Owning the Mountain

Okay, well, I may not have "owned" the mountain, exactly, but I did rent it for a few hours and boy did it feel good!!!!!

When I was 14 I went on a several-day snowboarding trip with a well-to-do friend and her family (you tend to meet those people when you're immersed in the horse world). Now, I don't remember much about the trip, but I do remember this:

The first time down the mountain, I went down on my butt. I couldn't stand on the damn thing, let alone commense any sort of snowboarding-like activity. I fell and I fell and I fell. And then when I fell again I realized I was only half way down to the bottom, and I was exceedingly unhappy, not to mention in a lot of pain. When i finally reached the bottom, having aborted the board and choosing instead to walk the last 50 yards, my friend convinced me to go back up. To this day, I don't know how she managed it, because I was beyond frustrated with the sport, and more than ready to call it a day. But up we went to the top of the slope, and set off for another painful descent. I stood up and swung my arms to steady myself. And then....it clicked. I wasn't freestyling or anything, but I could stay up. And I could move. And I could steer, just a little bit. And I was in love. Snowboarding just felt...right.

But that love was short-lived. I never went back, although I had dreams of zooming down snowy peaks on a pretty regular basis. That is - I never went back...until this weekend. Thanks to the generous gifts I received at Christmas, I needed only a snowboard and boots and I was ready to roll. Would I remember what to do? Could one possibly pick up where one left off after a 14-year hiatus? I purchased a snowboarding lesson, but it didn't start for an hour. So....only one way to find out. Up we went to the top of the bunny slope, where I tumbled from the ski lift, strapped myself into my board, and stood up to see what would happen. A few minutes later, I was heel sliding with the best of them. Then I was shifting my weight to the front of the board to glide swiftly for a few seconds before halting my descent with another heel slide. Glide, arrest, glide, arrest, I made my way to the bottom of the slope. I was grinning so hard my cheeks hurt. I was in love again!

Over the course of the afternoon, I improved slightly to incorporate occasonal toe turns and slides (a maneuver that scares the ba-jesus out of me because I have to turn my back to the downhill slope). I tried the "alternate" bunny slope, and even attempted a blue course - the next level up to the bunny slope. Granted, by then I was so completely wiped out from my lingering cold that I focused on just getting down rather than challenging myself, but I did it nonetheless. Again, I wasn't freestyling or breaking the sound barrier, but I was happier than a pig in shit. It just felt...right.

I hope to go back many more times before this season is through. Brian is an avid skiier and is thrilled that I'm enjoying being on the mountain as much as he does. And me? Well, I think I just found another way to enjoy the great outdoors.

Up next is rock climbing. I have the shoes, and I have the gift certificates - let's see if it suites me as well as the powder does:-)