a new first

i went snowboarding for the first time today. it was awesome. i loved almost every minute of it. and i didn't realize any of my snowboarding fears - disfiguring a small child, crashing into a tree, breaking a limb or piercing a critical organ.

brothers sam (snowboarding) and dave (skiing) hit the slopes while dad, mom, liz, baby rach and i took a first-timer's group lesson. my confidence grew as i had far greater success with snowboarding than i have ever experienced with surfing or skateboarding. by the time lunch rolled around, i was feeling optimistic about the green slopes (bunny hills).

however, the ascent on a prehistoric lift and unexpected slope supervision from sam and dave shook my budding security. i fell approximately every 20 ft and was pretty frustrated by my lack of expertise. but i did what i do best - turned on the determinator and got back on the lift with sam. i fell not as much the second time, but still had more film-worthy tumbles than i did successful runs. by the third attempt (a solo endeavor) i fell greater than 1, and fewer than 5, times.

speed proved to be a major problem for me. not in a drug-related way, but simply that my body prefers to snowboard parallel to the slope at all times. so i got going really fast. i would say, and it would be 92% true, that all of my falls on the last run were self-induced to prevent harmful collisions with large plants and small persons. they were less than comfortable and reminded me that, as i intend to try this sport again, i need to learn self-control on the slopes.

i left invigorated and exhausted.

other things i loved:
- that, in their 60's, my parents tried snowboarding for the first time
- seeing how happy sam and dave were on the slopes
- instructor sterling and how much he reminded me of friend filip
- that i walked away injury-free