Redemption Day at Monarch Mountain

This Florida girl is quite comfortable on the water, but when it comes to the snow, not so much. Six years ago I went snowboarding for the first time and broke my arm day one of a two day ski trip. As soon as I hit the ground I knew it was broken and if you know me well, you won't be surprised when I tell you that after a few hours of rest in the lodge I was back out on the slopes that afternoon and the entire following day.

Before you look at that picture of me snowboarding with a broken arm and start thinking I'm at all tough or brave, know that I have not been back on a board since that day.

Thursday night my friend Alicia sent me a text asking if I wanted to go to Monarch with her, her husband Aaron, and a few others. I had planned on spending my Saturday sleeping in, but a day on the mountain sounded a little more exciting so I decided to tag along.

Alicia, Aaron and I debated between snowboarding and skiing for the entire 2 1/2 hour drive to the slopes. The three of us had all snowboarded once before and although I was the only one to break anything, the terrors of the vast number of falls constantly plagued our minds. It wasn't until we were standing in line for rental equipment then we finally decided to snowboard. I wanted redemption, and with new friends Mary and April already on the slopes and practically pros in our eyes, it seemed like the perfect day to try to master this thing! Plus, I knew that although I was slightly better at skiing, it was going to be a rough day no matter what. Strictly for the cool factor, I would rather spend my rough day on a snowboard then on a set of skis.

After some instruction on the bunny slope, it was time to tackle a green trail. Besides falling off the ski lift every single time, the day was going a little more smoothly than I thought. The falling was minimal and it was usually because I would get scared and chicken out. I hate letting my fear get the best of me, but I also hate the feeling of bones cracking. 

At lunch time we headed to the bar to get a good meal. As we stood there looking for a table I heard an "excuse me" from behind and turned around to see Aaron pointing toward the ground. As I looked down I saw this chubby, little boy with a gigantic cookie in his hand. I don't know what it is about kids with cookies that gives them an unspeakable confidence, but it is just so precious. Aaron and I were cracking up about it all day.

Back on the mountain I kept getting frustrated because everything felt so unnatural. Luckily I was quickly reminded that there is nothing natural about strapping a board to your body and throwing yourself down a snow covered mountain.

Honestly, when I just stopped thinking and let my body do what it wanted to do I didn't fall nearly as much, but fortunately and unfortunately for me, my new friend/personal instructor for half the day was really bent on making sure I learned good form, technique, and most importantly that I was actually doing it correctly. Apparently there is a difference between knowing how to snowboard and just getting down the mountain.

When I was 3/4 of the way down the trail I stopped to regroup and a girl who had been behind me most of the way stopped and said, "Can I ask you a random question?" I told her to go ahead and ask and then she asked the one question that has haunted me pretty much my entire life, "How old are you?" I told her I was 26 and then as she boarded away looked back to say, "You look really young." I realized then she had probably spent the entire run like I did - watching all the really young kids fly down the slopes so naturally and effortlessly and all the while feeling super impressed, jealous and a little stupid all at the same time. Fortunately for this girl she found out the truth, and once I told her I was 26 and not 7, she was no longer impressed. I went from being awesome to terrible in this girl's eyes in a matter of seconds.

Speaking of kids and their mad skills, at one point this little boy followed us all the way down the mountain with constant advice and direction. He would have been really cute, but when every word is direct toward correcting you, you kind of want to burry his cute little face in the snow.

All in all, even with the shots to the ego, it was a great day! More importantly, it was a day of redemption. I'm not searching eBay for a snowboard just yet, but I think this is a hobby I could get into - maybe 3-4 trips a year. After all, I do live in Colorado now. It may be time to hang up the water sports and trade them in for snow covered mountains.

There we are, me and Alicia in one piece and no trips to the ER!