On this, the day before my 34th birthday, I awoke at 6:30am to partake in one of those sports that I had never had the guts to try. I figured, how hard could it be?
So my buddy Matt picked me up at 7:30 and we headed up to Hoodoo, in Sisters, Oregon. As soon as we got there, we found out that the classes that were being setup were full, but I could get a lesson at 1:00pm when the next lesson started. Matt, who used to work at Willamette Pass, took me up the top of the bunny hill, and next thing you know I was sliding down the mountain in what has been referred to as a controlled skid. I did very well today doing my 'snow plowing' or pizza stance, as well as turning on the bunny slope. I fell a few times, and was forced to get out of my skis to get up, much to my dismay, but other than that not much. I did a few runs up a down the bunny slope, and felt pretty confident going into my private lesson ( yes, I splurged and paid for a personal lesson ). After a few runs down the bunny slope, my instructor said he thought I was ready for a green hill (easy).
I made it off the ski lift just fine, snow plowed to a stop, and felt pretty good as got ready to go. The hill in front of me in the picture above is the same one I went down. Not to steep, I loved it. Then came the hill. The hill was followed by a series of repetative and sometimes painful trips over six and a half feet down to meet with what was once soft powder. Not any more. For some reason, I could not master the turn when you reach the end of a switchback. I lost it almost every time. We left the day with some fun, and a few pictures, and lots of stories. I am sure I will feel all of my stories tomorrow. I hope they go light with the spankings ( birthday, remember-- perverts..), as my arse is in pain.
