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Learning to like Loveland

Contributed by: Anna Thorne on 6/6/2006

Although I have lived in Colorado all my life, I have never been snowboarding or skiing.

The closest I have come was a trip to Winter Park for some tubing when I was about 8 years old. I have some friends who absolutely love snowboarding and would go every week if they could, and around the start of the school year, they began trying to convince me to go snowboarding with them just once. "Come on Anna," they pleaded.

"No, are you guys crazy?!?"

"How can you live in Colorado without hitting the slopes at least once?"

"Well, I've done fine for the past 17 years, I don't need to worry about it now!"

I resisted for a long time, but eventually I broke down. I'm still not sure how it happened, or even if it happened, but the guys insisted that I agreed to go snowboarding with them over Thanksgiving break. The trip started out as a way for two of my best friends and me to hang out -- Caleb, Jess and me.

It wasn't long before Mitch decided he wanted to come too. Two girls and two guys; that would be fine. Then Aaron and Ian, Caleb's brother and cousin, added themselves to our party. Now our total was two girls and four guys. 'Okay,' I thought, 'I can handle this. As long as Jess is with me.' Days and weeks ticked by, and school schedules became more hectic. About three weeks before the trip, Jess and I were talking during study hall.

"I don't know how they talked me into this. I'm so scared, I've never done this in my life! At least you're coming. You did clear it with your parents, right?"

"Well, I don't know.....I'm sorry Anna, but I don't think I want to go. I don't even like snowboarding."

"Jess, you have to come! I've already committed to it; I need you there! I've never gone snowboarding either; the guys can teach both of us!"

"Right. Caleb and Mitch would be so focused on you the whole day that you would all forget about me. I don't think so."

"Come on Jess, please?? I'll make sure they help you too; maybe you and I could just ditch the guys and go off for an hour or two by ourselves!"

The day before Thanksgiving, I woke up bright and early -- OK, dark and early -- and pulled on my various layers of clothing in preparation for the trip to Loveland. Long underwear, athletic pants, two pairs of socks, a turtleneck, and a sweatshirt. Into the car I tossed my snow pants, winter coat, earmuffs, helmet, snowboard boots, and snowboard. My blue and silver Jansport backpack went in too, as it contained my lunch, a few extra layers of clothing just in case, a good book, and the silver and black Olympus digital camera.

My mom, brother, and I drove up to a McDonald's in Evergreen where I was to meet up with the guys and ride with Mitch the rest of the way. I still couldn't believe that Jess had backed out of the trip. Thankfully, Mitch's 18-year-old sister Dejah had learned about the trip a few days before and begged to come along, so although I had never met Dejah before, I was glad that I wouldn't be the only girl.

Once the carpools left Evergreen, my nervousness grew as the number of miles between me and the dreaded slopes decreased. I tried to think of anything other than what I was about to put myself through. "Why?" I asked myself for about the 75th time that week. "Tell me again--how did you talk me into this?" I asked Mitch. He just laughed and told me not to worry.

We arrived at Loveland and unloaded our gear, putting on the final layer of snow pants, coats, snowboard boots, earmuffs, and helmets before we carried our boards over to the lift.

Once we got our tickets, Caleb, Ian and Aaron went up right away to check out the beginners' slopes, while Mitch and Dejah stayed to teach me how to strap on my board and actually ride it. Once I mastered the basics, it was time to take the lift up.

I was terrified. I'm not afraid of heights, but the lift was moving pretty fast and I didn't know for sure if I could make it on that quickly. "Don't they have some sort of practice lift for people who have never done this before?" I questioned. Hands vibrating slightly, heart pounding quickly, my mind raced as I considered what might happen if I didn't make it onto the lift in time...at the very least, I would be completely embarrassed and I would embarrass my friends right along with me. They would probably have to stop the lift and everybody would be annoyed with me, or if the lift didn't stop, I would do a face plant in the snow below.

I tried to clear my mind as Mitch looked down at me. "Are you OK? Come on don't worry, you'll be fine! It's our turn next; be ready!" 'Easy for you to say,' I thought as I looked at him with apprehension.

Nevertheless, when the bench came around, I took a deep breath and made it onto the lift just fine. I was a little crooked at first, but righted myself as the lift moved on. The ride actually turned out to be enjoyable, and my dismount won me some applause from the guys. They said it was because they were impressed; I'm inclined to believe they thought it was hilarious.

My first trip down the green slope took over an hour and was filled with crashes. Thankfully, Caleb and Mitch were patient with me, even though I must have asked at least ten times if snowboarding was the only way to get down. Towards the bottom, I actually made it 100 feet or so without falling and was pretty proud of myself. It was about 11:30 a.m. when I unstrapped my board, and I was ready for lunch. "Okay, one more time and you can eat lunch," Mitch said.

"What? I'm hungry now!" I really wasn't, but I did want a break from the cold mountain. Like he usually does, Mitch saw right through me and refused my pleas. We took the lift again, and this time it only took me half an hour to get down. I was quite happy, and my self-esteem soared when I heard Mitch, Caleb, Aaron and Ian talking about how well I had done.

"Are you sure this was your first time?" Caleb teased.

"Yes, how many times do I have to tell you? I've never gone before."

"Well," Aaron put in, "you did a great job! Way better than Ian and me on our first time."

"Good job", Mitch nodded approvingly.

After lunch, we trekked over to a different part of the ski resort and spent the rest of the day on the bunny slopes while I 'perfected' my skills. When the lifts closed at 4:30, we were all ready to go home. As I reflected on the day during the ride home, I surprised myself with the realization that I actually sort of liked snowboarding, once I stopped falling every two minutes.

Chuckling to myself, I thought how different the day had gone from what I expected. No longer does the name "Loveland" strike fear into my heart; I kind of like it now!


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Showing 1-2 of 2 comments
Submitted By: Steve Shultz
posted on 6/2/2006 @ 4:36:48 PM
Rated Story
Great photos -- nice addition to a well-written story. I can't wait to read future stories from you.
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Submitted By: Anna Thorne
posted on 6/2/2006 @ 1:30:10 PM
(Not Rated)
--Editor's note: I got my own board for Christmas, and have now gone up 4 times....the most recent was a trip to Copper in March, where I spent half the day begging Mitch to go down yet another black with me. He kept trying to tell me that snowboarders don't like moguls, but I told him that this one does! Blues are my choice for an easy ride (I accomplished my first one with no falls at Copper), but if I'm feeling daring I'd rather venture down a black or two. Summer is fun....but I can't wait to go boarding again this winter!
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Showing 1-2 of 2 comments
CONTRIBUTOR INFORMATION

Anna Thorne

Highlands Ranch , CO

Anna Thorne has posted 5 stories and 4 comments since joining on 5/31/2006. Anna Thorne 's average story rating is 5.
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