Snowboarding today brought to life no pain no gain.

Oh yes, I am sore....actually had an amazing time, I made it all the way down SUGAR SLOPE on Vernon Peak at Mountain Creek 2 times with just one start... without crashing or busting my butt in the snow at all, oh I fell about 10 times+ today overall, but riding from the top to the bottom of this 2,000-feet beginner's trail without falling at all was totally accomplished twice. It might not be that impressive to a seasoned pro but for someone who has only snowboarded 2 times in her life including today, it was a great feeling, a true high-five moment. It takes a lot of “will” to snowboard, it hurts when you fall, -you are slamming your body against a mountain-you are allowing the mountain to literally kick your butt. Landing incredibly hard on your body feels like someone is kicking the crap out of you! Sometimes you even scream or swear about it. It takes a lot of energy to believe you can make it down the mountain sometimes, and when you are lying in the snow, looking up at the sky, it takes the right mindset to give it another try while you wonder what part of your body doesn’t hurt. Lifting yourself back up on your board into a riding stance is like doing a stomach crunch but worse because you have all this snow gear on that makes you feel like a marshmallow trying to do a crunch as you learn your torso towards your legs and feet which are strapped on your board, and eventually stand (“standing” is an accomplishment) and if you fall down at that first moment of standing and balancing on the board, like it often happens, just consider yourself burning off more calories as you try to stand on the board again. Then while standing you stare down the mountain, with faith you will make it to the bottom and you balance your body on the board while it gains speed, and you try to slow the board down slightly moving your body ever so carefully back and force, putting force on your heels and toes, heel, toe, heel, toe, it is especially important when it seems like you are about to crash. If you are new to snowboarding like me, it is such a joy to make it to the landmark you wanted to reach, like: the blue shed, the red pole, the third beam pole, that fast show off snowboarder that keeps whizzing by you who just wiped out -- one time it was such joy to me that I even told a few random fellow snowboarders about my excitement, yelling over to them, “This is my first time making it this far!” They really looked too tired to care, but to keep the rhythm going it takes a lot of mind and body working together when you give snowboarding a try or another try. It is actually fun but the saying “no pain no gain” really does come to life. I am not saying I am good at it, I am just saying today I left my mark on the mountain. :) ~Isobella