Snowboarding at Glen Coe – 9/4/2006

The first time I mentioned a potential snowboarding trip to my evil twin, she warned me to be prepared to spend a lot of time on my butt. For my Sunday trip to Glen Coe Ski Centre, her advice was dead on. I think I spent the most time on my butt and second most time on my feet hiking up the various hills in between disagreements with the tow bar lift.

Lucas was not brave enough to try snowboarding, so while he queued for ski rentals, Amy and I got our equipment ready. We waited on lift tickets to make sure he got gear, because they often run out on the weekends. Like in paddling where you dress for swimming, I dressed for sitting or lying on a snow-covered hillside for extended periods of time. My four layers beneath the rain jacket and snow trousers were probably a bit of overkill, but I had no desire to let cold end my day prematurely. Beat down exhausted, sure, but not cold. I bought a pair of ski gloves there for exactly the same reason, and got a decent price on them (£12). Yay for kid-sized hands!

Once Lucas was outfitted, we bought our tickets and headed for the first lift. The snow didn’t fully cover the mountain, but most of it was white with heather or rocks peeking out. We hopped on what would be my only chair-style lift of the day. The runs that went to the base of the hill were intermediate and advanced, so most people would take the chair lift up as well as down, especially considering the heather and rocks that we saw peeking out on the ride up. While Amy and Lucas got in their stuff before the lift, I opted for the less stylish run-off at the end. Less graceful, but no need to fall too soon.

The lift dropped us at the base of several novice runs and what would become my nemesis lift, the tow bar. Rather than fall straight out of the gate, I opted to hike up a ways and slide down. Falling would be inevitable, but at least it wasn’t going to be the first thing I did. Sure enough, I slid and then I splattered. No big deal. The bigger deal was trying to get up again. Need a good ab workout? Strap a snowboard to your feet while seated and stand up twenty or thirty times. Snowboard crunches burn!

I found my way to the bottom with a handful of splatters and some good slides, too. Then it was time to tackle the lift. Amy warned me that all snowboarders wipe out on the tow bar lift at some point, because it’s not a normal position to balance. I was comforted to see Lucas splatter on his first encounter with the tow bar. Mine was equally graceful. I think over the course of the day, I wiped out half a dozen times. After the first two unsuccessful tries, I hiked again a few bumps from the bottom and slid and splattered my way back down to the bottom. I got a little more graceful. Two more splatters. Repeat hike.

I had probably four abridged runs on the novice slope before my body requested a break. The break coincided with the requisite snowstorm of the day, so convenient timing all around. Lucas and Amy found me eventually, and we went to the café for lunch, where bad food was available in a cramped but warm room. Even though I had a long walk to get there, and both of them were able to take the lifts to get there, I beat them there. The lift was stopped. Perhaps someone other than me wiped out?

Amy pointed me to the baby beginner slope with the rope tow lift as a better place to learn, so after lunch, I headed there. I spent at least an hour there, sliding slowly down the slope and then wrestling with the rope tow to get back to the top. I figured when I could ride that lift successfully, I was ready to go back to the novice slope. While Lucas was there, it was a disaster. When Amy turned up again, it was a disaster. While my audience was away, it was barely a problem.

A beginner snowboard lesson was working on the baby slope at the same time, so I eavesdropped and learned a few new skills in the process. I learned to lean back on my back foot to speed up, turn my body to make the snowboard turn and which foot to lean which way to help the turn. All were things Amy had told me, but reminders are useful! By the time the lesson was finished, I had learned to go as fast on the slope on my own as the instructor could push the students, and I had made it up the rope tow successfully multiple times. It was time to graduate to the novice slope. First, it was time to hike.

When Lucas found me again, I was sitting on the side of the novice slope about 3/4 of the way to the top, strapping the snowboard on. He was riding the tow bar lift and said he would be down in a minute. I didn’t exactly wait for him, but I hadn’t really moved much by the time he reached me. I had managed to get the board on and stood up. That was about it. He ran the novice slope at least three times in the same amount of time that it took me to run (and trip, fall, splatter, stumble and/or throw myself at the ground) it once. I got better as I worked my way down. Near the bottom, Amy found us and I made the very familiar last three bumps easily upright, including turns, slowing and stopping. I needed a little help (thanks for the tug, Lucas) to get past one sort of uphill pitch, but otherwise it was a good run. Sore and tired, I decided to call it a day while Amy and Lucas went for one more run. My lift nemesis and I can work through our differences another time.