testmeat photoblog

the highest point you can reach with a chairlift in gudauri was mount sadzele at 3276 metres. i went up there a few times and took the black run back down. i'm only just learning now it was a black run, as when i got my lift pass and asked for a map they gave me a black and white copy, so all of the pistes looked the same. it was actually really fun, it wasn't too steep, just pretty narrow so i got to practice some faster moves. it then merges onto (what i'm now learning is) a red run which was decidedly less fun. particularly on a snowboard as it flattens out and you have no choice but to walk. on my third time down i knew this walk was coming up, and saw a few guys ahead of me turn off before and take an off piste short cut. it seemed so much better than the alternative i decided to give it a go as well. there were a few tracks already in the soft, powdered snow, but i veered away from them carving a new route. that was my first mistake. i hit a rock i couldn't see and managed to painfully land full on the side of my arse. i paused a moment to catch my breath, took out my camera and shot this passing paraglider, before eventually pushing myself up and continuing. i could see the piste, full of walking snowboarders, and still felt convinced i'd made the right decision. i could see the powder stretching down in front of me before levelling out to rejoin the piste, so i knew that i had to build up a bit of speed to make it. my second mistake and third mistakes were a combination of my inexperience in snowboarding in deep snow and renting a fairly short board. i lost my balance on the way down and fell into the softest snow imaginable. i was probably 100 metres from the piste, in deep, flat powder snow, unable to stand and walk. so i ended up crawling along the snow, using my shins, arms and the board to spread my weight as much as i could to avoid sinking into the snow. it was as exhausting as it was embarrassing, and undoubtedly longer than the walk i was trying to avoid. powder snow is awesome, but it's a lot more fun without the rocks and the crawling.

i merged a couple of shots for this composition, here's one of the originals