What a wicked day. It took as a while to get going, but once we were on the hill the snowboarding was off the hook.

The drive up was hampered by the weather. Tons of snow meant that road up to the ski hill was restricted to 4×4’s and cars with winter tires. We were in a truck that we thought was a 4×4, but when we started fish tailing on the ride up, we quickly realized it wasn’t. The worst part was it was real-wheel drive and the back of the truck had no weight in it, so we were sliding everywhere. I had to take over the driving half way up the hill and use my mad Manitoba driving skills to get us up. A lot of people we talked to were surprised we made it. It was pretty hairy, especially when we almost had that head-on collision with a snow plough, but we made it.

I took a two hour, intermediate lesson to help with my turning and increase my comfort on the board. It was good. I learned a lot and got some great pointers. Then I met up with Dan, Nim, and Charles and we hit a few green and blue runs. The whole day the snow was coming down hard. The fresh powder was great. I must have fallenn at least 50 times, including a few spectacular spills, but other than a bruised wrist, I was unharmed. I’m a bit worried that my recklessness will get me in trouble once the snow on the hills turns a bit harder. I’ve gotten used to pillowy soft landings.

The ride down the hill was a lot smoother, although it was just as scary. Traffic was crawling along, but we eventually got to Vancouver. Just after we dropped off Nim we got a flat tire and had some fun unsuccessfully trying to change it. The tire almost fell off the rim because we were driving on it trying to get to the gas station. Eventually BCAA showed up and saved the day.

I can’t wait to go up again.