I’m sure all of you sat glued to your TV last weekend to see the Winter X games hosted in Aspen, CO. Whenever I see the X Games I am inspired and exited once more about my true winter love, snowboarding. Shaun White once again made history, this time by achieving a perfect 100 score (and taking his 5th gold) in the Super Pipe competition. I was impressed to watch this athlete who got higher, spun more, and landed cleaner than all the rest. Similarly Bobby Brown in the Big Air Skiing competition just looked more professional than the other professional athletes. What made their performances so much better? I can only assume more thorough practice.
On the women’s side, which I care more about, Jamie Anderson won Snowboarding Slope style with the following lineup of tricks quoted from this ESPN website: http://espn.go.com/action/xgames/winter/2012/story/_/id/7499189/jamie-anderson-wins-winter-x-2012-women-snowboard-slopestyle:
Anderson was the only competitor who put down not one, but two strong, stomped runs, complete with a Cab 720 tailgrab, switch backside 540, backside 540, and switch backside 180 in the four-jump line.
Then men’s field was throwing down tricks twice that size. When I watched the men’s slope style I was impressed and overwhelmed. When I watched the women’s I thought, “That doesn’t look too hard. I could totally do that.” I don’t want to diminish the hard work these women put in but I can already do a switch backside 180, one of the tricks in Jamie’s lineup, albeit not on such a huge jump. Even my husband said, “Babe, you should go pro.”
Why is it that women’s snowboarding is not pushing the limits of the sport in the same way men’s does? Is it just that women have a healthy desire for self preservation that teenage boys suspend in honor of thrill? I know in my own snowboarding experience the real key to progression is to conquer your fear. The fear is the same when you’re learning how to turn, looking down your first blue run, riding switch or hitting a box for the first time. Maybe it’s easier for men to conquer their fears but I for one am willing to try. That’s what makes snowboarding exciting anyway.
Category: Ski
Sundance Snowboarding
14 inches in one day? I’m so there!
Last Saturday we got a ton of snow up at Sundance so I went snowboarding, my true winter love. Every run was powder, assuming you stayed in the trees. The fresh air, the speed and the snow were exhilarating. There is nothing like snowboarding for that natural high on life feeling. My first time on the slopes this season was a blast. It was awesome… and tiring. After only an hour and a half my thighs burned, my butt was cold and visibility was close to zero at the top of the lift. I could barely see the chair in front of me on the top ridge because the wind was blowing the snow everywhere. Then I got a call from Mountain Dad that little g wasn’t taking the bottle. So I quickly came back to reality and back to the truck. Was it worth being in the wet, driving snow for just a few runs? Absolutely.
Snow Crunchers
Destination: Sundance Nordic Center
Location: Provo Canyon
Time: 2:45 pm
Can an almost three year old wrangle snowshoes? Absolutely! I was so proud of Big E yesterday when we tried out his snowshoes for the first time. He walked around like a pro with very little falling or awkwardness. When he did fall he said, “I think I can, I think I can,” while getting back on his feet. I was so surprised that on his own he made the connection to have a positive attitude while trying hard things. Can you tell what bedtime book we read earlier in the week? Thanks to Grandma for sharing her life motto via Watty Piper’s The Little Engine That Could.
I wish I could brag about the awesome hike we did but Big E was too busy throwing snowballs, climbing on snow piles and admiring the groomer machine to even leave the parking area. Little g on the other hand was too busy screaming at the outset and sleeping at the end. I’m still counting this as a successful adventure because we got outside, we did something active and we tried out a new sport.
MSR kids snowshoes – easy enough for a 2 year old to walk in, although the straps were a little long.
I finally got smart and used my husband’s over sized coat to keep me and little g warm since my coat won’t cover both of us.
Big E found the trail groomer to be the most interesting part of the day.
The snowshoes worked so well that Big E’s foot came out of the boot before the boot detached from the snowshoe.
Practice Makes Perfect, I Hope
For Christmas I got cross country skis and today was my first time trying them out. I know how to snowboard and have skied in the past so I thought I’d be pretty good at this but only two words can describe my ski trip today: awkward and clumsy. Only time will tell if this will be possible with tots in tow.