Snowboarding/fallling

Here comes another firsties blog: Snowboarding!

Let's not jump straight to it though. First there was the "craigslisting" that I got to do. Another firstie, and that couldn't have gone any better either. It didn't take long finding the deal for a snowboard set (everything I needed included minus the boots and plus some snowboarding-appropriate clothing) for $325. Jake, the guy selling, was the chill surfer dude I expected. Tall, cut, tanned, and roughly bearded.

After about a 15 minute wait, Jake rolled into the Sports Chalet parking lot in a blue hatchback with a can of Monster in hand. Everything about him shouted sports junkie. I tested on the clothes, took a look at all the gear, and the deal ended up settling at $275 (or $274 if you deduct the dollar I found in the jacket pocket). It was nearly perfect except that everything ran a little bit large but still wearable. The snowboard was a free-ride 155cm Vision board, with bindings pre-installed. We shook hands, swapped  stuff, and drove off. It was a new and exciting experience.

The next day, I woke up at 6 AM and we headed towards Mount High. The conversations were hilarious and the view was beautiful. In no time we were there and up on the ski lifts. Being too prideful and not wanting to spend extra money, I tumbled my way down the slope. After that I picked things up rather quickly, and the falls became less and less frequent. The oversized board made things a slightly harder to control and maneuver. The few times I pulled off switch riding and did "crazy" spins, reinvigorated me to keep going and get back up no matter how hard a fall was. And those falls were definitely hard. I went home with my fair share of bruises and sore muscles.

Coaxed by my more experienced friend, we hit the advanced slope and that didn't turn out so good for me. It was rather embarrassing falling right back down after a recovery and awkwardly hopping the ramps. As I near the end, I thought it was over...until I saw the final slope. About twice as steep as anything yet. It was an adventure getting down it. A trek down the mountainside of Mount Everest itself.

It was the perfect day. From start to finish, my snowboarding trip was an absolute blast, and my friends and I are planning to go again real soon.