It ended up being a blizzard, the weather kept getting worse and worse. Our lesson wasn't cancelled, it was still on at 12, but after only a few steps - having us scoot across on one ski, then the other, then going down the mountain a short ways on both skiies and having the instructor catch us at the bottom since we didn't know how to stop yet - we were told they were closing the mountain and our lesson was cancelled. Then we had to figure out how to ride the lift - not a chair lift but a little pole you hold and put between your legs and it pulls you up while you stand on your skiies - to get us back to the Cafe and the Shop to return all our stuff. Walking back to the shop was scary - couldn't see anything and it was a lot of work to carry the skiies and walk in the wind and snow back to the buildings.
Just when I got back to the rental shop to return my gear and get the stuff I had stored to get ready to leave, Charlotte, Emer, and two Kiwis we were staying with decided to leave in the first car, leaving Ashwin, Ruth, Zelda, Andrew, another Kiwi, and I to take the other car down. Ashwin and I just had to return our gear and process our refunds for the ski lift pass and lesson that we didn't get. Unfortunately, so did everyone else, and Ashwin got very turned around and lost out in the snow and took a lot longer to get back to the rental shop than I did. By the time he got back I had returned my stuff and processed my refund and was ready to go, worried about the weather and about being able to get down the mountain and back to our rental house.
We were told we wouldn't make it walking across the parking lot to the car and Andrew should go get the car and pull up outside the rental shop to pick us up. Because we had all rented ski gear we were all wearing sneakers and track pants and weren't really prepared for the snow and ice. So Andrew went to get the car while the girls waited and Ashwin finished returning his gear and getting his refund. When Andrew returned two of the ski personnel helped us get to the car. The wind was so strong and was blowing snow around, making it hard to see, and the ground was slippery and icy. I had borrowed ski goggles from a girl I was working with at work, so I was lucky and could mostly see, plus I had bought ski gloves and had a hat, but otherwise it was very cold and it was good the walk was so short. We got to the car and got in, then drove over to try to get on the road to go down and were in a queue of cars, waiting. We sat in queue and waited for a long time, ski personnel periodically coming to give us updates. The road was closed becuase of the weather, they were waiting for the weather to get better, they came to put chains on the car, but eventually, after about two hours of waiting and not moving they came by and told us we needed to go back to the ski shop as we wouldn't be getting down any time soon.
We had to get back out of the car into the snow, which was not something we were looking forward to. It was just as bad as before - cold, hard to see, slippery, windy. We made it back into the ski shop. After a short time there they decided they were moving everyone into the Cafe, where we would have access to food and bathrooms. The ski personnel formed a human chain between the two buildings to block the wind and the snow as much as possible. Once again, we had to go outside and walk from one building to another, but it was easier with the human chain blocking some of the wind.
We spent the next eight hours in the Cafe. We were given free french fries and hot beverages, and they also provided other food items - sandwiches, hot dishes - for purchase. It was pretty cold in the Cafe and we sat around a table with nothing to do and nothing with us to entertain ourselves. The weather kept looking worse and worse outside, as it turned to night and got dark and the snow kept falling and the wind blowing. They also stopped serving alcohol at 4pm and didn't give us advance notice! But we were safe, fed, and had bathrooms, so all things considered we had it pretty good.
They started running buses to move people out of the Cafe and down the mountain. We made it onto the last bus, at sometime around 10:30pm. The bus took at least an hour to get us down the mountain, then dropped us off at our rental house in town.
These pictures were taken when we first got to the mountain, while waiting for our ski lesson to start. I didn't take any after the blizzard had started - I didn't think I had an opportunity to actually capture what it was like. Ruth and Zelda have some that I'd like to try to get. Ruth also took a video of our ordeal that I'd like to get. For now, this is all I have....
