With family obligations and crises finishing out 2008, our snowboard season didn’t begin until almost the end of January this year. We had a ton of snow, and not using it until January 24 was a shame, but once in a while life gets in the way of play.
Our Season began with a week long trip to Boyne Mountain. We had a condo at the base of the hills from Friday 1/23 through Thursday 1/29 and planned to spend every day on the hills of Boyne Mountain, Boyne Highlands, and Nubs Knob. We packed lunch and headed for Nubs Knob Saturday 1/24 only to discover it simply wasn’t our kind of place. They have NO surface lifts for their beginner area, something Jen and I still required at the time, and they were having sewage problems in the ski lodge making the air a little unpleasant smelling. Jen and I never did strap on our boards but watched Chris and Tristan take exactly one run down the hill serviced by their free beginner chairlift and then collected our things. We headed across the road to Boyne Highlands and hit the slopes there for the rest of the day.
The first day on the slopes was rough on both Jen and I and our bodies needed a break Sunday. I landed hard on my left shoulder and was still having trouble making a fist with my left hand. I knew it would be all but impossible to lift myself up off the snow if I tried to snowboard Sunday. Chris and Tristan did a few runs but they weren’t gone long, I think even they needed a break. By Tuesday Jen and I were out on the beginner hill at Boyne Mountain getting the hang of those pesky toe-side turns but not even attempting heel-side. By the end of the day I was frustrated enough to walk into the ski school desk and inquire about a private lesson for both of us the following day. I had been given the name of an instructor by another member of the ski school staff that both Jen and I had been observing as he ran a private lesson with another beginner boarder. As luck would have it, Duane was available for an afternoon lesson Wednesday and the price for two of us in a private lesson was less than I spent on a group lesson at Crystal Mountain last March.
Simply put, the lesson was the answer and both Jen and I learned what we had been doing wrong all along. By the end of the lesson Wednesday afternoon Jen and I had gone almost to the top of the beginner hill and made it down to the bottom with minimal falls. Those falls we did have no longer hurt either. We had learned to control our speed and could do the all important toe-side STOP! Thursday morning we got up early and headed out for a few hours before we had to be on the road. Jen and I managed to make it all the way down the beginner hill more than once doing both heel-side and toe-side turns and, I think we both made it down at least once without falling at all!
The end of February we headed back north for a weekend trip. This time we stayed with my parents and drove the hour and a half up to Boyne Mountain for the day. We dropped the boys off to snag a table at 9:00AM, did a few errands in Petoskey, and then spent all afternoon and evening on the slopes perfecting those turns. Both Jen and I were now riding from the very top of the beginner hill and in most cases making it all the way down. Jen still had difficulty with heel-side turns but was improving and managed to link a few toe-to-heel-to-toe-side turns together without falling. We closed the runs that night and called it a success. Unfortunately, we didn’t end our season there and should have.
Last weekend, 3/14 we headed north for what we knew would be our final weekend on the snow. The weather was warming but had remained cold enough that the snow was decent when we first arrived at Boyne Highlands. Tristan had his new snowboard and was learning to control it pretty quickly. Jen and I went to the top of the beginner hill, strapped in, and tried to stand up. Jen managed to eventually slide her way down the hill completely backwards. The snow was too icy and soft to get a decent turn and instead she wound up facing up hill sliding backwards in a toe-side slide all the way down. She was luckier than I.
I managed to stand up and get my board pointed down the hill. I managed to make a partial heel-side turn before crashing to the icy hill and jamming my wrist, again. I spent a long time sitting on the hill waiting for traffic to clear and finally trying it again. This time I was in Jen’s shoes and could not stand up and turn my board at all. I eventually was so frustrated that I ripped off my bindings, slammed my fists into the snow leaving a 3 inch depression, and walked back to the top of the hill.
I sat atop the beginner hill on the other side of the lift, where I had more room to maneuver my way in the slush, and with a little encouragement from Jen eventually tried it again. This time was better; I fell once right away but got back up. I was still unable to turn my board around and once again took off the board in frustration. Rather than walking to the top of the hill, I walked down, threw the board into a snow pile outside the lodge, and went in to sit down.
We collectively decided that we were done riding at Boyne Highlands and climbed into the car. We drove down to Boyne Mountain for another shot at riding before we ended our season and hoped the snow would be a little firmer and less icy. When we arrived, the snow was in fact firmer, but no less icy. Jen and I had much better luck on the familiar beginner hill at Boyne Mountain and I managed to make it down on my first attempt with only one fall. I was still not making heel-side turns well and headed to the top for another shot at it. This run started much better and I managed to get in two complete toe-to-heel turns before I made another attempt at riding on my heel-side edge and sunk into the snow at least 2 inches. I lost my balance in the soft snow and found myself face down on the hill. That was it. I was done for the day, and the season. I managed to get back up eventually, but I had crunched the wrist again so it took some time before I had the strength to push myself up off the wet snow. When I reached the bottom after that run, I removed my snowboard, folded down the high-back, and buckled up the bindings for the last time this season.
The temps reached 45 in Boyne Falls Saturday and without a doubt, the snow is melting fast. Boyne has even adjusted their expected close date from April 19 to March 31, with a possibility of closing for the season on March 29. The snow is simply too soft and they can’t keep the trails groomed with it melting this fast.
The boards are off the car and hung up for the summer … now I just need to get through the next few weeks until I can get my motorcycle back and have another hobby to keep my content until the snow flies again next November.
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