Words and Photos from Owen V.
The third expedition day for the Coastlines To Ridgelines paddling began with a terribly familiar sound, that is my alarm. To be more specific, my alarm set for 4:20 am. We were to meet at Crothall for 5:15 and be leaving by 5:30, with the goal of making it to the mountain by roughly 8:30. After 3 hours of excruciatingly early bus riding we arrived at the mountain and were split into our lesson groups. From there we made our way down to the rental building and excitedly found our equipment. Upon getting fully geared up we headed out to the slopes only to realize, as beginner snowboarders, that we were in over our heads. 5 minutes of questionable technique and splendid falls later our instructor, Api, arrived. We then made it down to the “magic carpet” where in Api was able to work with us one on one, identifying our most basic technique flaws, of which there were many. Upon the completion of our hour and a half lesson we were set free to stumble our way down the mountain in whichever way we saw fit. Roughly two hours later we made a quick stop for lunch and to check in with the chaperones. The afternoon was full of more falls, beautiful blue skies, and ultimately a complete crash in everyone's energy for the bus ride home. All in all the day was a complete success, and a pleasant shift from the otherwise paddling based cohort.