Okay I can't say I LOVE snowboarding yet... but I can almost officially consider myself a snowboarder. I went two days in a row last weekend, sure that I was finally getting it down. I'm now dealing with pure stubborn determination. I will not let this sport beat me. I find myself a bit intimidated by the feeling of going 100 miles an hour straight down a mountain(let's face it, I probably go about 5 miles an hour at best)...and in one winter I have damaged my wrists, my thumb, my head, my knee, my neck, and let's not forget my poor tailbone. Nonetheless, I see a light at the end of the tunnel. Last Friday I managed to get 90% of the way down the mountain without falling, not to mention I had officially ridden almost every lift at Brighton. So I decided I needed to get in one more good day on Saturday to solidify my mad snowboarding skills.
Saturday was pretty good most of the day. It was beautiful. Sunny, but a little cold, and the snow was pretty nice up at the Canyons. I got in a few good runs in the morning, and by the afternoon Josh took me up to the big lift and we got in 3 runs before the end of the day. I was pretty beat by the second one, but I was so close to making it all the way without falling, so I decided one more run couldn't hurt anything. Whoops. I at least need to learn when to say when. I did great in all my weak spots and was cruising down the bottom of the mountain, when all of a sudden I apparently thought it would be a good idea to attempt a backwards somersault while going 2o mph (this time it really felt like 20... it might have been 10). To be fair, I was at least smart enough not to try this ridiculous feat on purpose... I just wasn't quick enough to realize I was a bit out of control and slow myself down. Or maybe I was trying to slow down... who knows when you all of a sudden find multiple parts of your body making contact with the ground multiple times. You tend to lose track of the particulars.
Either way, the doctor said I was fine. I was smart enough... or I guess lucky enough to spread out the impact, so instead of a broken neck I have a slightly sore neck and a big ugly bruise on my tailbone.
I know this may sound like a good reason to stop. But this is how I see it... if I didn't do any major damage with that fall, I'm sure with a board that's a little more my size and a quality helmet, I'm good to go.
