I should've had a great day. The sun was shining for the first time in about a week, it was warm enough to feel like a spring day and with how much I have been improving the day should've been perfect...but unfortunately it wasn't.
First, I couldn't stop sweating (I always wear layers and never sure how I am gonna feel out there); Second I wasn't feeling any of the runs we did, I was snowplowing pretty much everything and the hills just seemed so steep even though now, looking back I know they weren't. However, there was one hill that had this really steep part...so steep that when I snowplowed down and fell on my butt I couldn't stand back up! I was riding so bad that my housemates had to keep stopping and waiting which made me feel bad so then I felt worse. "How was that Emmie?" one of them asked me when I caught up to them "Alright I guess. Not really enjoying it, I really just want to go back." We were boarding at Gem Lake which is another part to Big White just over on the other side and it takes awhile to get over to. When they said boarding back over was the only way to get back I wanted to cry...I really just wanted to curl up into a ball until it was time to go to work. At this point I had already fallen about 3 times. The first time I was boarding along a cat track and I caught an edge. I fell face first with my arms splayed out in front of me, my helmet shook around and my goggles actually flew out of the grip on the back of my helmet and flew off. I checked my shoulder to make sure it wasn't dislocated as it was hurting. After that it just never stopped....I was not having fun.
It's been two days and I am still in quite a bit of pain and I have a really pretty purple bruise on my right leg that keeps getting darker everyday; it's not the only one that I have but it is the prettiest that's for sure.Not all my days out have been like this, most of them have been absolutely amazing!!! I am pretty much up every morning to at least go out for an hour and be home so I can relax, eat lunch and get ready for work. I am loving it so much I am actually going to bed thinking of riding...haha, I know right? We all know I am not a winter person and am usually overseas during the winter time but I really can't get enough of it here. It's been so sunny and warm here that our fresh dump we got last week -30cm over night and it snowed for a week so imagine how much we got - is just melting away. Don't get me wrong the sunshine and spring like weather is great, however this weather and fresh powder falling don't really go hand in hand, so I have decided to pray for a bit of a drop in temperature so I can have the powder back and accept the spring weather when it's actually spring time. Besides, I ride so much better in the powder - which I think the melting snow had an effect on my riding during my bad riding day. If there had been heaps of powder that day I probably wouldn't have the prettiest bruise right now haha. But no seriously it really changes things, I am not as afraid to fall, and it's really so much nicer and (I find) easier to ride; that is however unless you are going through the trees.
A few Saturday's ago my housemates and I went out pretty much first thing in the morning, and what a morning it was. The first run we went down was almost untouched and pretty empty, complete open range for us to play, it was an awesome first run and a great way to start off the morning. Our last run I followed Jocelyn through the trees branches waking my head and face - thank god for goggles and helmets. I'm not as fast as her so she was off to my left and hire up and I was just a bit lower than her. She was further up ahead and not exactly sure where she was an because of my speed I had to keep going down to the right instead of up to the left. "Fuck...what did I get myself into?" My famous question went through my head. " with my luck if I keep going right I'm gonna end up on a black diamond and then I'm really gonna be screwed. Shit. Jocelyn!!!!" There was so much powder and it was so heavy on my board. I fell a few times but it was hard to get my momentum after falling. At one point I was holding onto a tree branch, I was pulling myself as hard as a could - the powder was weighing my board down - I was trying to rock myself so I could get enough momentum to start up again. Another fall. "Ok...this is not fun anymore...this is way to much work...I don't know where Joce is and I want out of the trees!" Lol I was so frustrated and I had started to sweat from all this work and I had had enough.
Finally I see Joce sitting down in the powder waiting for me "sorry, I fell a few times." "That's ok" she replied and got up and kept going. "No wait up, please don't go ahead of me." But I caught up to her easier this time as she fell. "Joce do you know how to get out of these trees?" "Well the hill is right there," she pointed to the left"see, you can see everyone skiing past." I could and I really wanted to get back there. " We just have to find one of the paths that takes us back". So I followed her. I picked up speed...I bent my legs...up, down, left, right, left, up, down, small kicker right back onto the run. High five myself!!! Pretty stoked I'm confident enough to go through the trees and that I manage to go along these little paths that pick up speed an land kickers. I'm always so proud I land them but there has never been anyone to see me...that was however until the next day.
The next day I went out riding with Pete (Jocelyn's other half). "I heard you are a pretty good snowboarder." "Really?" I said surprised "who told you that?" "Jocelyn". Well that made me feel good until it came time to get of the lift and I lost my footing and almost took Pete down with me...him saying I was good jinxed me,..it was his fault. Anyways we were heading down the cat track to Happy Valley for lunch. At one point off to the right there is a small track through a few trees that goes down a bit, then comes up again and the drops a bit steeper and deeper and comes up into a kicker where you can get quit a bit of air. So I thought I would go that way - I had done it the day before - I bent my knees and basically let my board do the work, I got some good air and landed perfectly. High five myself!!! Then Pete said "emmie that was really good, you got some nice air and landed that nicely". Finally! Someone saw me! I could actually high five someone instead of myself! Oh happy days :)
A few days later we got Isam out for the first time. He had a blast, even though he face planted and ended up with a cut on his nose he reacted with "I love it!" When he got of the chair lift he made it over to us but he fell and started rolling down the hill. "Your supposes to put your board in first babe!" Lol it was soo funny.
Our friend Daisy (manager from the hostel in Kelowna) was up staying with us then and she is a begginer as well. After we got them down the small hill a few times we took them to a bigger one " I'm not going down there...I'm going to die." Daisy said from the top "you are not going to die" I reassured her just take your time. I won't leave you." She made it...it took awhile but she made it, and in one piece :)
I started writing this over a week ago so I am no longer in pain and my bruise is slowly disappearing. We had that amazing week of snow but it has been sunny for the last two weeks so everything has melted. It has been like spring here, it got to 14 degrees. I know, and all you guys are freezing your butts off back home. It's gotten icy and the runs have been shitty so I have been waiting patiently. If finally snowed yesterday but not much but today, it's been snowing all morning and we are getting a fresh layer of powder so I am super stoked. I can't wait to get back out there...two weeks to rest up and feeling fresh to ride :) One of my favourite things on the slopes is the chair lift. I know it
sounds strange but I have a tendency to go off in a trance. I look out
at everything in front of me, around me and below me, there is snow as
far as the eye can see and (after a snow) everything is pure white,
like a winter wonderland and you can ski/board anywhere. I mean yes
there are hills with names but from those hills there are ways through
the trees and this hill connects to that, and that hill connects to
that cat track...it really is amazing to see and watch as you are
traveling up...it literally is open range out there...so much freedom, its like a playground...and it's all mine.
Watching makes me so calm and riding it fills me with exhilaration.
Ride safe!!!
- My Beautiful Life -
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