Today, I hopped on a snowboard for the very first time. After getting some help strapping in and pushing myself across the snow for half an hour, I was picked up by a` lift and face planted as soon as we arrived at the top. This was Mount Pico’s “bunny slope” with a distance of 500 feet and an elevation of 78 feet. It doesn’t sound like much but, for a non snowboarder…wait, let me restart….for a boy from Florida who has never seen snow before, this was quite a treat and it was intimidating that, just a month ago I had never seen snow and now I was about to push off on 18 inches thick snow and bullet down a hill without breaking an ankle.
I didn’t break any ankles.
I called Dad before renting gear and he said, “you’re gonna do great. You’ve surfed all of your life and you’ve trained all of your life with me to keep your ass on the ground and dig into the ground with your feet. Just think of it as Matt or Dan trying to push you over in Aikido class. You can hold three guys off from pushing you over…this is nothing.”
He was right.
I fell a dozen times but, after only 5 tries down the bunny slope, I didn’t fall and made it all of the way down. Stopping was another thing and, for now I can slow down a tad with my board but the ultimate braking method for me is to fall right on my ass and taste the delicious snowy powder as it gets jettisoned into my beard and face.
Elizabeth had her fancy gear and her ultra cool snow clothes that were broken in after two seasons of riding. I had my brand new, unused gear and a stupid smile on my face cause, “there’s so much snow!!!!!!”
Between 1 and 4 PM, I rode down 8 times, fell for the first 5 and on the last one, my knees, calves and ass were so sore that I had issues stabilizing the board. I did snowboard. I did survive and I did get my money worth. I’m in Florida next week but my snowboarding buddy has promised we’re going to do every Sunday until the season ends. I want to get my money worth on this gear and I want to get so good that a snowboard becomes a second pair of feet like it was on skates or my surfboard.
As a kid, I grew up surfing and in-line skating. Skaters got a lot of shit from skateboarders ( have no idea why) but I wasn’t an “aggressive in-liner”. I didn’t spend all day at the skate park (only part of the day) and instead opted for long distance skating. This involved 5-20 mile skating races with myself trying to get the best time. Of course, if the weather was nice, you’d see me out at the beach instead.
Now that I’m living in New Hampshire, it looks like snowboarding will be my new thing. There aren’t many waves around here. If I’m not snowboarding, I’ll be sledding in my back yard and enjoying the snow for as long as possible.
Elizabeth did a great job teaching me and I had an incredible day that started with delicious banana pancakes and bacon and ended with writing this blog post and editing photos. I ate a lot of powder but it was damn delicious! Happy Sunday!
A-W-E-S-O-M-E!!! :)
I KNOW!!!!!!! It was so freakin’ sweet! Gonna go as much as possible. So much freaking fun.
OMG! I freakin’ love snowboarding :) I wish I lived in a are where I could go snowboarding more often. It became an absolute passion since my first time in begging of the year. Cant wait for the next trip :) enjoy the snow :)
Hey viktor! The nearest slopes are a 15 minute drive. The nice ones are only 45 minutes. Just hop in the car, pay $30 abd you’re good!!!! Kind of like living in St Augustine and surfing every day.
Glad you had fun. Welcome to the cold but rewarding life in the Northeast. ;)
During my fours years of high school, we’d go on an annual (and for three of the four years, twice-annual) ski trip in the Poconos (in Pennsylvania). While not known to be as much fun as snowboarding by teenagers, I very much enjoyed skiing, and found the yearly professional lessons (part of our group package) very valuable. I really wish I could find some time, a buddy or two, head west or north of NYC, and hit the slopes again.
It was pretty awesome! I didn’t feel the cold at all with this awesome gear that covered every inch of me.
It doesn’t get any colder than nh or vermont!!! I’ve heard of poconos before. If you’re ever in new england, I have spare rooms. You’re welcome to stay.
Only comment from a lifelong snowsports guy, fricken wear a helmet Adam, you should know better.
I did! I took off the helmet for the photo taking. I totally promise the helmet was on tight.
then its all good, weeeeeee, everything else will heal, your brain won’t heal so wear a helmet and go for it!
remember, get to know those edges! front and back!
Snowboarding is fun and your first experience sounds a lot nicer than mine! Glad you liked it.
It was pretty rad! Thanks for stopping by and reading.
I’m glad you enjoyed it. Whenever I go snowboarding I usually end up getting so frustrated that I go back inside to my reading, etc.
Just not my thing, I guess.