First Time Snow Boarding

Emily and I just came back from our first day of snow boarding. Every single muscle in my body is aching, but I got away with no bruises. Emily has the inverse situation - no muscle aches but got bruises on her knees and butt.

We booked ourselves in for snowboarding lessons at the start of the day. Without those lessons, we would have come back very unhappy and with many more injuries. It is ridiculously easy to stack it (Aussie slang, see below) when riding a snowboard, but the lessons ensure you get down the slopes safely.

Mind you, there were plenty of falls in the lessons and later on during the day. They were just significantly less painful than they could have been. :) During the lessons I discovered that, when falling on to your butt, you should immediately roll on to your back like you are a ball. This reduces butt-impact significantly, and is far better than sticking your hands out behind you. I managed to come away from the day with my wrists and knees intact - quite an achievement considering the horror stories I'd been hearing. :P

The weather on Grouse Mountain was absolutely beautiful and surreal. We've had permanent fog in the downtown area for 4 days, so it's been cold and sunless for a while. Grouse Mountain was sunny and 17c! Some people were skiing or boarding in just pants and shirt. I was rubbing snow on my face and hands to cool down. The odd weather is called a "temperature inversion", and the fog in downtown will remain until it goes away.

The views from the slope are something very special. Many times I'd be partway down the slope, stop my board and just sit down to look at it. Visibility was unlimited and I think we could see at least 2 states south into the USA. At the base of the mountain was "cloud city" - enormous stretches of fog with just a few highrises and hills poking out of it. At nighttime we were still on slopes and you could see large patches of lights from the city glowing through the fog. I wish I had a camera with me, but I doubt a photo could do it justice. It was like sitting on the edge of the earth and looking down into the stars and space. Absolutely incredible.

Getting to Grouse Mountain is pretty easy; 30 minutes on the local bus network, and 30 minutes to wait for the tram ride to the mountain top. We have season passes for the tram ride, and get discounts for bringing guests. We'll be looking to buy our own snowboards and get up to the slopes again soon. :)

P.S. To "stack" is Aussie slang for crashing and/or falling off something accidentally or falling down. Usually when operating a vehicle. You can even see the old stackhat helmets at the PowerHouse Museum website.