snowboarding with bay area ski bus!
Every year I've always said "this is the year I'm going to try snowboarding". Every year passes with the reasons why I didn't go being that either no one wanted to take a beginner with them or I couldn't afford the clothes, equipment, etc.
Not this year.
I found a super cool chick (and now a new friend) on Craigslist who was selling a bunch of snowboard pants for $30. Not a bad start. I hit the mall to look for some gloves, goggles and a jacket. Lucky for me, this was the perfect time of year. I ended up spending less than $100 for pants, a jacket, gloves and goggles. If you know anything about snowboarding gear, you'd know this was a steal! I was stoked.
I found a company a few years ago called Bay Area Ski Bus. They do all kinds of Tahoe and beyond trips. Long ones, short ones and all kinds of package deals. I opted for the beginner snowboard package which included the bus ride to and from (movies included), a lift ticket, rentals, a 90 minute lesson, free food and beer. All for $150. Such a good deal.
Finally, the day of. At 3:30am, my alarm is blaring. I wasn't able to sleep very well all night due to the fact I'd been laying there in anticipation for the last 6 hours. I quickly finished up my morning routine, grabbed my bag of stuff I'd packed the night before and headed off to Walnut Creek BART to meet the Ski bus.
There were 2 buses that arrived going to separate places. I hopped on the Kirkwood bus, strolled down the isle and nestled into a spot in the back.
I'd brought my pillow, my ipod and my book with me. The next 4 hours were a combination of sleeping, reading and gazing out the window while listening to some tunes. A half hour before we arrived they handed out breakfast (I brought my own vegan friendly fruit) and turned on a 'Thrills, Chills and Spills' video on stunt accidents. Way to scare the hell out of a beginner.
We arrived around 9:30am. Once I exited the bus, I was handed my pass and pointed in the direction of the rentals and lessons. Everyone was super helpful. I was in and out and strapped up within 30 minutes.
I had some time to kill before the lesson started so I sat around and watched and listened to other beginners and their instructions. Finally it was my turn. Our group instructor's name was Adam. He couldn't have been more than 18 years old. He was very nice and patient with all of us. We spent the first hour learning how to strap in, some terminology then skating around on one foot and feeling out the board. We took turns with the beginners ski group riding on 'the magic carpet' (a rubber escalator type thing). The ski group was a bunch of 5 year olds. After going up that a few times, we practiced boarding down a tiny hill, doing a series of J turns, learning what a heel and toe edge was and attempting miserably how to stop.
After a quick water break, we buddied up with people who seemed to be at the same skill level and hopped on the ski lift. I paired up with a super cool chick named Alice.
Watching a group of beginner girls trying to get off the lift was hilarious. I think there was maybe one of us out of 10 that actually made it off without falling. I wasn't her. After everyone had made it off we gathered at the top of a bunny slope called the 'School Run'. As small as it was, it was super intimidating. Especially since we had no idea where it ended and we hadn't even attempted to strap both feet in yet. Strapping the other foot in was the most awkward and nerve racking part of the day. My groin was killing me at this point from dragging my foot for the last 90 mins trying to stop myself. I was thankful to be using both legs instead of just the one now. Adam tried to teach us how to traverse and encouraged us to work on our heel edge and toe edge stops. We all looked ridiculous. From an outsider's point of view we probably looked like a bunch of drunken rag dolls rolling down the hill getting stuck in the embankments off to the side.
About half way down I managed to absorb the concept of the toe edge. Not very well, but enough to get me down the damn hill. I zig zagged back and forth down the bunny slope as best I could and tried not to break my face along the way. Adam had informed us that he was scheduled to do another lesson and wished us all luck getting down before he ditched us half way. Wonderful, I thought. Alice seemed to be doing really well and made it down the hill way before me. I could hear her yelling words of encouragement as I was trying to dig myself out of a soft patch of snow I'd managed to fall into and tried to figure out how to stand up again. I finally made it down laughing and falling along the way. I had one good fall that knocked the wind out of me and tweaked my wrist. Stephanie, another girl who was in my group was struggling behind me. We were all pooped, sweaty and starting to feel the effects of the mountain. Alice took off to meet her friends and Stephanie and I took a quick break.
We eventually parted ways and I was officially on my own.
I decided to go up and try again on my own. I hopped on the lift & got off like a pro this time. Ok, not really. I didn't fall though which was a huge improvement.
