey everyone.
This is Aliyah.
Hey, it's Justine.
We are at the ski resort.
We are really excited to go skiing and snowboarding today.
Aaliyah has flown here all the way from Los Angeles to Apex Mountain here in BC and we are going to get ready to go skiing.
So, come with us on our adventure and see how we do on the ski hill.
» [music] [music] [music] » We started at 6:30 in the morning loading up the car with groceries and of course the skis.
I have a cargo box on the top of my car and we put the skis and the ski poles up in the cargo box and we also put Aaliyah's snowboard.
[music] We closed the box and we were ready to go.
» [music] [music] » The drive up to Apex Mountain is really beautiful.
We look over this big valley in the area and then as we get closer to the mountain there gets to be quite a bit of snow.
We enjoyed the drive up and then we spent the morning getting familiar [music] with our equipment and watching all of these incredible skiers enjoying the mountain.
» [music] [music] » Then we went inside of the building called the chalet for some lunch and a rest.
We just had a little rest and now we're ready to go back out onto the mountain.
But first, I have to do up my ski boots.
When we were resting, I loosened my boots so that my feet could wiggle inside of my boots and they could rest a little bit.
But now I need to tighten my boots.
I need to do them up.
Ski boots have lots of buckles.
These are called buckles and I need to snap the buckles into place.
This buckle doesn't feel tight enough, so I'm going to unbuckle it and then put it a little bit tighter and snap it into place again.
There's a little bar that clips into the clip and that one's too tight.
And then you can snap it back with your hand, with the palm of your hand.
I'm going to put the bar on the third clip and snap it back.
No, that's too tight.
The second clip is better.
There.
Now I need to put my ski pants down over top of my boots.
This is the ski pants liner and it has some elastic on it.
And this helps to keep the snow out.
And I put it right down over top of my buckles.
And then this is the outer liner.
This purple fabric is waterproof.
So, it keeps me warm and dry.
I also need to make sure that my helmet is buckled onto my head.
This buckle is a little bit different, but it's also called a buckle.
So, I buckle up my helmet and it makes a snapping sound.
And now my head is safe for when I go out onto the mountain.
I also need my mittens.
These are my brown mittens, and I like to tuck my mittens underneath my coat.
I like my wrists the wrist to be covered with fabric.
So, I put my mitten on and cover it with my coat.
There.
Now, my head and my hands, and my body, and my legs, and my feet are all ready to go skiing.
So, I'm going to be tightening up my snowboard boots.
They're kind of a little bit different from ski boots.
So, the important thing doing any snow board snow sports is that your boots are tight because if they're loose, it could be really dangerous.
You could hurt yourself.
Um so, tightening up your equipment is really important.
Instead of clips, they have this this wheel here.
This wheel is called a boa.
It's attached to these cable wires.
And instead of laces, in the past snowboard boots had laces, now it's really common to tighten with these cable wires.
You press it in and then you turn the wheel little by little and it tightens up the wire.
Just like laces.
But you don't have to pull them tight with your hands and make a knot.
All you do is you turn this wheel until you feel that your foot and your leg are secure.
So that I can't really like move this and open it anymore.
So that means it's nice and ready for me to go.
Now I will take this part of my snow pants.
It's just like Justine's.
Sometimes we call this a skirt.
And it also has the elastic and this prevents snow from coming inside of your pants.
Cuz then you would get really wet and cold.
And then I put the outer layer down.
I have a zipper on the back that lets me tighten the fabric.
And now this foot is ready to go into my snowboard.
You have to put your skis on these racks.
So this is a wooden rack and everybody leans their skis and snowboards up on the rack when they go inside for a bathroom break or for a rest.
So I need to grab my skis off of the rack.
And I also need my poles.
These are my ski poles.
Now I'm going to walk a little bit closer to the hill and put my skis on.
To put my skis on I take them apart by lifting one ski.
And then I throw the skis on the snow.
The skis have little grips on the bottom so that they don't slide away when you throw them on the snow.
So, when you put them on the snow, these grips keep the skis from sliding down the hill.
Now, I'm going to put my boots into the skis.
I need to knock the snow off of my boot first.
So, I knock my boots together.
And then, I clip my toe and push my heel into the ski.
Now, it's attached to my boot.
I'm going to do the same thing on the other one.
I'm going to knock the snow off of my boot.
And then, clip my toe and my heel into the ski.
