Monday, December 29, 2008

On the Mountain - Part II

The lodge at the bottom of the north face of Mont Tremblant is surprisingly smaller then expected and sparsely furnished. It does not maintain the same sense of chaotic activity found at the top of Mont Tremblant or swirling around the restaurants and shops at the bottom of the south face. The large porch is empty of activity, as any warmth from the sun is offset by the bitterly cold wind.

I stopped at the small cafeteria to purchase yogurt, a cookie, a bottle of water. My appetite for the cookie disappears once I discovered that it was 400 calories and I was only able to eat 1/4 of it. I sat at one of the tables lined up against a row of windows, warmed by the sun, watching groups of skiers and snowboarders coming off the mountain and onto the lifts to reach the top once again.

I was alone. I was tired and keenly aware of the soreness in my ankles. With no shuttle available to take me back to the resort proper, I would have to take the lift back up to the top and board down the south face.

I am wary of lifts, having been hit on the back of the head by a chair when an attempt to get off one on a baby slope* went awry and falling off one while attempting to get in the chair, resulting in a mild concussion and a sore neck when my head hit the boards underneath the chairs. A deep breath, tighten my boots back up, strap myself back into the board and onto the lift. Struggle for several moments to get the safety bar down across my lap, out of the way of my board.

The ride up was long, the wind was harsh, the weight of the board dragged on my leg and they tired from dangling for so long without any support. My hands began to alternate between tingling and numb. A careful examination of my gloves revealed small holes on the sides, near the fingertips. Midway through the trip the lift slowed to a stop and I sat there, chair swinging in the wind, hoping that the lift would start back up and wondering how hard the ground was if I had to jump.

Off at the top, back onto the slopes. Fall shortly after getting off the lift and must quickly drag myself out of the way of the group coming off the chairs behind me. They cheer, relieved at my presence of mind to get out of their way.

Hands freezing, out of my bindings, inside the lodge to purchase some gloves. More sunlight pours through the window and inside is bustling. The gloves are expensive and made more so by the inclusion of a 2% resort tax on top of the 5% regional and the 7.5% provincial tax.

Retrieve board from the seemingly miles of racks of boards and skis in front of the lodge. Carry to a gentle slope and struggle to strap in - the bindings are new Flow bindings and I'm still learning how to set the straps properly and step in and out of them without falling over.

Once strapped in, I noticed that my left boot is tight, a painful sensation of a metal band clamping and digging into the front of my ankle. I take my foot out of the bindings, readjust and step back into the bindings. Still painful.

Fifteen minutes later and I'm still in pain and I still need to get down the mountain. I finally set off and begin the cycle of falling and getting back up all over again. The conditions on the south face slopes have deteriorated from use and the surface is rough and pebbly.

Getting back up becomes excruciating, the left boot digs painfully deep into my leg every time I try to get back to my feet, and the pain makes it more difficult to get back up. I become increasingly tired and must stop often. I can not get enough momentum going and must stop, unstrap my bindings and walk because the surface is too flat for forward movement.

In the end. I must hike down the last trail, difficult to do boots designed to fully limit motion in the foot and ankle. I am not alone, as I have run into J and his brother again. J takes my board from me and insists on carrying the rest of the way down.

I am exhausted when I reach the bottom. My body trembles and my ankles ache. We sit for a while in a café decorated to look like a Parisian corner bar. I eat a brownie and drink hot tea and talk to two residents of Tremblant.

On Friday J hands me a small bag containing one blue and one red Mont Tremblant. I take a moment to carefully apply a sticker to my board. I earned this one.

Thursday, December 25, 2008

On the Mountain - Part I

I've had a difficult time finding the energy to sit down and write about my ride down the mountain. My left ankle is still sore, a souvenir from my recent trip to Quebec. I felt a strange, painful popping sensation earlier this evening, which makes me suspect that I may have done more damage then garden variety shin splints. J claims that spending all afternoon and a good portion of the evening sitting on the floor while constructing a Lego house is the cause and that I will be fine in the morning.

We split the drive over two days on the way up to Mont Tremblant. Day one was uneventful and included a stop in Wilkes-Barre to see the Baby Penguins play. Day two included an errant GPS, resulting in a ferry ride across the mostly frozen Ottawa river, a drive through the backwoods of Quebec and a surprise viewing of the Steelers game.

I only made two runs down Mont Tremblant, one down the north face, one down the south, both on the same day. I did not plan on making only two runs, but in a moment of forgetfulness I went down the wrong (north) face and was forced to return to the top and make a second run down the correct (south) facet

As I am an extremely inexperienced snowboarder, the first run took forty-five minutes and included frequent stops and falls on a mixed of groomed powder and pebbly ice pellets. By the time I reached the bottom of the face (and realized I had come down the wrong side) I was sweating, wet and my ankles ached.

In need of a break before getting back on the lift, I made my second, more fatal mistake of the day, and loosened my boots.

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Stay Tuned...

Photos and commentary from Quebec trip coming soon. Right now I'm still recovering from driving all night.

Sunday, December 07, 2008

How to Snowboard


  1. Fall off while attempting to get off ski lift. Hit head on boards, end up with concussion. Stop snowboarding for six years.
  2. Six years later... agree to go on ski vacation with spouse.
  3. Buy a pair of barely used boots (Boots A) and bindings off of eBay.
  4. Purchase a used snowboard, bindings and boots (Boots B) from spouse's boss.
  5. Go to nearby, family-style ski resort offering free passes, to practice.
  6. Put on Boots A.
  7. Walk around.
  8. Practice maneuvering snowboard with one foot out of binding.
  9. Discover metal-band-digging-into-ankle sensation is unbearable and sit down in the snow to pull boots off feet.
  10. Watch as spouse re-laces and reties boots.
  11. Cry when spouse glares at you after almost fall over him while is is re-lacing boots.
  12. Put boots back on. Walk around. Continue maneuvering with one foot out of bindings.
  13. Experience return of metal-band-digging-into-ankles sensation. Decide sensation is unbearable. Unlace top of boots, stow board and walk back to the car.
  14. Switch out Boots A for Boots B.
  15. Walk back up to resort. Retrieve board. Head towards baby slopes.
  16. Skip escalator and walk to top of slope.
  17. Push self up into standing position.
  18. Begin down slope.
  19. Fall down.
  20. Push self back up again.
  21. Continue cycle until reaching bottom of slope. Trudge back up hill.
  22. Repeat.

Monday, December 01, 2008

Lately

I've been feeling angry, impatient and I'm having difficulty maintaining control. I'm struggling to determine where these emotions are coming from and how best to deal with them.

Actually, I know why I'm feeling the way I am. I'm having trouble letting go of the reasons.

Unfortunately, this is the exact combination of volatility that makes me withdraw and pushes me into depression. Intellectually knowing this does not make it any easier to cope.