My snowboarding attempt started late in life and I didn't have much help along the way.
The few friends who offered help either spent about 5 minutes with me or said "I don't know, you just kinda do this."
As helpful as that was, I bumped into an acquaintance in March 2017 as we geared up for a game of indoor hockey.
"Where did you get that bruise?!"
"Snowboarding"
"What? Do you need someone to help you"
"I don't know... to be honest I am kind of done at this point. I can't get on my toes, I fall off every chairlift and I just don't enjoy it. I think I might throw in the towel if I haven't figured it out by the end of this season".
He then went on to tell me he had shown a few people how to successfully board and if I was willing, he would take me up to the hill.
One week later we hit the slopes. Tom got in front of me, unstrapped his snowboard, grabbed both of my hands and yanked me forward onto my toes.
Within an hour I was doing S-turns. Something had finally clicked.
I showed my best friend, the other half of our 'Chair Lift Queens' duo (a nickname honouring our wonderful chairlift dismounts), what I had learned the following week and she too picked it up briskly.
Fast forward to the beginning of this season. Both Chairlift Queens now have a season pass and have been making genuine progress. In fact, without talking too soon, we have not had one failed chairlift dismount this season.
For the first time in several winters I am enjoying snowboarding.