And when you clip your ski when you clip your boot into the ski, these grippy parts flip up so that they're not pushing into the snow anymore.
Now, my ski can slide on the snow.
I put my hand through the loop and grab the pole with my hand.
And the same thing, I put my hand through this loop and hold the poles.
Now, I'm ready to ski.
See you later.
Bye.
So, I am also going to grab my snowboard off of the rack.
I kept it here while I was having some lunch.
So, I'll grab my snowboard like this and carry it to the edge of the hill.
Now, I can't stand up and attach myself to my snowboard like skiers.
I have to [snorts] do something different.
I have to actually sit down on the ground and strap in.
This is how I do my first foot.
I will put this piece » [snorts] » into the buckle.
And once it's in there, I push until it's completely tightened up around my ankle.
And this one goes this buckle goes » [snorts] » around my toes.
Okay.
So now I need to switch onto my bottom and put my other foot in.
Same buckle on this side.
Tighten, tighten, tighten.
Last buckle.
I'm completely strapped into my snowboard.
But I have to get up.
And I don't have anything like skis to stop me from sliding.
So I have to be ready for me to start sliding on the snow right away when I stand up.
I flipped over because I kind of find it easier to do it this way.
Now I'm up.
» [music] [music] » Right now [music] I'm on a chairlift.
This is a chair that lifts us up the mountain.
I'm wearing a blue helmet to protect my head and some blue goggles to protect my eyes and a purple head scarf to keep my head and my chin and my neck nice and warm.
I also have a big purple coat and some brown mittens for my hands.
Today, it is a beautiful sunny day here at Apex Mountain in British Columbia and I'm skiing down the mountain on the snow.
I am a beginner skier.
So, I'm not very good at skiing and it's a little bit scary.
I feel scared when I'm skiing.
But, I'm trying to get better at skiing so that I can have fun instead of feeling scared.
Look at all these amazing skiers and snowboarders on the mountain.
That's a kid.
That's a really good skier.
And it's really fun to watch everybody having fun on the mountain.
Look around at the trees and the snow and everybody enjoying their beautiful day at Apex Mountain.
Behind me is the area of the ski hill called the bunny hill.
I don't really know why it's called the bunny hill, but it's a small place that learners can go to learn how to ski.
You can see behind me people are being pulled up the hill slowly on a rubber carpet.
There's a carpet that moves slowly up the hill and people can stand on the carpet and it brings them up the hill so that you don't have to walk up the hill every time.
This video shows what the rubber carpet looks like.
It's also called the magic carpet.
And the magic carpet pulls the skiers and snowboarders up to the top of the bunny hill.
It looks like there's a dad and his child going up the magic carpet and they will be going up to the top and coming back down.
And there's a ski instructor with a little child coming down the hill making some nice turns.
The instructor is skiing backwards and the student is skiing forwards.
The student is screaming a little bit.
Hopefully they're having fun.
This is an instructor with a little girl who's learning how to ski.
She says, "I can't."
And the instructor says, "Of course you can."
And he gives her a pole to hold on to to help her feel more secure.
They're learning how to turn across the bunny hill.
And she does it.
Great job.
This area is a little terrain park.
A terrain park has jumps in it.
This one is a pretty small terrain park.
And it has little jumps and boxes for people to go on.
And that little skier did amazing.
That was great.
» [laughter] » That tiny little skier jumped over the box.
Here's another little kid.
Going to go over the box.
And this is our English language guide Aliya getting a snowboard lesson.
She's learning how to control her snowboard.
And the instructor is holding her hands to help her keep her balance.
It is very difficult to learn how to snowboard.
And Aliya's doing great.
Her instructor just gave her a high five.
And now they're talking about some things that Aliya can try next.
Aliya's making some great turns on her snowboard and learning how to control her speed when she needs to go slower and when she wants to go faster.
She's learning some great tips from her instructor.
Off she goes.
And this is me, Justine, on the bunny hill.
I like where it's nice and small so that I can feel more confident about my technique and just go nice and slow.
Now, I'm done skiing and it's time to take my skis off.
Another use for my poles is to help me take my skis off.
The tip of my pole fits in this little groove and I push down and it unclips my heel and then I can take out my toe.
And I'll do the same thing on this side.
I can push with my pole and it unclips my heel and then I can take out my toe.
Now, my feet are free and I'm ready to walk.
And after a long day, we can enjoy the hot tub and the beautiful view.
