Snowboarding

I am so sore. My arms and shoulders are killing me; I seriously need a massage! AH!! However, snowboarding was SO much fun! Driving up wasn't bad at all. The roads were completely dry and the sun was out all day (rare!); the only downside was high winds. Yeah, the winds were pretty strong and I could feel it shake the car as I was driving. The winds on the slopes weren't terribly nice either; they blew the powder all over and it would hit you in the face (it sure hit Ryan in the face). It also blew us over! We were on the slopes and I had just finally stood up with both boots in the board when the wind picked up and just knocked me over! Stupid wind!

The beginners lessons, full day rental and full day lift ticket package wasn't too bad. Our instructor - Brandon or Brannon, I never found out - was pretty cool. Our bunny slope - too short and too packed, meaning it was too slick and hard for our boards to dig into the snow - wasn't too cool. Of course, being beginners, we kept falling down. HARD. Can we say 'ouch'? Yes, we can. That's why I'm so sore and I've got big ass, purple bruises - 3cm in diameter! - on my shins. Thank goodness I've got junk in the trunk otherwise my ass would be all black and blue, too! However, after boarding all day yesterday, my ass sure did feel bruised whenever I sat down too hard on my right cheek. Ow.

Our lesson was 2 hours. Ryan and I just couldn't get our turns right so our instructor told us to take to the slopes and then come back to the bunny slope and practice again. So we did. My boots made me feel like Bigfoot and we found out that we can still kinda dance in them but we just couldn't get low. Oh well, it's not like I was gonna wear them to a club anyways. The lift was fun, if not a little scary. I have a very slight fear of heights and, granted, it wasn't as bad as when we went up the Eiffel Tower, it was still pretty high up and your feet - one foot strapped into the board - were just dangling in empty air and there wasn't that much seat space and nothing to really keep you in besides your common sense. The second time up wasn't bad and I managed not to fall when I slid off the lift. Go me.

The first time up, we stood at the top debating which slope to take down. The right side or the left side? We ended up choosing the left side (if you're facing the lift) because it looked the softest and smallest. We managed to tumble down the slope and it went something like this: stand up, sliiiiiiiiide for about 10 feet - like, 2 seconds - fall. Repeat all the way down the hill. At some points we managed to go further than 10 feet and to stop without falling. It was so much better than the bunny slope because up there, the snow was much softer, thus providing more cushion when we would fall. And since it was actual powder, not all packed down and slick, it was a lot easier to dig our boards into the snow and practice our moves. I managed to get both boots in on several occasions and slide down for a while until I fell. I had the worst problem trying to stand up again with both boots in, but I managed on the second run. It's so frustrating though and oftimes I just unlocked one boot and stood up that way. Much easier and much more graceful. Around 4 o'clock, hordes of children poured into The Summit. (We were in Snoqualmie.) These weren't the really cute kids that were taking lessons earlier; they were little kids. These kids were in the early teenage range and can be such pains in the ass. After our last run, we got some hot cocoa and left; the entire place was overrun by very loud, mostly obnoxious and rude children.

My inner snow bunny has been temporarily appeased. We go snowboarding again on the 19th and this time, Dem's coming! Yay! Hopefully Mike'll come as well so we'll be an even number when we go up the lift.