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Yesterday I joined my friends Tom and Eileen for an early morning departure to New York State’s Belleayre Mountain in the Catskills. I accepted Tom’s invitation to join them because I feel like I missed out on a lot of fun as a kid by having non-skiing parents. I’ve decided to seize every opportunity I get now to be a kid. If only I still had the kid body!
After a few delays we got onto the slopes. (Please note if you plan on renting you need to go to the lower lodge; the first one you come to as you come into the park.) I noticed right away that this was a state resort with less capital than Okemo in Vermont. Granted it was also preseason, but everything just seemed toned down, which was great for me. This was my third time ever snowboarding and I did not need to be impressed, or to impress. I just wanted to see if I was making in progress after the clumsy runs at Okemo.
The first run was not great. Tom, an excellent skier, and Eileen, a great snowboarder, came down with me and were very patient, offering tips along the way. After a couple or runs I told them to go get some non-babysitting slope time in and join me later for lunch. I tried a few solo runs and could tell I was getting more confident, still a lot of falling and heel side sliding, but feeling more relaxed. Tom and Eileen came back sooner than I expected, claiming the upper runs were too slick. We took a break for lunch (note: I suggest bringing your own to Belleayre – what we ate was expensive and bad), rested for a bit and the returned to the slopes.
After lunch I made a lot of progress. I began to put turns together – the fun part of snowboarding, and enjoyed the compliments on my progress. With the increased confidence I also stopped worrying so much about what others were doing around me. I definitely wiped out a harder, but less frequently. By the end of the day I was spending a lot more time on the board than on my butt. At one point I asked Tom and Eileen if the slopes were getting icy and faster as the day went on. Eileen answered, “no, you’re getting faster because you’re getting better.” It feels nice to be getting better.
I’ve still got some butt busting falls ahead of me, but I’m good enough at it now to enjoy it and it’s just the beginning of the season! Maybe by the end of winter I will look like I know what I’m doing out there.
Lots of life metaphors were rolling through my head last night after the run, but I can’t seem to put them in words right now. And the one about practice has been stated and heard a biscrillion times.
