Brittney Loves Bob: My First Time Snow Boarding!

First of all, I know I live in Utah, but I hate the snow! I don't really ski, I've never been snowboarding, I don't sled or have snow ball fights. I stay indoors until the snow melts and the sun is shining again. I don't like being cold, or getting my pants wet when walking to the car, I don't like driving in snow and I don't like seeing nothing but a blanket of white instead of green grass, trees and flowers, and I despise shoveling the walk and scraping the car off! Despite all of this, regular followers of my blog already know that I gave my hubby a day of snow boarding for Christmas last month. This last weekend Bob decided to cash in and go snowboarding. Saturday we spent the day preparing. We went to my parents to dig up our snow gear and Bob's snowboard equipment out of storage before heading to the store to rent my gear and buy some replacement essentials. When we got to the store however we found the cutest snow board in exactly my size on clearance for $89, and *bonus* an extra 10% off. They also had bindings on clearance and I already had an old pair of Bob's boots that fit, so we decided to go ahead and purchase my equipment instead of renting.

Me with my first board!

Mine and Bob's snowboards

The next morning we tried to wake up bright and early (we hit snooze a few times...) before we finally rolled out of bed, put on our snow gear, packed a lunch and change of clothes, loaded up the car and headed to Brighton. I'm not going to lie, I was nervous! I have been skiing before and I remembered enjoying that, but snowboarding is a totally different ball game and one I wasn't sure I could handle! Despite all that, I was excited to try something new with my hubby and check something off my bucket list! We got to the top of the slope and strapped in, Bob gave me some instructions and it was time to test my luck. I tried to stand on my board but kept losing my balance, then next thing I knew I was facing the top of the hill but moving down the hill, then my snowboard hit an edge or something and I was falling, I tried to sit but I wasn't fast enough, my head smacked the snow, HARD! I could taste metal, and my head was throbbing, I stayed there for a while starring at the sky and wondering what did I get myself into? Finally I was able to slide/fall/scoot myself down to where Bob was waiting for me. He asked if I wanted him to hold me up for a little bit to get a feel for it. Of course I said yes! Maybe I wouldn't fall so hard with his help. It was easier, but I was so bad I managed to pull Bob down with me several times. Sometimes I would ask for his help, and sometimes I would try it on my own but no matter what I did I still managed to spend at least 95% of the time on my butt or my hands and knees. Finally an hour and a half later we reached the end of the slope and we headed into the lodge to defrost and eat our lunch.

I could tell that Bob was really enjoying being on his snow board again! That's why when Bob asked me if I was done for the day or if I wanted to try the hill one more time, I ignored the throbbing headache, and the pain radiating from my knees, wrists, hands and right shoulder and told him I thought I could make it down the hill one more time. As we rode the chair lifts I was even more scared than before. How much more damage was I going to do to myself this time? Would I make it? Or would I end up in a silly medic sled? I HATED snow boarding, I would love nothing more than to have my ski's with me so I could trade in this damn board and never touch it again. I was ready to give up, but of course I didn't tell Bob any of this. This was his special day, my "big" gift to him for Christmas, and he was really enjoying it. What kind of wife would I be if I ruined his fun now?

Bob helped me off the life and we headed down the slope. Something in me suddenly clicked. I can't really describe what it was but suddenly I knew how to stand on the board. I still fell but not nearly as often and when I did fall, I could somehow control it so I got minimum damage to my fragile body. I started being able to go faster without being scared, and I could almost steer effortlessly. This was actually kind of fun. Bob was by my side the entire time, giving me more pointers, and cheering me on when I went farther between falls or steered away from something instead of just falling. We got to the bottom of the slope in closer to 40 minutes this time, and that was with periodic breaks down the hill. Now Bob allowed me to go to the bunny hill and tweak my skills. I was so proud of myself when I made it down almost the entire hill without one fall despite all the kids and newbies cutting me off and falling around me. It was exhilarating, and I finally felt like I could do this! I was enjoying myself so much that when we finally left (due to numb faces and tired bodies) I started talking to Bob about teaching my family and getting season passes next year! The next morning I had some sore arms, but honestly the rest of my body was pain-free, I actually felt great! We will see what happens, but I think I may have found a reason to like Utah winters!