March 19, 2006

Jen and went up to Tahoe yesterday with our friends Brad and Lauren. We got in our second lesson of our three lesson package. The first lesson had us doing the "falling leaf" down the bunny slope That consisted of staying on one edge and traversing the hill to one side, staying on the same edge and going the opposite direction. This time we worked on hooking up the turns and changing edges. Our instructor Rodney wasn't quite as interactive as our first instructor and obviously came from the "throw you in the deep end" school of snowboarding. After one refresher run down Broadway (the true bunny slope),we headed up to the top of the mountain to take on the 2 1/2 mile green run called "Sugar and Spice".

On the way up we were able to see Lake Tahoe and a view of the mountains that we were unable to appreciate from the confines of the lodge and lower run. As the lift ride proggressed (did I mention that our package deal wasnt supposed to get us to thetop of the mountain until our third lesson) Rodney described his adventures the previous St. Pats night, drinking car bombs and green beers with other staff 'til the wee hours, then doing a drunken impromtu ride down some mountian. Good for Rodney. Anyway, we get to the top and take off down Sugar and Spice. It was a great time. I fell harder and many more times than I had the previous trip but the ride time to lift time ratio made it worth it. The danger factor certainly increased, having to avoid slidng off into the trees or taking a wrong turn down more advanced run. Rodney led us through some shortcuts that were blue runs, noticeably!, but Rodney was confident in us. Good for Rodney.

Once we finished up with that run we met back up with Brad and Lauren and grabbed a beer at the lodge. For much of the day the sun had been out and the temperature was warm. As we sipped our beers the sun retreated behind the clouds and it began to snow a bit. This is where I got my lesson in the relation betwen snow conditions and pain.

After the beers Brad and I headed up to the Broadway bunny slope where I could work on my turns, Something was different this time though. What had been soft wet snow was now hard and icy. the whole dynamic had changed and I was trying to compensate. It made the turns harder, the hill faster, and my god it hurt more to fall. I did one more run down Broadway afterwards then I was done. I thought perhaps I was just being a puss, but Brad (who works at the joint) verified that the conditions were real shitty. I think I'm gonna pay for those last couple runs today though. Good thing I have to go to work.