A day in the snow

I just got back from a business meeting in Utah and the next day my business partner Randy and I went snowboarding up at Solitude with no lines.  The weather was perfect, sunny and cool and perfect for playing in the snow. It was my first time ever to Snowboard and to be honest, I have always been afraid of snowboarding because of the possibility that I might re-injure my back after having two back surgeries in the early 90's. So for the last 12 years I have avoided any sports in the snow in total fear that a bad fall would put me under the knife again.  That was a dumb decision because I had no idea what I was missing for all these years.

After getting our boards and boots from the shop we hit the bunny slope, and one the first few runs i was frustrated on my lack of ability to gain control of my board. this seemed much harder thats i thought it would be. Then Randy told me that i really needed to dig in my rails deeper to gain control and that is when it all started to turn around and get better. After about 5 embarrassing runs, I was ready to move up and try something bigger. On the first run down a decent sized hill I only fell a few times and stayed at a medium speed most of the way. Then on the next few runs Randy and I went faster and I began to get the hang of it. It's kind of like surfing but much different on how you dig a rail and steer with your front foot. Randy was a great first time coach and we had a blast.

After some lunch of Chili beans and Pork sandwiches (dangerous when consumed together) in the lounge we went back to the slopes for more and eventually ended over at the jumps. I went first and took a few photos of Randy getting some air and on the next run he shot one of me getting baby-air. It wasn't very impressive but air none the less and it revealed how much room I have for improvement. The whole time I was there I was wishing that Ryan was with me. 

Over all, I loved snowboarding and cant believe it took me this long to try it out. I guess thats what the Push games are really all about, pushing you out of your comfort zone and commit to do something you never thought you would try. All I can say is that I can't wait to do it again, but next time it will be with my son.