Spork wanted to try snowboarding in Utah. We headed over to Garf's for some accessories, and drove up to Brighton. JLITH, mom and Aunt Yo came along. They wanted to see us come down our first ride. However, we (or rather, I) took so long that they eventually left.
We got on the lift without incident ... Spork suggested that we take a lift seat by ourselves instead of joining with anyone else. His reasoning ... "We don't need anyone hating on us this early in the day." The ride up the Majestic lift was the longest I'd ever been on. It kept going and going. In retrospect, I should have looked at the trail maps and chosen the Explorer list instead. That's what I get for trusting someone else. I turned to Spork and said, "How in the world do you expect me to get to the bottom without killing myself?"
Snow was great, at least by California standards. It was the longest ride down of my life, and probably Spork's as well. Remember that the last time I went snowboarding (which was also my first time), I got a hairline fracture on my left ankle, then rode down once more before calling it quits. Anyway, Spork deserves a medal for sticking with me (at least for most of the way). I still couldn't stand up facing down the mountain and I kept lifting out of my too-big boots. Tried to avoid falling down, since the hardest thing is getting back up. Did alright for my third run. Sat down in utter happiness when I reached the end. Only to be sprayed down with a flash of snow down the neck of my jacket by a hotshot teen!
Sent Spork back up for a couple runs so I could get some video. The last run he got a little lost, and I nearly froze as the sun dipped below the tree line. Bought some hot chocolate and chips to share, but they mysteriously disappeared before Spork made it down the mountain. Warmed our frozen hands under the hot dryer machines ... ahhhhhhh!
On the drive down, we took a picture by one of those "No standing or parking" signs, which we thought were hilarious. Too bad we didn't park the car behind as well. As it was, Spork ended up having to borrow a handy shovel and dig us out because the car got stuck! Nice guy, who was driving the other way, stopped and helped us out. Made up for the rude hotshot earlier.
Asked an avid skiing coworker what the signs were about. Apparently they are placed in areas where skidding or hydroplaning frequently occur. Oops!
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