third time's a charm

yesterday was my third outing on a mountain with my feet strapped to a plank of wood. well, at least something that resembles a plank of wood but is probably carbon fiber, fiberglass, or other equally high tech strong stuff. i took the first timers class...even though that was a lie. i felt out of place with the true beginners in my class. funny how much changes in just two short trips. i'd like to think that at least i had a little bit better balance on my first trek before new year's, but something tells me my judgment is clouded. i did pick up a few good tips in the class on how to maneuver on the ground after falling or before getting up. something she shared with her roommate upon returning. it helped a lot!

confidence is coming. i'll still confine myself to the greens next time i go to keep myself from getting hurt. i made a few runs where i was able to carve and discern the difference between a good spot to try turning. coincidentally, those spots were the ones that hurt a lot less to fall on. stopping and slowing myself down is getting easier, which is a huge improvement from the first time out! then, i was a rocket sled on rails. if i could stay upright, i was going to go go go. i like the boots i bought, even more so after smelling the rental building after returning my board. manky, dank, locker room humid. i honestly don't know how the kids working were able to stand it.

the lifts are full of interesting characters. some talkative, some downright mean. the guys in my class, pretty funny. some kids, not so funny. yelling at people skiing or riding in the terrain park like they own the damn place. they were going up the lift for the green, pimple-faced little chumps. there was a mountain patrol guy riding up with us one time, talking about this and that. not unlike climbers talking about where they've climbed, golfers where they've golfed, surfers where they've surfed, drinkers where they booze.

we met jedd & wyn up there. wyn's a skier. jedd went for his first time. a lot overdressed and overheated in the upper 30s, i can't blame him for wanting to stay warm. they were intent on night skiing. after she'd ridden every run in about an hour and a half and helping me after my lesson, we were done. jedd wanted one more run on the bunny slope. she and i went with, discovering on the lift that the run was essentially a sheet of ice. i managed to stay in control, stop without falling and steer like i wanted to. way to end the day on a good note!