What a fun, fun day! I spent most of the day skiing, just doing laps on corduroy and bumps for three+ hours. For those who have never been to Jack Frost, the parking is super convenient (as in, right next to the lifts which are at the top of the hill) and grabbing water would only have been easier if I ate snow. Temps rose, the sun was bright, the snow was soft - typical spring ski vibe.
Previous visits to JF this season with the family included tailgating complete with portable propane grill but my friend Katie and I skipped the hassle and ate bars for lunch.
Then came my snowboarding moment! (drumroll please) I could not schedule a lesson but rented boots and a board. My first thought was: the comfort of the boots alone could convince me to move over to the darkside! My second thought was: huh, snowboards are heavier than I thought. To clarify, the boards wasn't exactly HEAVY but it definitely had more weight than I expected. I picked up Katie's board and that was significantly lighter so it's probably a matter of being a rental and necessity for durability.
Given that the snow was getting really sticky and mashed potato-y (very technical term there) I wasn't expecting much momentum, in fact I was completely surprised when I buckled in (managed to get up!) and started to move. Yep, I was surprised - that is not lost on me and I'm chuckling as I type those words. Snowboarding may be the one thing in my life that has not fell victim to my propensity to overthink things. I really had not thought about the fact that I would need to SIT down to buckle into the bindings and that then, attached to the snowboard, I would need to STAND up. I am taking great pride in the fact that I was able to do this. I took two runs on the "Discovery" terrain (not even a run really), fell (not to hard, I have a lot of experience and know how to fall without sustaining injury), laughed at myself a lot, managed to shift my weight, even pivot and turn a little. I was better at going on my heels than forward on my toes. My take away was that it has a completely different feel than skiing (duh) and starting in the afternoon after days of XC skiing and a morning of downhill probably wasn't the best recipe for success (I was tired). I'm committed to doing it again - full on with morning lesson. Another take away is that it's a wonder to me how any snowboarder alights from the chairlift...I will definitely be face planting.