I skated to where the hill started to descend, strapped my other foot in, said a prayer and was off. Slowly. Veeeery slowly. I fell a couple times followed by the mumbling of swear words, got back up and kept going. At one point I sat there to take a breather and looked over at the 6 year old who was skiing past me. I giggled as he tumbled right next to me. I asked if he was having fun and if this was his first time. He said it was his second. Clearly seeing that he was doing much better than me, he waved goodbye and shoved off. I finished the run in half the time and half the falls as the first time. I was pretty damn proud of myself... even though I did just get passed up by a 6 year old.
I decided to get some lunch in the lodge and take a break. I debated going up for one more run but I was tired, full, and only had 1 hour left until I needed to be back on the bus. I decided to return the rentals and grab a beer at the bar instead. It was probably the best beer I've ever had in my life.
A few minutes into my beer, a couple of guys my age meandered over next to me. Obviously already buzzed. One was dressed in a banana suit. For no apparent reason. We ended up talking about the suit, their crazy night, my first snowboarding experience, animal rights, veganism and other random things. They were funny as hell. I snapped a picture with the banana man before they took off.
I looked at the clock, grabbed my vodka Red Bull and started walking back towards the bus around 3:30. I was the first one back so I chatted it up with the bus drivers for a while while they set up tables of snacks and booze for the riders. I had a pretty decent buzz going on at this point and started taking pictures with the bus drivers and joking with the other riders. Everyone was tired & hungry but in a great mood.
I had baked a batch of vegan cookies and handed them to the driver to throw on the table with the rest of the food. I watched the box disappear within 5 minutes and overheard people talking about how good they were. I was SO excited. One girl raved about them and ate 4 of them while we were talking. Even the company asked me to come again and bring more. I told them about the bakery plans and they said they would highly recommend people to go if I continued to bring them stuff. The responses were overwhelmingly awesome. And I didn't even try!
After we loaded the bus and everyone was in place, we headed home. I sipped my beer, listened to my ipod and reflected on the day. Not too long into the trip, they put the movie 'Zoolander' in. We stopped at a shopping mall in Jackson around 6:30 for dinner. I chose Subway as my option. We took a head count then finished the trip home. We arrived at WC BART around 8:30. I was home, lying in bed and beginning my recovery by 9pm.
What an awesome day. I can't wait to go back. I've officially found a new, expensive and painful hobby.
Not this year.
I found a super cool chick (and now a new friend) on Craigslist who was selling a bunch of snowboard pants for $30. Not a bad start. I hit the mall to look for some gloves, goggles and a jacket. Lucky for me, this was the perfect time of year. I ended up spending less than $100 for pants, a jacket, gloves and goggles. If you know anything about snowboarding gear, you'd know this was a steal! I was stoked.
I found a company a few years ago called Bay Area Ski Bus. They do all kinds of Tahoe and beyond trips. Long ones, short ones and all kinds of package deals. I opted for the beginner snowboard package which included the bus ride to and from (movies included), a lift ticket, rentals, a 90 minute lesson, free food and beer. All for $150. Such a good deal.
Finally, the day of. At 3:30am, my alarm is blaring. I wasn't able to sleep very well all night due to the fact I'd been laying there in anticipation for the last 6 hours. I quickly finished up my morning routine, grabbed my bag of stuff I'd packed the night before and headed off to Walnut Creek BART to meet the Ski bus.
There were 2 buses that arrived going to separate places. I hopped on the Kirkwood bus, strolled down the isle and nestled into a spot in the back.
I'd brought my pillow, my ipod and my book with me. The next 4 hours were a combination of sleeping, reading and gazing out the window while listening to some tunes. A half hour before we arrived they handed out breakfast (I brought my own vegan friendly fruit) and turned on a 'Thrills, Chills and Spills' video on stunt accidents. Way to scare the hell out of a beginner.
We arrived around 9:30am. Once I exited the bus, I was handed my pass and pointed in the direction of the rentals and lessons. Everyone was super helpful. I was in and out and strapped up within 30 minutes.
I had some time to kill before the lesson started so I sat around and watched and listened to other beginners and their instructions. Finally it was my turn. Our group instructor's name was Adam. He couldn't have been more than 18 years old. He was very nice and patient with all of us. We spent the first hour learning how to strap in, some terminology then skating around on one foot and feeling out the board. We took turns with the beginners ski group riding on 'the magic carpet' (a rubber escalator type thing). The ski group was a bunch of 5 year olds. After going up that a few times, we practiced boarding down a tiny hill, doing a series of J turns, learning what a heel and toe edge was and attempting miserably how to stop.
