Generally, my family is about as far from "mainstream" as it gets. And I for one prefer it that way. However, Martha and I were given the opportunity to spend several days at a friend's cabin in Winter Park, Colorado and of course we jumped at the chance...and after much deliberation made the decision that we would venture out into the mysterious world of Winter Snow Sports.
We are Colorado summer people. We prefer winter but usually the activities that take place in Colorado during the winter months are organized, require a lot of money and are generally reserved for the white, upper middle class who would never even consider returning to Colorado during the summer to climb a fourteener covered in wildflowers and raft the unfrozen rivers and partake in serene nature away from crowds of tourists.
But in the spirit of open-mindedness we decided that we should at least give it a try. We're of the mindset that you should try (almost) everything at least once. And we decided that snowboarding, while popular among a smaller group of teeny boppers, was still uncommon enough for us.
Let me assure you, Martha and I are not "sporty" girls. We greatly enjoy athletic activity but usually anything that is organized or requires too much coordination is out (someone actually roped us into participating in a volleyball/basketball clinic at a girls school in Hoceima, Morocco...surely that was supposed to be a joke).
So we did it. We learned to snowboard. We may not be professionals but we had one goal in mind: get down the mountain without dying. You may notice the helmets we are wearing. They are the reason we do not have brain damage today. I thought surely I wouldn't knock my head into the side of a mountain but I can't even count the number of wipeouts we experienced (including nearly every time we exited the chairlift). Or explain to you how sore I still feel today.
Oh, but it was worth it. So. Much. Fun. I'm glad I tried it once and I would probably do it again although I do believe my winter sport of choice still remains good ol' sledding.
We are Colorado summer people. We prefer winter but usually the activities that take place in Colorado during the winter months are organized, require a lot of money and are generally reserved for the white, upper middle class who would never even consider returning to Colorado during the summer to climb a fourteener covered in wildflowers and raft the unfrozen rivers and partake in serene nature away from crowds of tourists.
But in the spirit of open-mindedness we decided that we should at least give it a try. We're of the mindset that you should try (almost) everything at least once. And we decided that snowboarding, while popular among a smaller group of teeny boppers, was still uncommon enough for us.
Let me assure you, Martha and I are not "sporty" girls. We greatly enjoy athletic activity but usually anything that is organized or requires too much coordination is out (someone actually roped us into participating in a volleyball/basketball clinic at a girls school in Hoceima, Morocco...surely that was supposed to be a joke).
So we did it. We learned to snowboard. We may not be professionals but we had one goal in mind: get down the mountain without dying. You may notice the helmets we are wearing. They are the reason we do not have brain damage today. I thought surely I wouldn't knock my head into the side of a mountain but I can't even count the number of wipeouts we experienced (including nearly every time we exited the chairlift). Or explain to you how sore I still feel today.
Oh, but it was worth it. So. Much. Fun. I'm glad I tried it once and I would probably do it again although I do believe my winter sport of choice still remains good ol' sledding.
(these snow angels are for Caleb!)
(we also enjoyed a day of snowshoe-ing through the woods which was much more true to character for us)
1 comment:
i am impressed. i was always scared to snowboard, considering every time i would try to skate board as a kid, i would fall. skiing was tough enough for me.
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