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Sunday, February 22, 2009

Snowboarding


Today I went snowboarding for my very first time. I was super nervous and wasn't sure that I even wanted to do it, but I did it because not only did Derek's family buy me all of the gear, but I know how much it would mean to Derek if we could do something athletic together. After falling on my butt a lot and getting snow down my pants, and falling getting off of the ski lift, I have decided that it was totally worth it! I think that I am a boarder for life!

I ended up staying the night at Derek's house and getting up early so that we could beat the crowds. We headed up to Brighton and I started my class at 10:15, with Igor, the snowboard instructor. Igor was pretty cool, he is from Brazil and has been an instructor for a few years. We started off learning how to do the basics, like putting our feet in our bindings and doing the 1 foot in the binding and one foot out thing. We went down this little hill like that, and I honestly couldn't do it! I was getting really frustrated and nervous because the next step was heading up the ski lift. I am a wimp when it comes to riding the tram thingy at Lagoon, so I was pretty scared going up in it, luckily I was the odd person so I went with Igor. When getting off, I totally ate it! I was able to get up quickly though and get out of the way, which was a relief! My first time down was pretty scary and frustrating, I pretty much ended up going down on my butt the whole time!

After lunch we all headed back up to the bunny slope and Derek ended up giving me great tips and encouragement, which meant a lot, because I wasn't feeling very confident in my new abilities! I told Kevin and Cheryl that they could do their own thing because I felt like I was cramping their style, and after that I started doing pretty well. I fell really hard near the bottom and I bruised my butt really hard! After a few more times going down I started to get the hang of it and crashed a lot less and not nearly as hard!

It was a wonderful day and a wonderful experience. I can't wait to head up the mountain again once I heal! Below are some pictures that Kevin took for me.

Before my Class

Getting ready to fall

Doing pretty well, but I fell right after that!

Yep, I fell, but I had a great time doing it!

5 comments:

Becky said...

You are braver than me! Trent's trying to get me to ski or snowboard and I think he's finally coming to terms that I'll probably never go...

Zach and Meg said...

Thats so exciting! I love snowboarding so we should all go sometime! If I haven't gone in a while, it takes me a few falls to get the hang of it again. And, don't feel too bad about your first snowboarding trip....you will have to ask Zach about his. Lets just say it involves him and going down in a tobogan....

gina said...

Oh, did you have fun? Kari boards, but I've never tried it. I'm afraid that I would break something! Too old to start. Love ya!

Karen said...

It sounds like you are off to a great start! I don't think Kari will ever go back to just plain skiing! I'm glad you get to experience all this fun stuff now! Dereks family sounds awesome! Happy be-lated birthday! Love you!

Steph said...

Wow, that's so cool. I've been wanting to try snowboarding, but I never have the guts to do it. What a sweet birthday present. Happy belated b-day too!