Learn to Snowboard – Complete

Today was my third day of snowboarding and I consider it a remarkable success in comparison with the other two days. Certainly less painful. Sure there were still some harsh spills but over all I think I finally have grasped how to snowboard. We entered the day with 9-inches of freshly fallen snow. I started off snowboarding by myself as I worked on trying to better my heel slide. I found that it is much easier to find your way down a mountain when you can see where you are going. My iPod kept me company with an interesting mix of Hillsong United, Rage Against the Machine and some Motown.

After a couple of runs on the green trails, I met up with my group at lunch and asked two of them to go on a couple of runs with me in the afternoon. We started off on some greens and then moved onto a few blue trails. After a while they went on to more advanced runs and I continued on by myself. I did another run or two and then accidentally bumped into my group on a blue run. They boarded with me for a while and were very complementary by telling me how much I had improved. I could still not keep up with them but I was able to make turns and shift from heel to toe without falling. After they moved on, I completed a very icy hill, which some of my group spotted me trying to survive from their chair lift. I decided to call it a day and headed in. As I entered the lodge I was met with cheers from my friends who had already made it back in, and half of them were impressed I was still alive.

The third day was certainly necessary as I did not feel comfortable crossing this experience off my list yesterday. Perseverance was definitely needed as my learning class was whittled down.  I have not at this point decided if I will ski or snowboard next time I hit the slopes. But it is certainly nice to know I have options. I would certainly welcome the opportunity to get better. For now though, I consider item number seven complete. As soon as I figure out how to post a slide show on here, I will add some more pictures and even a short video.