snowboarding in madarao... day 1 : January 11 2025

we arrived at the area early morning. expected to arrive at 7:30 am-ish, but actually reached around 6 am. but just look at that sight, snow in here must have been stacked for a meter at least. that is a good sign, snowboarding will not hurt that much in thick snow, i suppose.

with so little sleep and knowing how strenuous the day would be, we decided to avail of the early check-in option. we were just thankful that there were still rooms available for if not, this option would not be possible. we were led to our rooms and decided to sleep in until the rental shops open at around 9 am. the view outside our room were just spectacular, it sure looks cold. this snowboard beginner just can't wait to ride the snow.

after the much needed sleep, our moods had totally changed. when earlier we were a bit grumpy, now we were all but excitement. hotels in snow resorts tend to get dated, but that is totally fine. when your main goal for the trip is the great outdoors, the hotels will just be used for sleeping in. we were finally ushered to the rental shop, i only needed boots and a board. oh, and goggles too! it will be my first using goggles though, i had pretty bad experiences with goggles before, they get misty so i couldn't see a thing. but this goggles i rented this time was never foggy, and that shielded my eyes from the white snow glare. oh, how much was i struggling back then?

on the way to the mountain slopes! it was around 200 meters away from our hotel. the only bad thing though was the slightly uphill walk on the road.

and here is my board on the first slope downhill. i guess this shot is mandatory for beginners like me, i just needed proof that i did it. look at how clean that board is, this was taken before all the rides and stumbles down the mountain after all. but allow me to talk about the snowboard experience tomorrow. for today, let me talk about all the non-sliding activities on madarao snow resort.

and that includes food! we had lunch in restaurant heidi, for all older anime enthusiasts out there this is quite a fitting name for something up the mountains. just look at how wide that area was, of course this seemed to be the go to restaurant for all snow enthusiasts in this mountain, they cater to thousands of people daily i suppose. it was more like a canteen, you go to the food section, take the food you want, and line up at the cashier at the end to pay for all things on your tray.

the food had a wide selection of japanese soba, udon, and ramen, spaghetti varieties, curry varieties, and rice topped with meat varieties. they also had dessert and coffee. this tray of mine just showed how hungry i was after just a couple of kilometers of snowboarding. it is really an energy hungry activity. after lunch, we challenged the mountains again. but let me talk more about that tomorrow.

we went back to the hotel for a dinner of miso based stew of meats and vegetable. it was a much needed comfort food for the cold weather. the hotel also had a warm communal bath which we happily soaked in. most hotels in snow resorts will usually have an onsen or a simple hot tub to warm the cold bodies. we ended our night with alcohol and snacks. my friends there with me brought snacks from the philippines which brought childhood nostalgia. if the hotel rooms were just a little padded, we could have played some card games, but this hotel was not that type. we could clearly here all the ruckus from our neighbors, and we do not want to disturb them at all. day one ended with nostalgia.

as always, AMPING KANUNAY!