Snowboarding

Monday I went snowboarding for the first time. Elaine and I drove up to Blue Mountain, which is in Palmerton, PA north of Allentown.

I signed up for their first time ski & board package which included all the rentals I needed and access to unlimited lessons and the green hills.

We drove about 3 hours up there and arrived to get in line for tickets. Next time we will order online. We entered all or information into the rental computer and then walked over to get our shoes, board and helmet. Elaine went off to the lift and her first run while I spent a few hours with the high school boys who are the instructors. They were really great at helping me.

First I learned how to skate around with one foot in the bindings. I picked that up fairly quickly. Next we started learning J turns. I practiced that a bunch with one foot and then two feet strapped in. I moved on to the next station and started to learn how to traverse. This was really hard. I only practiced it once before Elaine asked if I was ready for lunch. We had a few bun-less burgers and sweet potato fries before I braved my first lift and green hill.

I managed getting on the lift no problem and got a few feet away before falling at the top. That first run down was a lot of falls though. I went 4 times total down the green hill. The line was really long for the lift or I would have done more. Sometimes Elaine came with me and other times I was by myself.

I couldn't stop turning heal side (ie. right) and would end up wiping out after coming all the way around fakie. I'm not quite ready for fakie! On the 3rd run I got going really well and ended up beating Elaine down the mountain (she was going to take my picture at the top and bottom but I made it down before she could strap in and turn the corner).

Since I had the problem going all the way around all the time I decided to go back to the lesson hill and try to work it out. Two of the guys watched me and diagnosed the problem. First, I was distributing my weight too far back. I need to bend my knees when I feel unstable, not lean back, which only brings the board around faster.

Second, I needed to find and feel the balance point on the board. So we spent the next 45 minutes practicing edging on both my heal and toe sides. Took a while but once it clicked I could do it with surprising confidence.

At this point both of us were ready to leave after a hard day on the slopes. I can't wait to get back and try to learn more. Special thanks to Diana for suggesting proper safety equipment. My butt still hurts but I'm sure I would have broken my wrists as I have a bad habit of catching my falls on my right hand.