After a quick water break, we buddied up with people who seemed to be at the same skill level and hopped on the ski lift. I paired up with a super cool chick named Alice.
Watching a group of beginner girls trying to get off the lift was hilarious. I think there was maybe one of us out of 10 that actually made it off without falling. I wasn't her. After everyone had made it off we gathered at the top of a bunny slope called the 'School Run'. As small as it was, it was super intimidating. Especially since we had no idea where it ended and we hadn't even attempted to strap both feet in yet. Strapping the other foot in was the most awkward and nerve racking part of the day. My groin was killing me at this point from dragging my foot for the last 90 mins trying to stop myself. I was thankful to be using both legs instead of just the one now. Adam tried to teach us how to traverse and encouraged us to work on our heel edge and toe edge stops. We all looked ridiculous. From an outsider's point of view we probably looked like a bunch of drunken rag dolls rolling down the hill getting stuck in the embankments off to the side.
About half way down I managed to absorb the concept of the toe edge. Not very well, but enough to get me down the damn hill. I zig zagged back and forth down the bunny slope as best I could and tried not to break my face along the way. Adam had informed us that he was scheduled to do another lesson and wished us all luck getting down before he ditched us half way. Wonderful, I thought. Alice seemed to be doing really well and made it down the hill way before me. I could hear her yelling words of encouragement as I was trying to dig myself out of a soft patch of snow I'd managed to fall into and tried to figure out how to stand up again. I finally made it down laughing and falling along the way. I had one good fall that knocked the wind out of me and tweaked my wrist. Stephanie, another girl who was in my group was struggling behind me. We were all pooped, sweaty and starting to feel the effects of the mountain. Alice took off to meet her friends and Stephanie and I took a quick break.
We eventually parted ways and I was officially on my own.
I decided to go up and try again on my own. I hopped on the lift & got off like a pro this time. Ok, not really. I didn't fall though which was a huge improvement.
I skated to where the hill started to descend, strapped my other foot in, said a prayer and was off. Slowly. Veeeery slowly. I fell a couple times followed by the mumbling of swear words, got back up and kept going. At one point I sat there to take a breather and looked over at the 6 year old who was skiing past me. I giggled as he tumbled right next to me. I asked if he was having fun and if this was his first time. He said it was his second. Clearly seeing that he was doing much better than me, he waved goodbye and shoved off. I finished the run in half the time and half the falls as the first time. I was pretty damn proud of myself... even though I did just get passed up by a 6 year old.
I decided to get some lunch in the lodge and take a break. I debated going up for one more run but I was tired, full, and only had 1 hour left until I needed to be back on the bus. I decided to return the rentals and grab a beer at the bar instead. It was probably the best beer I've ever had in my life.
A few minutes into my beer, a couple of guys my age meandered over next to me. Obviously already buzzed. One was dressed in a banana suit. For no apparent reason. We ended up talking about the suit, their crazy night, my first snowboarding experience, animal rights, veganism and other random things. They were funny as hell. I snapped a picture with the banana man before they took off.
I looked at the clock, grabbed my vodka Red Bull and started walking back towards the bus around 3:30. I was the first one back so I chatted it up with the bus drivers for a while while they set up tables of snacks and booze for the riders. I had a pretty decent buzz going on at this point and started taking pictures with the bus drivers and joking with the other riders. Everyone was tired & hungry but in a great mood.
I had baked a batch of vegan cookies and handed them to the driver to throw on the table with the rest of the food. I watched the box disappear within 5 minutes and overheard people talking about how good they were. I was SO excited. One girl raved about them and ate 4 of them while we were talking. Even the company asked me to come again and bring more. I told them about the bakery plans and they said they would highly recommend people to go if I continued to bring them stuff. The responses were overwhelmingly awesome. And I didn't even try!
After we loaded the bus and everyone was in place, we headed home. I sipped my beer, listened to my ipod and reflected on the day. Not too long into the trip, they put the movie 'Zoolander' in. We stopped at a shopping mall in Jackson around 6:30 for dinner. I chose Subway as my option. We took a head count then finished the trip home. We arrived at WC BART around 8:30. I was home, lying in bed and beginning my recovery by 9pm.
What an awesome day. I can't wait to go back. I've officially found a new, expensive and painful hobby.
