12/10/11
A very quick trip up the mountain this morning. It’s not snowed a whole lot so the trails were pretty hard pack and we both were feeling a little sketch with it it all, but the weather was nice and our primary goal was achieved:
The view this morning:
And this was the view less than 30 hours previous:
Thanks to the miracle of modern travel, we were able to go for a swim in the Gulf Coast of Florida one morning, and be thousands of miles away, and thousands of feet up in the mountains the next. That’s pretty damn cool…
Tag: Snowboarding
Board Report: Progression (Day 4)
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.
Board Report: A Boarder is Born (Day 3)
11/20/11
Decent snow, a lot more terrain, and best of all: a newbie. Today we took Angy’s niece up to Brighton for her first Snowboarding EVER. I’m always a little wary of introducing someone new to the sport as unless they’re of a particularly athletic talent the first day snowboarding is going to suck…a lot. Typically there’s lots of falling, a great deal of which is directly upon the tailbone, so by the end of the day it is very sore.
With this in mind, I usually try to get at least a two day commitment out of a new boarder before I’ll agree to take them up. With the commitment made, we dropped Sierra off for her first lesson and we went on our way. Two hours later I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I asked the two requisite questions: “Does you butt hurt?”, “YES!”. “Do you want to go again?”, “YES!”. It’s that second “YES” that’s key…and warms my heart. A Boarder is born.
Board Report: A Quick Morning (Day 2)
11/19/11
I decided to take a quick morning trip up the Canyon as Angy had to work this morning and the snow had come. 11″ of it as a matter of fact! Brighton looks totally different than how it did a week and a half ago, what a difference a few more inches can make (zing!).
The snow was soft and plentiful, and while not terribly deep I did get my pow float on somewhat. I was only up there for a few hours, and I did spend a goodly amount of time tweaking my bindings a boots. I decided to try loosening things up a bit as I’ve historically ridden very, very tightly but I’ve come to the conclusion that this might be holding me back. I imagine this experiment will take a few days to sort itself out.
The other reason for the short day is that I’ll be going again tomorrow, this time with Angy and her niece, who will be going for her first time. That should be a lot of fun…I hope she loves it as much as we have.
Board Report: Opening Day (Day 1)
I decided to do a quick post each day I hit the slopes. As this decision has come retroactively, we’ll see how past posting goes.
11/10/11 – Opening Day
First day Brighton is open for the season and it was surprising good…and crowded. I was fortunate enough to be there for opening day last year and it wasn’t nearly as crowded. It might had something to do with the fact that there was limited terrain so that there more more folks in a smaller space, but despite that it was a good time.
The snow was quite good, so long as we stayed on the trails and the temperature warmed up nicely. The best part about the day though was seeing how much Angy had progressed since last season. It’s kind of amazing how the human body/mind works, but the break has done her good. She’s riding with more confidence and control than even at the last day of last season, it was exciting to watch. It’ll be fun to watch her progress through the season.
As for myself, I was a little worried that my switch riding would suffer a bit, but my fears were unfounded and switch seems to come more naturally every time I ride…