Why My Snowboarding Weekend Led To Skiing

I was all pumped up to get away for the weekend with a stay at the cozy Winter Park Mountain Lodge and take advantage of the mounds of snow that came down during the week leading up to opening day at Winter Park. Brandon and I bought our ski passes a few months ago and decided we would try out snowboarding as neither of us had ever gone before. I had no idea what I was in for.

We signed up for the full day lessons and prepared to hit the slopes. The snow was coming down hard and the resort was filled with people from all over who came to enjoy opening day. By the end of the weekend we actually ended up with a hefty amount of snow between the machine made and the blizzard all day on Saturday!

We had a great instructor who showed us the ropes as we were all first-timers in the class. We practiced on a smaller hill until we got the hang of it. Rather, I should say “got the hang of it,” because I don’t think anyone was completely stable when we finally got on the lift to take on the big guy.

I probably fell about 2736489 times throughout the day, including the majority of times I was getting off the lift. Eventually, I couldn’t help but let the frustration get the best of me. The instructor was kind enough to help me out a little extra and stay next to me as I would practice my runs (or should I say falls) down the hill.

I will say I did get better though! There was certainly an improvement from the beginning of the day to the end, but with another whole day ahead of us I was ready for a switch to skis.

Despite being extremely sore from the day of snowboarding, skiing was a much better experience once we got the hang of it. Instead of opting for the lessons, this time we watched a few minutes worth of YouTube videos and went down the small practice hill a few times to get warmed up.

Once we felt ready, we went to get in line for the lift up to the top of the beginner hill we had been practicing on. As soon as we stepped up to the line they announced they were closing the lift for the next 20 minutes. No biggie, right? We just walked on down to the next lift to give that one a go. This one was a little higher, but it was still a beginner run. Plus there was a little kid who couldn’t have been older than 5 or 6 that was heading down right in front of us. Here’s a little tip: Some kids are really good at skiing/snowboarding.

So we followed this kid, ready to get our skis in motion. Within 10 seconds we were both on the ground almost in the trees. After falling a few more times, we found the smaller run we were on the day before and headed over there. Soon enough, we finally started to get our turns down and were making it down the run without a single fall!

Needless to say, day two was much less frustrating for me. Not to say that I will never try snowboarding again, but I will certainly be opting for skis during the majority of the days I spend on the slopes this winter!

What about you- Are you a skier or snowboarder?