Crossing off item 17 off my list of 30 things to do before I’m 30—I snowboarded.

Snowboarding was never on top of my list of things to try even if many of my peers from college took trips however, since I’m usually running during the winter season, I wanted to push myself in another way. I’ve tried iceskating before but snowboarding just seemed so bad ass! I was right.

Two weekends ago, Wendy (the coworker that I trained with for the Tough Mudder who Boston qualified at her most recent marathon) and I decided to go snowboarding. To be honest, I thought I was going to wait another year to actually do it but the opportunity knocked and I’m so happy that we were able to.

Wendy has been skiing for a number of years and she always wanted to try snowboarding. It was awesome that we got to learn together.

We went to Camelback Mountain Resort where there was a deal for $129 for 3 days (not consecutive if we didn’t want that, which was a great idea)!

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I started off by going on a shopping spree. Apparently snowboarding is an investment. I purchased waterproof jackets, pants and gloves from paragon.

Mine went to the more expensive side but I think if you layer very well if it’s cold and have waterproof outter layers you’ll be fine. My gloves were probably abit too thick to be able to wear the wrist guards and to strap and unstrap but they kept my fingers very warm.

Here’s some great deals from Amazon:

A jacket under $300 with good reviews: Marmot Women’s Intervale Component Jacket, Black, Large (I got a Gore Tex)
A ski pants under $200: The North Face Freedom Ski Pants TNF Black Sz XL
A pair of waterproof gloves $70:The North Face Montana Glove – Women’s TNF Black Medium

I met Wendy at 7:15am and we were on our way.

We got to the resort and sort of got lost in the sea of people and it was freezing (So, next time we know which lines to wait at). We checked in, got more gear (I need a helmet next time but we got wrist guards, the boards and boots). Then we went for the 11am lesson.

The instructor, Amanda, taught us turns, how to get up, about our dominant leg, how to get up, etc. I wish the class allowed repetitive practice but group lessons aren’t that organized. Wendy and I took in as much as we could and as soon as class was over, we went for lunch and headed to the slopes.

By the way, this chili bowl seems to be the norm at these places. It was delicious!

We headed back to the slopes but I was incredibly stuffed and uncomfortable for a bit but I had an amazing time laughing at myself falling over and over again. I was also worried about my heel from it being affected by my shoes that week so that didn’t help. I do have a few races in a few weeks so I don’t want to go crazy.

Awhile into practicing we were made aware that the lift that we took, although it took us to a beginner’s slope, was more advance than the bunny slope. I just wasn’t ready for it. In the middle of coming downhill I realized that I definitely needed a helmet.

Wendy (wearing her own helmet) went for one more round on that hill but I waited it out.

When she came back she told me that someone had made her aware that we weren’t on the bunny slope when she commented about it being quite steep.

We corrected that by doing a round on the bunny slope (well, she did two). I realized that I was getting better at stopping and turning to the left so I practiced that instead… Also, there was something about looking at obstacles that made me collide with them so I tried to change where my eye went.

We had a curfew so we couldn’t practice all day however, I was pooped! Next time, I’ll need lots of rest.

Item 17 completed!

By the way, Sammy sent me this website with great beginner tips for snowboarding. I’ll watch all the videos by the time I’m ready for a next trip!