Um, I have to tell you something…the last time I was on a snowboard was three years ago.
Which I know is pretty shameful. Especially because I live within easy reach of some pretty stellar winter recreation areas. But before you decide to storm my office and throw snowballs at my head, let’s get one thing straight. I didn’t take an intentional break from boarding some of the best snow on earth…it just kind of happened. Little by little, day by day, season by season until three years rolled by and this girl hadn’t hit the snow.
With that said, I’m happy to tell you that I went snowboarding at not one, but TWO of Western Montana’s ski areas last week. The first one I journeyed to was Lookout Pass on the Montana/Idaho border.
And I must tell you, Lookout is pretty awesome.
It has great terrain, fun snow and it’s super accessible from where I live. My snowboarding, on the other hand, was not awesome. While I (unintentionally) hit a couple of black diamond runs, I also ate it nearly every time I got off of the chairlift. And it’s not like it was a cute, dainty fall. It was more of a hardcore ricochet combined with a solid bounce off of the snow. You get the picture, right?
And while I absolutely loved boarding Lookout for the day and genuinely had an awesome time (it’s now one of my favorite places to ride), by the time I left I had developed an irrational fear of chairlifts.
Later in the week, I took my new found fear with me to Whitefish Mountain Resort.
Moments after meeting up with a couple of girlfriends who work at the resort, I blurted out my fear of chairlifts. In turn they connected me with Kris, my instructor for the afternoon, who was AWESOME. Not only did she teach me how to properly dismount from a chairlift without causing a scene, she also helped me successfully navigate a toe-turn without tumbling down the mountain.
By the end of the day, I was cruising down the slopes with a regained confidence and love of hitting the snow.
The point of this story?
I am now happily back in the snowboarding saddle.
So…who’s ready to ride?
TT
February 24, 2012
Related: Exclude, Flathead Corridor, Outdoor Fun, Whitefish, Winter Fun
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