At some future social get-together with both hands and ten raised high I can no longer say “I HAVE NEVER been snowboarding.” But who really wants to win that game anyway? A free board rental and pass to Cascade Mountain Saturday cost me a weekend in Wisconsin at Sky Lodge Christian Camp with one-hundred Lake Forest-area highschoolers. Not too shabby, eh?
The weekend retreat added winter about an hour and a half after we arrived at Sky Lodge and nearly a foot of fresh powder appeared over night. The mountain was in sweet condition for a completely inexperienced boarder such as myself. Instead of waiting an hour and a half for lessons a fellow leader Graham suggested to “just get on a lift and do it.” I proceeded to eat snow on my way off the chair lift and spent the next hour and a half sliding, scooting, falling, and walking down the slope -- a humbling experience.
Post-lessons -- free, by the way -- my self-confidence was almost restored. The less-than-enthusiastic instructor taught me how to stop and turn and get off a chair lift; the essentials. During the first bunny-hill ride I successfully executed the newly learned maneuvers and gained enough confidence to brush off a head-over-board spill that earned a lunch break.
SHYG leader, RA and teammate Ashleigh took me out after the bite for some more attempts on slopes that were out of my comfort zone; mentally and physically. She taught me heel-side and toe-side and on the third run I gracefully coasted with a single-foot binding off the chair lift and carved my way down the mountain.
Sunday morning I woke up unusually aware of the many muscles of my body.
1 comment:
You did it! No broken bones, WOW! Beau will be proud of you. Jon as well. Will you go again sometime? Does Nick snowboard? Love you.
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