3 down, 27 to go… and my butt hurts.

I’m a skier.  I’ve been snow (and water) skiing since I was a little kid.  I guess that’s what happens when you grow up in Maine.  I think it’s a prerequisite.  Although I didn’t have a loving relationship with my skis right away, I did develop a fondness for them over the years.

 

 

I didn’t always like to ski.  I finally agreed to stop crying if they (my parents) would take this pic and then get me out of those horrible boots!

 

The relationship really became serious when I got a little older.  Ski Bus started in junior high – a field trip of sorts that would take us to Shawnee Peak every Friday night for 6 weeks.  In high school, we graduated to Saturdays at Sunday River.  Many a memory happened on those weekends – memories I will cherish with my ski friends for the rest of my life.  When I was invited to go with my dad and his friends on the “Guys Weekend” to Tuckerman’s Ravine my freshman year of high school, I jumped at the chance… and did it again a year later (carrying both my own equipment and much of my dad’s – he said it would be tough to carry his own stuff since he only weighed 130 pounds and just finished treatment for cancer 3 months before climbing Mt. Washington… wuss =).

 

 

Look at THOSE old straight skis!  You don’t see them made like THAT anymore!

 

When I met my husband, we started skiing together and we have a blast.  I’m a strong skier but he makes me look like I should still be riding the t-bar up the bunny slope!  Although I grew up skiing Sunday River, when I started dating John (cough*12yearsago*cough), I became a Sugarloafer (I love the staff name tags – “Sugarloafer since 1972″). We love spending time at the mountain, both during the winter ripping up the slopes, and the summer, hiking through the woods, looking for moose and relaxing in the middle of Nowhere, Maine population 1,800.  He proposed to me at Sugarloaf.  We’re serious about that mountain.

 

Don’t be jealous of our matching ski jackets.

 

ANYWAYS… that brings me to my list and this post.  I have been skiing for roughly 20 years (off and on depending on funds/time) and I have become increasingly aware of the number of snowboarders on the mountain.  For a long time, I didn’t get it.  I didn’t understand the appeal. At. All.

 

Exactly.

But now???  I’m jealous of how cool they all look, flying down on their unusually colorful board, looking really relaxed and wearing their boots which are WAY more comfy than the torture devices ski boots that we have to wear.  I wanted to be one of them.  Bad.  So… I put it on the list.

 

Now this goes back to the whole “I need to get over the not being good at things” thing and I realized that I might actually have to LEARN how to snowboard and I wouldn’t just magically hop onto this piece of flying fiberglass like it’s a magic carpet ride.  After we booked a 3 day trip to The Loaf and found that we had a free lesson with our package, I decided to sign up.  And wouldn’t you know, John decided to cause himself unnecessary pain give it a shot too!  So after 2 days of skiing (and a pulled muscle in my right leg) we headed to the rental desk and grabbed the board by the horns as we hiked up the bunny hill with our instructor.

 

Holy $hit it’s hard.

 

It didn’t help that I was sweating buckets by the time we reached the top of the hill and I had my right leg strapped into the board (apparently I’m a “goofy” rider) which was ALSO the leg that had a burning ring of fire wrapped around my calf.  All of this did not make it easy to do all these crazy maneuvers that you DON’T have to do on skis.

 

I didn’t try that.

 

Although I didn’t actually try to make it to the chairlift and down the whole slope (did I mention the burning pain in my leg?) I had an absolute blast learning the basics and I really do intend on trying it again (but NOT after skiing the two days before).  Here are some pics of my adventure:

 

I may be on my back but I’m still smiling!  I feel the need to preface that I had my neckwarmer tucked in my jacket making me look EXTRA fluffy.

 

My instructor was VERY patient.

 

I did actually get strapped into the board (which is terrifying to not have your feet free) and did the “falling leaf.”

 

Of course he was a friggin natural.

 

The end to a GREAT day/weekend.

 

Was I tearing down Black Diamond trails on my new fancy board?  No.  Did I skate over to the chairlift (and probably risk falling off my first ride up)?  No.   Did I think that no one was laughing at me as they rode up the chairlift watching my antics?  No.  Did I have an absolute blast learning something new and spending time with my amazing husband?  YES.

 

I didn’t look like this either but I’m still going to go ahead and say the day was a success!

 

I might not be hanging up my skis (which are much shapelier as compared to those in the pic above – the one of my skis, not the hot bods on the boards), but I do think I will give it another shot (probably at a smaller mountain down here in CT so I’m not giving up a day of awesome Loaf skiing).

 

Or maybe I’ll just snowboard this way.

 

 

Until then…

 

10. Give snowboarding a shot

 

I’m really sore.

 

When I hear somebody sigh, “Life is hard,” I am always tempted to ask, “Compared to what?” ~Sydney J. Harris