7' Banks

Well Santa Clause brought me a snowboard for x mas... So after Brian and I moved up here and got settled in we decided to go try out the local mountain. It reminds me a lot of Wolf Creek the mountain I grew up skiing on. So we go Jan 1st, I strap in on the bunny hill (we don't even bother to buy a pass) and try to get my footing, let me paint you the picture... This mountain was excited because it had 1300 people on it and that was the largest number of 2007. There are more people on the bunny hill then the rest of the mountain, so not only am I trying to learn to snowboard but so are 500 other people. Brian did really well with me, he was very helpful and encouraging, but the entire time I'm doing this I'm thinking "I know how to ski why in the world am I on the bunny hill trying to learn to snowboard". Now I know skiing isn't as cool as snowboarding but I remember it being lots of fun. So I get tired of hiking up and down the bunny hill and Brian decides I should try the rope tow, so he goes to buy us passes. I get the hang of the rope tow still thinking why am I doing this if I know how to ski. So we leave after about 4 hours of snowboarding, and before we leave I tell Brian to take a run so he can tell me what the mountain is like. He comes back to the truck smiling like someone just gave him a million dollars, and tells me how much fun it is. So on the way back to North Fork we have a conversation about whether I should take the rest of the season and try to learn to snowboard or if I should just rent a pair of skis and see if I remember how to ski.

So we go up about a week later and I rent a set of skis, and we take the bunny hill all the way down, now let me remind you I haven't been skiing for almost 11 years. But I get ready to go trying to remember what I'm doing and Brian takes on down the hill. So I get going, and going, and going, still trying to remember if I remember what I'm suppose to do. I get to Brian and he is laughing his head off. He tells me that I look like a really big 12 year old trying to learn how to ski, and he's not so sure if this is a good idea. I tell him I will get the hang of things. So we go get on the chair lift and I don't scoot over enough so he can get on with me and we have to ride separate chairs up. Now on the way up I'm trying to remember the videos Dad had, about how to learn to ski, and all I can remember is the guy teaching how to get off the lift, when he tells you to put the tip of your skis up and wait, "no not yet, not yet, not yet" and I get off the lift just fine. The second run was better, the third run was even better. I could tell Brian was getting excited that I was able to, one keep up and two I didn't look like a beginner. So I'm feeling pretty comfortable, until we get to a cat walk type run which is so narrow that I basically have to snow plow the entire way, well at the start I didn't want to but I didn't want to go off the ledge, so get going to fast and I decide the easiest way to stop is to run into the snow bank. I do this the first time and Brian doesn't see it until the end when I'm trying to get up, I get composed, and try it again. I once again get going to fast and decide I should again stop by running into the bank, this time Brian sees it all and after I get up throws his hands up at me like WTF? I again compose myself and again end up in the bank, by this time Brian is concerned because one he doesn't know why I'm doing this and two because I look like an idiot. I finally get to him and he is more scared then mad and asks me what the hell is going on... I just laugh and tell him I was afraid of the ledge and didn't want to go off of it, so to stop I just ran into the bank. He thinks I'm crazy and asks me why I just didn't stop, I told him I didn't have enough room. Well all I can say is I didn't try the run again that day, but am still thinking about it. I will get it the next time we go and ski it like a pro, or end up in the bank again. :)

While I was typing this I had to laugh at myself, only god knows what my husband was thinking watching me ski into 7 foot tall banks three times. I have great pictures but can't find my USB cord to up load them to my computer. As soon as I find them I will post the pics.