Shan Chong’s phone call had a simple reason: alcohol and a spur-of-the-moment decision.
#### Rewind to Half an Hour Ago
After a day of practice, the group didn’t go out to eat. Instead, each person grabbed a case of beer, ordered a bunch of skewers for delivery, and brought a couple of side dishes to the mountain, all in high spirits.
Seven or eight people sat around a small, shabby coffee table, playing a lively movie in the background. They chatted about life and gossip, mostly about the skiing community.
Someone suddenly mentioned a recent celebrity in the skiing world. As skiing became more popular, the community saw more and more eccentric characters.
This year, a female internet celebrity named Xue Li emerged. She was quite beautiful, and her social media was filled with photos of her posing with a snowboard. While others bundled up in layers to stay warm in the snow, she wore only sports bras, using the snowboard as a prop for her photos.
The term “Skiing Socialite,” abbreviated as “Ski Socialite,” likely originated from her.
Once, she got into an argument with someone who questioned whether she was there to ski or just to take photos, accusing her of not even knowing how to switch edges. She claimed she could hold a cup of coffee and ski down the Aven Avenue at the Xinjiang Silk Road Ski Resort without spilling a drop.
This quickly spread throughout the skiing community, and now everyone jokes, “Can you hold a cup of coffee without spilling a drop?”
It’s no wonder everyone made a joke out of it; she mentioned a few key terms:
First, Carving.
Everyone knows that carving is a technique that combines edge control and flatland tricks.
Being able to carve doesn’t necessarily make you an expert.
Being able to do flatland tricks doesn’t necessarily make you an expert.
But being able to combine carving and flatland tricks makes you an expert.
Carving is essentially extreme edge control. Although there’s no rule that your hand must touch the snow while carving, extreme edge control and body folding rely on the board’s inertia and elasticity, using the board’s reaction force to complete each edge switch.
Flatland tricks include various balance moves on the board, such as spins, jumps, and even flips.
Combining carving and flatland tricks is like a gymnast on a balance beam, influenced by inertia, centrifugal force, and jumps. Even an Olympic champion wouldn’t claim they could hold a cup of coffee without spilling a drop.
Shan Chong chuckled and commented, “Well, with a sealed Starbucks cup, I could carry ten.”
Second, Aven Avenue.
Aven Avenue, known as “Aven” in the skiing community, is famous. You might not know where the Winter Olympics venue is in Zhangjiakou Chongli, but you can’t know Aven Avenue in Xinjiang.
Aven Avenue was built in October 2010 when the Xinjiang Silk Road Ski Resort was just starting. They invited the famous Italian skier and Olympic champion, Aven Stick, as a project collaborator. Unfortunately, Aven was diagnosed with cancer and passed away during the project’s construction. To commemorate him, the ski resort named the most challenging and steepest slope “Aven” to honor his dedication to skiing until his last breath.
This is a high mountain slope with a 400-meter drop and a maximum 36-degree steep slope, certified for international alpine skiing events.
It’s said to be one of the top three most challenging slopes in China.
The slope starts with a gentle 25-degree incline, but at the steepest part, you can always see people sitting by the slope, contemplating how to get down.
This spot is also known as the “Life Reflection Point” of Aven Avenue.
Aven Avenue is a pilgrimage site for skiers.
People say that to prove your basic skiing skills, don’t just talk; ski down Aven in one go, and you’re considered graduated.
This joke about Aven was initially just a casual mention, but someone got excited and boasted, “I heard Aven’s steepness is similar to our mountain’s advanced H slope. It’s nothing special. If I go, I might not hold a cup of coffee, but I can at least carve down.”
Lao Yan, hearing this, couldn’t resist. He changed his posture, tilted his head, and said, “Really? If you blow this out of proportion, it won’t be good.”
“Yeah, how so?” the person boasted, “Let’s go? I’ll carve down Aven for you to see.”
Lao Yan and the person started arguing, and Bei Ci, listening, got interested and searched for Aven Avenue online.
He had been skiing for years, and every year, when the snow in the north wasn’t good at the end of the season, he would fly to Xinjiang to ski off-piste. He usually went to Altay General Mountain Ski Resort, passing by the Silk Road Ski Resort in Urumqi.
He had never been to Aven Avenue.
Mainly because he wasn’t focused on skiing techniques and had no particular desire to go.
But now, watching countless videos of people confidently starting down Aven, only to reach the Life Reflection Point and slide down on their butts, he couldn’t stop laughing.
“Let’s go to Xinjiang,” Bei Ci said, “Team building!”
Shan Chong took his phone, glanced at the video of someone tumbling down Aven, and tossed the phone back. “You won’t see this scene if you go.”
Bei Ci: “Why not?”
Shan Chong: “Aven might be steep, but if everyone here skis properly, at least we can stand and ski down.”
Bei Ci: “Are you complimenting us? Why does it sound sarcastic?”
Shan Chong: “Just reminding you not to mess around. Plane tickets aren’t free.”
Bei Ci: “I just want to see someone sliding down. Isn’t my junior sister still around?”
Listen to this senior brother. He didn’t think of Wei Zhi for anything good but immediately thought of her for this.
Imagine a little girl sliding down Aven on a sled. How cute!
Like elementary school kids in the snow park!
“Can’t you think of something good?”
Shan Chong didn’t even lift his eyelids at Bei Ci’s suggestion. “A few days ago, you were yelling about causing trouble for Wantong Hall because they took someone who couldn’t switch edges to the park. Now you want to take the same person to Aven. She’s unlucky to have met you guys.”
“Isn’t that why you’re here?” Bei Ci said without hesitation. “If you were watching, I’d dare take her to the park too.”
“……”