Does it really work?
There are few skills that provide a neater metaphor for picking yourself up after a fall than snowboarding. Here, one writer shares what failing taught her about trying
Growing up, I wasn’t ‘a skier’.
The handful of times I got to try it with friends were, frankly, disastrous. There were tears – some shed while walking down the mountain. But something in me wanted to keep trying to tackle the slopes, and when I found myself with a group of friends and a partner who snowboarded, it made me want to try even more.
I had this idyllic vision: us in the mountains, enjoying the snow and après scene without a single tear or broken bone. But in order for that to happen, I needed professional help.
This is how I wound up having snowboarding lessons at Gravity Haus, a ski-in, ski-out hotel in Breckenridge, Colorado.
The instructor started our lesson with a warm-up, and practising basic body movements on the board, I couldn’t help but feel frustrated – we only had a few hours together, and it felt a bit remedial. But warm-ups aren’t just about awakening the muscles; they’re also about building confidence in the moves you’re about to execute. It was my first lesson in letting go of expectations – but it wouldn’t be my last.
We practised toe and heel edge turns on a nursery slope. I’d done them before, but my instructor’s cues on where to lean my front leg unlocked a smoother turn. I wasn’t falling as often as I usually would, and he held my arm to control my speed, which made me less fearful of falling. But when we advanced to a steeper slope, I couldn’t do them without wiping out.
