There is fresh powder outside after the nor’easter last night. The sun is just barely coming over the snowy mountains as I drive down the highway, no one else but me and the snow on the road. My excitement grows more and more the closer I get to the mountain, seeing all of the trees wearing garments of white, their branches bending from the weight of the snow slowly sliding off. As I pull into the parking lot, I see no one but the most enthusiastic and daring riders. I grab my snowboard out of the back of my car hoping that it will be able to stay above the deep snow as I ride. I strap into my board and ride down to the chairlift, I can already tell this will be the perfect winter day. I am one of the first people on the lift. I scope out the trails as I go over them.
When I get off the chairlift it is the smoothest departure I have ever done. There is no ice at the bottom of the ramp just powder, no people standing in the way just the open trails ahead of me. The icicles concentrating the sun on the trails lighting the way. I decide to go on the trail with no tracks, right down the middle along the chair lift. I strap my other foot to my board then I’m off, down the ungroomed trails. As I hit the powder my board begins to feel heavy, heavier than usual. I look down at my board and see that it is sinking under the snow. More and more snow is collecting on the top of my board weighing it down more and more as I go. I then begin to lean back using my body weight as a counter balance to the weight of my board and snow. My board slowly begins to rise above the surface of the snow as I lean back more and more. My board shoots above the surface as snow piles under it.Then before I know it I'm cruising down the trail.
I eventually reach a jump right under the chairlift. People on the lift can see me thinking and planning what I’m going to do. I can hit the jump and do an awesome trick with a 20% chance of injury due to powder, or I can just ride right on past and disappoint everyone on the lift. I can hear people cheering me on from the lift. There's no way I can miss this opportunity. I check my straps, make sure there tight and stand up. I take a deep breath then turn my board down hill to start my approach towards the jump. I carve to gain speed then hit the jump. I do a 360 tail grab and stick the landing perfectly. But I did not ride away perfectly, I lost my balance and caught my front edge then barrel rolled down the mountain. On a normal day I would have been down for the count but on a powder day It was like landing in a foam pit. I finally stopped rolling and just decided to lie there for a second. I got up and rode down the rest of the mountain ready to hit the jump again.
On the ride back up the mountain I was thinking of what I did wrong and how to improve. When I got to the jump this time I didn’t stop. I was confident, and I had skills. I hit the jump at max speed. I could see everyone else watching me as I soared through the air. I could see my landing and rotated my board in the perfect position. I stuck the landing perfectly again and rode away with ease. I could hear everyone cheering for me. This was indeed the perfect winter day.
When I get off the chairlift it is the smoothest departure I have ever done. There is no ice at the bottom of the ramp just powder, no people standing in the way just the open trails ahead of me. The icicles concentrating the sun on the trails lighting the way. I decide to go on the trail with no tracks, right down the middle along the chair lift. I strap my other foot to my board then I’m off, down the ungroomed trails. As I hit the powder my board begins to feel heavy, heavier than usual. I look down at my board and see that it is sinking under the snow. More and more snow is collecting on the top of my board weighing it down more and more as I go. I then begin to lean back using my body weight as a counter balance to the weight of my board and snow. My board slowly begins to rise above the surface of the snow as I lean back more and more. My board shoots above the surface as snow piles under it.Then before I know it I'm cruising down the trail.
I eventually reach a jump right under the chairlift. People on the lift can see me thinking and planning what I’m going to do. I can hit the jump and do an awesome trick with a 20% chance of injury due to powder, or I can just ride right on past and disappoint everyone on the lift. I can hear people cheering me on from the lift. There's no way I can miss this opportunity. I check my straps, make sure there tight and stand up. I take a deep breath then turn my board down hill to start my approach towards the jump. I carve to gain speed then hit the jump. I do a 360 tail grab and stick the landing perfectly. But I did not ride away perfectly, I lost my balance and caught my front edge then barrel rolled down the mountain. On a normal day I would have been down for the count but on a powder day It was like landing in a foam pit. I finally stopped rolling and just decided to lie there for a second. I got up and rode down the rest of the mountain ready to hit the jump again.
On the ride back up the mountain I was thinking of what I did wrong and how to improve. When I got to the jump this time I didn’t stop. I was confident, and I had skills. I hit the jump at max speed. I could see everyone else watching me as I soared through the air. I could see my landing and rotated my board in the perfect position. I stuck the landing perfectly again and rode away with ease. I could hear everyone cheering for me. This was indeed the perfect winter day.
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