Why am I doing this?
I asked myself this question, over and over again this morning, after I strapped the snowboard to my feet. I had some absurd thought that learning a new sport, one in which an individual flies down a giant snow-covered mountain on a single, large board, would be a good idea.
It’s fun, I was told. Or, the learning curve is really steep, but it’s worth it once you get the hang of it. And then there was the, it’s so much cooler than skiing.
Let’s take a step back for a moment, so I can explain how I got here.
I have been a skier since I was four years old. I am comfortable on skis and can very competently go down any kind of terrain. I put my kids on skis when they were two years old, and yet somehow, all three ended up snowboarding (some younger than others). Everyone in my extended family skis or snowboards. It’s just what we do in the winter.
I love to ski, but I’m always looking for a new challenge. So I decided in the off-season, why not try snowboarding this winter?
I ask myself now, after my first full 90-minute snowboarding lesson, why didn’t I pick something easier, like chess, or fencing, maybe bobsledding? Did I have any idea what I was getting myself into?
Thanks to my sister, I was set up with great equipment, from the boots to the board. I had key padding, like wrist-guards built into my gloves, and most important, an industrial-level butt pad. That’s right, I was warned that I would fall hard, often on my behind, and that I needed the right armour to protect delicate parts.
So, I looked great this morning as I walked toward my adult beginner snowboarding class. When the instructors asked me my experience with a snowboard, I proudly said, none! I was a newbie. And my gosh, was I ever a newbie….
Putting on a snowboard, standing on a snowboard and moving on a snowboard is not intuitive. After a few more questions, the instructors figured out I’m a right-foot-forward, also known as “goofy.” That clearly was a perfect description of how I felt as the class begun.
I easily mastered the first challenges put to me. Strap the right foot to the board. Check. Place the left foot on the board just beside the binding. Easy, check. Bend the knees and shift the weight as both feet are on the board. Okay I can do this. Do 360 turns (on a flat surface) with the board. Wow I can do that too!
And now time to move. Try pushing off with the left foot behind and in front of the board. Push push glide. That worked too! Hike up, just a bit, up the hill, to start to feel how to move on the board. Hm…. That’s a bit harder. What, I’m supposed to actually move on this giant board?
What the ears hear, what the brain comprehends and what the rest of the body does don’t necessarily correspond. The very seasoned, wonderful and patient instructors showed me how to gently place my left foot on my board, look forward, bend my knees a bit and glide along a short distance.
First it took me a few minutes to get the confidence to try to move. My legs were like cement. My body seemed quite content to just stay put. One instructor asked me, “what’s your anxiety level right now?” I stood there, embarrassed, as I said, “very high!”
He laughed at me, told me to smile, and to just give it a try. I did. I relaxed a bit, smiled and let myself go. I moved two feet. I did it! I moved!
Somehow my instructors saw my accomplishment to move a couple of feet as a big deal, that I was ready for the next step – a big step: The Magic Carpet!
Surrounded by dozens of 3-5-year-old children on skis and snowboards, all of whom seemed to be flying down the hill with their 14 and 15-year-old expert instructors, there I stood at the precipice of the mountain. What is literally not even a beginner hill, really only a man-made hillock for beginners, I had to face my big fear: strap two feet to a giant board and move!
Lean on the toes. Lean on the heels. Slide. Push. Glide. Hips toward the trees. Turn! Stop! Everything seemed like a jumbled mush to me! I am a very logical person, and every instruction I was given made perfect sense. Keep my weight even and bend my knees. Deep breaths. Stay calm. Don’t panic as I start to move.
I learned today that I have muscles in the inner part of my thighs that I never knew existed. I also learned that when you are a novice, and one foot isn’t yet strapped in, you can very easily get your legs into the splits, while you, on your board, are traveling down the hill.
Pain. Searing pain.
Why am I doing this?
I sat down. On the children’s hill. As yet another 3-year-old flew past me. Could I get past the pain? Could I learn how to glide and stop with my toes then stop with my heels?
As I sat there, looking down the hill, my snowboard strapped to my feet in front of my me, memories of childbirth flashed in my head. I was set up in the perfect position to give birth, and with the pains shooting down my legs, the memories were vaguely familiar. But I digress.
I took a short break, with my patient, and really, so kind instructor, and because of her positive encouragement, and helping hand to haul me up, I gave it another try. Back to the top of the Magic Carpet.
I didn’t always go the right direction, I fell forwards and sideways and on my behind (thank you, butt pad!), but I made it down.
I even hiked further up the beginner hill (called ABC) to learn the preliminary stages of sliding down. That actually went okay. Is it normal that hiking up is easier than sliding down?
By the end of my 90-minute class, I was sweating profusely, slightly out of breath with legs that seemed more like Jell-0. My mother picked me up from my class (just like the 3-year-olds, it’s important that one’s mother drops you off and picks you up!), and I shuffled my way back to my locker to remove my gear.
Here’s a few things I learned on my first day of snowboarding:
- It’s a steep learning curve.
- Doing the splits on a snowboard is a bad idea.
- Padding on key spots of the body is very important.
- You need to multi-task: bend the knees, keep the weight even, look straight….
- Small children have a clear advantage, being closer to the ground.
- I am not so young anymore, and I have pain in previously unknown parts of my body.
- Success is very much determined by mind over matter. Don’t psyche myself out.
So, day one on a snowboard is complete. I did it! My level is closer to sub-beginner, I’m tired and in pain, but it was worth it. Will I go back tomorrow for my next lesson: yes!
Keep reading to follow my journey, as I write my Tales of a Snowboarding Novice.
