Hey, I can snowboard!
I went snowboarding for the first time this past Saturday (Feb. 10, 2007) at Mountain High. A few weeks ago, a friend said he and his coworkers were going and invited me along. I've always wanted to try it so I borrowed a snow jacket, snow pants, gloves and goggles from an old friend.
My friend picked me up at 4:30 am and we went to pick up his coworkers. We got everyone together (all seven of us) and hit the road an hour later. It was about a 2 hour drive from home. Luckily, I didn't have to drive.
We arrived at Mountain High about 7:30 am. The temperature was 50 degrees F. Pretty warm. There wasn't much snow on the lower mountain levels. My friend said that when they went last month, the temperature was close to zero and snow was everywhere.
We got in line for tickets. I bought the $69 Beginners Package which includes:
Conventional beginners package with a 1 hour and 45 minute lesson, rentals and an 8-Hour, lower mountain lift ticket (chairs 1, 2, 3, 10 & surface lifts)
My friend and another guy had their own snowboards and gear. Only one other guy had snowboarding experience but didn't have his own gear. For the rest of us, it was our first time snowboarding. We picked up our gear and headed up the "bunny slope". There really wasn't any "powder", just man-made stuff that was turning to ice because the weather was warm. That made some areas pretty firm (not like rock, but definitely not as soft as I hoped it would be).
The guys who knew what they were doing showed the rest of us how strap in our boots and gave us a few pointers. Fortunately for me, I took to it pretty well. Well enough for one of the guys to say I'd be wasting my time with the beginner lesson. Since I felt comfortable (and I didn't want to waste an hour and 45 min) I decided to just start taking the beginner lifts up the mountain.
The hardest part of the day for me was getting into the lift lines. You have to keep one foot strapped onto the board while you're in line. This made walking very awkward and I felt more strain on my legs doing this than actually snowboarding. Those chair lifts are cool. There you are, up in the air, no seat belts, with at big snowboard attached to one foot.
After a few runs on the beginner slopes, my friend and the other guy who has his own snowboard said we should try an intermediate run. I told them my pass limits me to just the beginner runs, but when we got to the lift, no employee was there to check so I slipped through a rope opening near the turnstile. So now I'm on my way up to the top of the mountain. It was exciting being up at the top, but I must admit, looking down was pretty scary for me. It was a pretty steep incline (for me that is) and I fell on my butt many times before reaching the middle area where it merged into the "bunny slopes". That was quite an experience.
Anyhow, my body paid the price for the day. My right knee was so overworked that I couldn't walk that night. My butt was sore and my left knee was bruised from falling. My arms and back were also sore from all the times I had to push myself up after a fall.
BUT ALL IN ALL, I HAD A GREAT TIME!
My friend picked me up at 4:30 am and we went to pick up his coworkers. We got everyone together (all seven of us) and hit the road an hour later. It was about a 2 hour drive from home. Luckily, I didn't have to drive.
We arrived at Mountain High about 7:30 am. The temperature was 50 degrees F. Pretty warm. There wasn't much snow on the lower mountain levels. My friend said that when they went last month, the temperature was close to zero and snow was everywhere.
We got in line for tickets. I bought the $69 Beginners Package which includes:
Conventional beginners package with a 1 hour and 45 minute lesson, rentals and an 8-Hour, lower mountain lift ticket (chairs 1, 2, 3, 10 & surface lifts)
My friend and another guy had their own snowboards and gear. Only one other guy had snowboarding experience but didn't have his own gear. For the rest of us, it was our first time snowboarding. We picked up our gear and headed up the "bunny slope". There really wasn't any "powder", just man-made stuff that was turning to ice because the weather was warm. That made some areas pretty firm (not like rock, but definitely not as soft as I hoped it would be).
The guys who knew what they were doing showed the rest of us how strap in our boots and gave us a few pointers. Fortunately for me, I took to it pretty well. Well enough for one of the guys to say I'd be wasting my time with the beginner lesson. Since I felt comfortable (and I didn't want to waste an hour and 45 min) I decided to just start taking the beginner lifts up the mountain.
The hardest part of the day for me was getting into the lift lines. You have to keep one foot strapped onto the board while you're in line. This made walking very awkward and I felt more strain on my legs doing this than actually snowboarding. Those chair lifts are cool. There you are, up in the air, no seat belts, with at big snowboard attached to one foot.
After a few runs on the beginner slopes, my friend and the other guy who has his own snowboard said we should try an intermediate run. I told them my pass limits me to just the beginner runs, but when we got to the lift, no employee was there to check so I slipped through a rope opening near the turnstile. So now I'm on my way up to the top of the mountain. It was exciting being up at the top, but I must admit, looking down was pretty scary for me. It was a pretty steep incline (for me that is) and I fell on my butt many times before reaching the middle area where it merged into the "bunny slopes". That was quite an experience.
Anyhow, my body paid the price for the day. My right knee was so overworked that I couldn't walk that night. My butt was sore and my left knee was bruised from falling. My arms and back were also sore from all the times I had to push myself up after a fall.
BUT ALL IN ALL, I HAD A GREAT TIME!
posted by bert wolfe at
9:35 PM
4 Comments:
This reminds me of when I went Cross Country Skiing in Vail Colorado. It took alot of stamina because there were no slopes just flat land so you used your arms alot. Plus, to turn the ski's around to go the opposite direction was quite a killer on my legs.
By
HotFudge, at 13 February, 2007 15:17
HF,
I tried skiing with Thane many, many years ago. I'm a much better snowboarder than skier. I do remember my legs aching and my shins cramping up. Screw the cross country skiing! I don't know how you could do that. However, it'd be nice to visit Vail sometime.
The funny thing about my ski outing was that when we got back to SD, Thane and I both had "raccoon eyes" because we were wearing sunglasses but no sunscreen. Ahhhh, facial sunburn. That's the ticket.
By
bert wolfe, at 19 February, 2007 17:57
Ah the old ski trips. I went for the first time in like 6 years last year. It was painful (well, only the boots, the boots are always painful for me for some reason). I remember the sole time going snowboarding long before that that was painful too; being a beginner falling is a requirement. Was fun though, now I have the hankering to try it again. Not much snow out there though this year. It's been too cold to snow.
By
mikshir, at 12 March, 2007 22:07
Only been skiing once, and I did enjoy it.
I remember "scotch guarding" the hell out of the clothes I'd be wearing for the trip.
By
ScregMan, at 22 March, 2007 19:03
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