Shredding the Gnar
Watching the Olympic snowboarders is not my reason for wanting to try snowboarding. Not even watching the people having fun on their boards on the hill every weekend. Even the far-more-comfortable and probably less cold footwear did not convince me–they gave it a good shot though. The clothes are cooler, they have their own words, they play loud music, and they always seem to be warm despite getting a break by sitting on the hill. Shaggy even tried to get me on a board and it wasn’t happening. All are tempting reasons, but it didn’t work.
I am a skier and thought that I would never venture beyond that because why would I? Then I had an accident. (Not recent… read about it here.)
I did not break anything in that accident, but I did manage to knock myself out cold on the hill and not remember how it happened and sat out the ski season with a concussion. This has made me far too cautious and anxious when I am skiing. Every time something is not perfect about the conditions (low light, ice, or God-forbid, snow are notable culprits), I tense up. Apparently, that is the worst thing you can do when trying to not hurt yourself skiing.
I have no such baggage with snowboarding. The falls I did have in attempting to become the next Shaun White, were eyes wide open and easy to diagnose the impetus. Learning sometimes hurts.
I can tell you that I thoroughly enjoyed boarding and think I might try it next season because I am sitting the rest of season out on a rubber invalid doughnut (nothing says turning 50 like that phrase. Right there is everything I fear.)
I don’t know what a gnar is or why I wanted to shred it, but I did. I think it is a tailbone.
As a result, I cancelled dog-sledding and postponed (possibly cancelled) the mechanical bull ride. Hey, but I do get to sit on a rubber doughnut, so that’s something not everyone experiences.
I may be busted up friends, but I am not broken. I have new adventures lined up for the foreseeable future. They may be quieter pursuits, but they are worthy nonetheless.
Something fun to watch for… BluntMoms is going to be carrying my series of personal challenges in a regular column (own category? TBD). I’ll keep you posted when it goes live if you want to share the love. It will be more of my life reflections/what my experiences taught me then I give you here. Full disclosure: I’m thinking this might be a fun book to write too which is why some ideas I’m keeping close. (Reminder: Have less coffee before committing to anything in writing.)
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I knew you had gone too long without a visit to the E.R.! Isn’t Gnar just a shortened version of Gnarly? Or am I older than even I think I am?!? As an aside, do you talk some of these challenges over with anyone before you commit to them? Your ’50 before 50′ is wonderful and scary at the same time. I am in awe of your abilities and nerve. And your brass balls. Ah! A new challenge. Juggling! Brass balls!
I’m already practising my juggling… it’s like you are watching me through the computer. I drop more than I catch but it is still fun.
Mister did not approve of the snowboarding but I did it anyway. Now I am juggling “I told you so’s,” as an aside 🙂
You broke your butt? That’s a bummer. You could always do some creative painting on the rubber doughnut to look like a mechanical bull. Seriously though, I hope your bum feels better soon.
Arionis recently posted…The One With The List
It’ really just a pain in the ass. So, maybe I should call it a rubber donkey.
I went into snowboarding thinking that I’d be catching good air by day 3. I was warned to be more humble, but after crashing in every position, and a possible concussion, I had to admit that I was wrong. When I finally got it though, it was one of the greatest experiences. Here’s to a speedy recovery and getting back out there.
I don’t need air, although watching my son out there getting it is quite a thrill. I just want to get down the hill without hurting myself 🙂
Thanks for reading.
That’s some impressive shredding, and future snowboarding students should thank you. Your experience should lead to an important change in how it’s taught: the first lesson should be how not to break your tailbone, and the second lesson should be how to keep snow out of your underwear.
Actually that second lesson should probably come first. You can keep going with a broken tailbone but icy undergarments bring everything to a halt.
Christopher recently posted…Rough Love.
Once you have a broken tailbone, the ice feels welcome. I laid on that hill for an eternity ‘icing’ my ass. 🙂
Hey Kristine,
I was there. You did AMAZINGLY. Too bad you broke your tailbone. From my vantage point, I don’t see how you were going fast enough to do that.
Great video. The solution to not getting snow in your underwear is to tuck in your shirt — try that next time.
Great to see you at Ladies’ Day at Alpine. Let’s make a time to get you on a snowboard again next year. I promise to let you video again. You’ll do even better. I can see you’re a natural.