11/24/11
I typically enjoy heading up the hill on holidays. The crowds are usually away, and folks seem to be in a generally happier mood. This day was no exception, with the added bonus that I got to see my boardmates progress.
For her second day ever, Sierra made great strides. She did her second “learn to turn” lesson, and by accounts of her instructor she’s very close to “getting it” with regards to connecting turns. We have plans to head back up at least one more time before she goes home back east, so hopefully she’ll be able to do her S turns by then. On top of all this, she’s got the energy of a 13 year old girl, so despite the fact she took some pretty hard falls, she’s still really excited to go again.
As for Angy, she started making shorter S-turns on steeper terrain which is fantastic. The mental hurdle to handle the steeper stuff when you’re not feeling confident on your feet is pretty big. It doesn’t matter if you’re just starting out, or if you’ve been doing it a while, when you go to the next level in whatever progression you’re taking, there’s a lot of mind-work to do. It was awesome to watch her push through it.
As for me, I’ve be working a bit on buttering. It’s a balance shift, and my board really isn’t the type that’s made for it, but it can still be done. I need to work on doing it switch next time, something that hurts my head a little (see above about mind-work). But I’m excited by the prospect as well.