Two Riders and Two Rotts: April 2007

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Progression hurts...

Once you've spent 30 days on a board learning to make good turns you want to progress on to other things that wouldn't occur to you otherwise... in my case, kinda like adding tarragon to scrambled eggs (Its good, its good, its good). Snowboarding... getting some air off a roller... trying a box or a rail in the park... riding switch... pressing... its baby steps into a new world, but there is a price of admission... No one gets into Disneyland and rides the monorail for free right?

Jenn spins out and takes a divot out of Peak 7 at Breck...

Watch out for that back edge...

Jenn's first attempt at a box in the Breck baby park...

And it did leave a mark...

Friday, April 6, 2007

Jenn Graduates -- Blue Sky Basin

Anyone who has skied/ridden Vail knows that (with good snow) Blue Sky Basin is the shizzzznit. The downside is it takes much effort to even get there in the first place... two lifts up the front side of Vail (on a weekend they're busier than Walmart the day after Thanksgiving) and then a solid 15 minute leg-cramping traverse to the Skyline lift at the base of Blue Sky.

For the non-riders, traversing long distances across a big mountain on a snowboard is like driving all the way through Iowa & Nebraska at night without cruise control. You're just trying to point the car/board straight and keep from getting distracted so you can get where you want to go safely (and without running out of gas/momentum).

Learning to make smooth turns is hard enough in snowboarding, but the entire mountain doesn't really open up until you learn how to just go straight and keep your speed. The analogy is learning to drive in a parking lot with your parent and then one day being confident enough to take that on-ramp onto I-93 by yourself so you can "traverse" to Fenway and meet friends for a Sox game. Once you've mastered the art of traversing on your snowboard you've got your license to "ROME".

Jenn's traverse to Blue Sky Basin...

Coming in to Skyline...

On the Skyline lift, 1st time for JJ...

There are some Graduations in life that are attended by good friends and family, as they rightly should be. There are other "graduations" in life where even the graduate doesn't realize the threshold they have crossed, the accomplishments they have made, and the new world they have entered.. Maybe because at that moment they have put in all the effort it takes and have forgotten about all the bruises, falls, and frustration.. and in the end, they just want to enjoy the view.... (BBLLLECHHH!!!!!)