My relationship with snowboarding started in December of 1992. I was a skateboarder and had begun to see snowboards in the magazines and it had been mentioned by some friends how I should try it. The youth group I attended was going skiing for a few days after Christmas at Winterplace Ski Resort in West (by God) Virginia and my youth pastor invited me to come along. I decided to go with NO IDEA what was in store. I had to rent gear during the trip as most of the kids did; I honestly don’t think anyone owned their own skis or snowboards. The first day at the mountain, the rental shop was out of snowboards and I decided for some reason to rent skis. This was my only time EVER on skis actually and it lasted less than an hour to my memory. I’m sure the resort only owned 3-5 snowboards anyway. The second day there, I was one of the first people to the rental shop. The ski tech working asked if I was regular or goofy, I answered “regular” only for him to say “we only have a goofy set up.” My response that was fully dedicated to not skiing was, “I’ll take it!” I’m guessing he had no idea that he could adjust the bindings for me or perhaps he didn’t care that much. I rode my entire first day on what we call “switch,” meaning that instead of my left foot leading me down the hill (regular), my right foot led downhill first all day. I fell non-stop, did about 10k pushups because I fell so many times, maybe linked a couple of turns, and ABSOLUTELY fell in love that day. 

31 years later, I have decided to write about the emotion that snowboarding still gives me.

The night before a trip to the mountains, whether it’s a one day trip or a multi-day getaway, the pre-trip preparation is methodical. The excitement builds and some important questions need to be answered: 

• Which base layer combo am I choosing?
• How cold is it going to be?
• Do I need my cold weather mittens, or are my gloves enough?
• Does my board need to be waxed?
• Is all the hardware tightened?
• Which pants am I feeling?
• Which goggle lens will I need? 
• Which jacket is going to feel right for the weather and the vibe for the day?
• Are all of these options now in the bag that I’m taking?

Every year since I started snowboarding, at some point before the season starts I have a dream that I show up for my first day of the season and either don’t have my boots with me, or for some reason, have taken my bindings off and have forgotten to put them back on my board. 

I drove to Boone NC to ride Sugar Mountain with my friend Rocky when I was about 20, I got there to ride the night session – I was amped the entire way up. I got there, laced up my boots and was getting everything ready to walk to the lift and discovered I had forgotten my jacket! It was 15-20 degrees, the wind was ripping, and the only thing I had with me to help was a fleece. I rode for 3-4 hours in this fleece and have never forgotten a jacket since!

The drive up the mountain is sometimes an adventure in itself. Last week I took Asher up for the day at my favorite new (to me) mountain. Our drive time should have been around 2 hours and 15 minutes, but we were fortunate enough to have some fresh snow show up for us and the drive took nearly 4 hours. At times the road was impossible to see, so we followed the car in front of us, or the snowplow steaks that tell the plow drivers how far to the left or right they can go before they’re off the road. During this sometimes-stressful drive, I reminded myself and Asher that it was a good thing because it meant that we would have fresh snow when we got there! These drives are adventurous to me and actually, a lot of fun. Drives like that will take me back to riding in NC and WVa as a kid that was learning to drive in snow (ice), and the excitement I felt- even then- knowing that I was handling it JUST SO I could go ride with friends. The only time I have ever been a little concerned was on a Christmas eve trip to Keystone with my brother-in-law when we almost didn’t make it home because of the snowstorm that showed up as we were heading home. 

The first lift ride of the day is always exciting; I get to see how the snow looks from above, if  there are bare spots, if the mountain has good coverage,and whether or not the snow report from the mountain is telling the truth? I often wonder where the illusive snow stake is hidden so that the snow totals stay as high as possible. Is it hidden in a spot where they know that it drifts the highest off in some corner? On that first lift, I watch the people that ride or ski multiple times per week and everything they do is effortless, and then I also see the people here on vacation, trying to make the most of their time by going straight from the rental shop to the biggest park on the mountain, only to abuse their body and ego at the same time. 

The feeling of linking turns from top to bottom is something that never gets old. Some days it is effortless and flowy, and some days the snow is so deep that I have to pay attention to what I’m doing and my stance. Too far forward on the front foot on a powder day doesn’t work as well as it does on a day on the groomers in the spring. 

There is a point (for me anyway) when the side hits that feel big, are actually not that big at all. I will feel like I just boosted a big ollie in a video, but in reality I may have cleared a coffee cup. There are hits that surprise me with how they send me into the air as I try to not crank the windows (act like you’ve been here before man). I have made it a rule that I try to remember, “don’t leave the ground on the first day or two of the season.” I’m older now and I need to get my feet back under me and remember how to act on a snowboard again first. 

I don’t get to ride as much as I used to between the traffic, work, life, school, and all the other stuff that is going on. This makes the days that I do get to ride even more fun. I am more concerned with going up on a great snow day, not stressing over lift lines, and really enjoying the day. Nowadays, I do not like to wait in a lift  line for long, I like to do laps for 3-4 hours, go eat some tacos or a burger, and drink a coffee on the way home (before the traffic of course). 

My relationship with snowboarding slowed down pretty heavily after my friend Erik passed away. A couple years into that slow down, I was talking to Traci about how snowboarding just felt different now… and then I started laughing because I knew that if Erik heard me say something like that, he would make fun of me! So, I went snowboarding!

Snowboarding by myself is fun, but there is something even more fun about me and some friends smashing down the mountain like we’re 18 again – racing to see who can get to the lift first for the next run. 

If you haven’t done the thing you love in a while, this is your reminder to get out and go do it! 

Work will (probably) be there tomorrow. Go have fun!