7 Days Later: A Little About My First Snowboarding Trip

On Monday, 21st December, 2009, I went to Mountain Creek, my sporting home, for winter sports, for that is where I learned to ski in the snow. This time, of course, it was not the skiing that I went for, though it was still for the snow. More particularly, it was World Snowboarding Day, and that gave me a free pass onto the slopes.

We were given snowboarding passes, equipment, lessons, and a lift ticket!

After about an hour and a half of lessons we hit the only slope where free previewers were allowed to go. It was fun, dealing with the undulating curves down the mountain slope, despite the disorienting feel of my head swinging to and fro -- my by was facing sideways, so my head was really going left and right, given the direction of my glide. Of course, I could not sustain that kind of a ride, and had no intention to, for I, as a control freak, wanted to first be able to control my flow -- if the flow can't be ours, it can't be, for I intend not to hit a tree and see floating stars.

Some parts of the slope were soft -- much of it, in fact, -- but the uncrowded part that we took had a hard, icy patch, towards the middle of the ride. Over there, I fell a lot more than once, or twice. The falls in the soft snow were always nice, but falls in the ice were a pain in my behind. I knew not any proper breafalls, for the snowboard's design -- a feature that had deterred me from snowboarding, all this time. Adapt my side breakfall to the board, I did not think too thoroughly, in the cold, and a back breakfall I had ruled out, given my skill, long ago. I, at one point, thought I had adapted my technique for falling to the side, but fell and realized that that fall made me roll, resulting in my hearing a snap in my arm, on my right side. I soon realized that such falls would be unwise -- more stunts, than prudent actions of the wise. So, I kept falling on the side of my behind, some times on the left, and some times on the right. It's a wonder that I finished the day walking upright.

In the days since that time I have warmed, and stretched, and stretched again, and then stretched again, till I got bored to the point that I wondered if I would stretch again. Persistent, preposterous, tenacious, asinine, whatever you choose to call it, I will pursue it till I can squat like I used to, and practice jumping like a Nordic ski jumper -- anything to shred the slopes made by man, or the Divine.

I shall hope to fully recover before this winter sports season's end is nigh, and while I still feel the tug on my hind, on the right, I still dream of jumping stairwells, walls, and anything high.

Mom, I know you said "Always use protection..."

...but I don't like the plastic bag!

I think I like the unprotected feel of the snowy slopes,
simply grinding away under my snowboard.