The Trials and Tribulations of a Wannabe Snowboarder

Posted on March 25, 2019August 10, 2020 by Mountain Girl Michelle

There are two versions of this article. The original version is below. The adapted version explains some of the expressions and phrases (helpful for non-native English speakers).

Do you want to listen to this article? Click the “play” button for the audio version.

I decided to try snowboarding because that’s what the cool kids were doing. I say “kids”, but my friends were mostly in their upper 20s. They had embraced snowboarding, whereas I was still trying to get used to skiing again. I gave in to peer pressure and decided I would at least try it.

Taking a lesson seemed like a good idea. I could learn some basics and then I could try it on my own. It’s always good to have some base knowledge, right? Right. And we’re never too old to try something new!

My snowboard instructor didn’t speak English. As I didn’t speak French yet, I knew that my first lesson was going to be a challenge for numerous reasons and not just because I strapped my feet to a board to slide down a mountain. Seriously, what was I thinking?

Luckily, this man had the patience of a saint. He would explain to me the exercise, I would look at him with a blank stare, and he would explain it again but using a lot of body movements. We both laughed a lot. Eventually I was able to understand what I needed to do but understanding what you needed to do and doing it? That’s a whole different story.

I can not say that I am a gifted skier, but as a snowboarder, I was hopeless. I was so scared of the sensation of sliding, even though it was more of a “side to side” movement rather than going from “top to bottom”. I think half of the time I was holding my breath. I was sure that at any moment I was going to have an epic fall and I’d get the opportunity to try a French hospital.

We stayed on green slopes where I was almost flattened by snowboarders one third my age and half my size. I was not feeling it. I know it’s always difficult to try something new, but this just didn’t feel right.

After my first lesson, I was exhausted. I didn’t have the wrist pain that most people complained of, but my butt hurt from falling over and over. I didn’t give up and I took another lesson the following week. Practice makes perfect, right?

My technique started to improve, but that lingering fear of sliding was so overwhelming. I understand that you slide on skis too, but for whatever reason, snowboarding scared me to death!!! At what point do you give up and decide it’s not for you?

I wanted to go one time by myself. Well, that was interesting. I have to say that after going down a few green runs and a blue, there was not a part of my body that didn’t hurt. I was beginning to second guess my choice of snow sports.

From that moment on, I focused on skiing. I would rather spend my time and money doing something I actually enjoyed instead of doing something I clearly was not meant to do. As someone who has always been athletic, this was hard for me.

Maybe I didn’t excel at any sport, but there are only few sports that I absolutely can not do. (Basketball is in this category, but I’m vertically challenged!) Saying goodbye to snowboarding was like admitting defeat. I didn’t like it.

Then I became friends with a girl who convinced me I needed to try it one more time. She assured me that she would teach me the basics and we would have so much fun! I was skeptical. We were talking about snowboarding. I did not associate snowboarding with fun… it was more like frustration.

When we arrived at the ski resort, we went to rent my snowboard. They asked me what type of snowboard I used. I remember saying something like “classic”. Remember, I still didn’t speak French very well!

My friend asked me if I understood what the guy was saying. I told her that I didn’t (she didn’t speak French either) but I told her I was just getting a regular snowboard. She laughed and asked which foot do I put in front?

I began to stutter, “Wait, what? What do you mean? You can have a different foot that leads?” I had no idea. I was absolutely clueless. How did I miss this important step? And how do you know if you are a lefty or a righty?

She told me to stand with my legs together and she was going to push me from behind. I wasn’t sure if she was serious or if she was just going to make me look like a fool in front of a bunch of people. Feeling like I didn’t have a choice, I stood there with my legs together waiting for her to push me.

When she pushed me, my right foot went forward. What does this mean? In French, it means that I’m “goofy”. My right foot is normally in front as I go down the mountain. Apparently, you’re either “goofy” or “regular”. I had been renting a “regular” snowboard the last three times. Ugh!

My friend told me that this is obviously why I hated snowboarding! I wasn’t so sure, but I was happy to give it a try. At the very least, we were going to laugh, and I was okay with that. I needed a good laugh!

It was amazing how different it felt having my right foot in front instead of my left. I still wasn’t happy about falling every 50 meters, but I no longer felt scared and out of control. We had the BEST day snowboarding!

She really helped me improve, not only with my technique, but also with my confidence. After going a few times with her, I could go on blue runs AND I could take the chairlifts and the platter lifts on my snowboard! These were things I never thought I’d be able to do!

In the end, I didn’t continue snowboarding. I can’t say that I didn’t enjoy it (eventually), but I really enjoyed skiing, so I decided to focus on that. I don’t have any regrets.

For those of you who decide to try snowboarding, remember to find out your dominant foot before you rent your snowboard. I truly think that it makes a huge difference when you try this sport. I know it made a huge difference for me.

And for those of you who strap on a snowboard as your snow sport of choice, you have my admiration. It is not an easy sport and yet so many of you make it look completely effortless. Bravo! I am truly impressed!

And you, what do you prefer? Skiing? Snowboarding?

Adapted Version

In parenthesis () there are explanations of words and phrases. These explanations are in italics.

The Trials and Tribulations (difficult experiences) of a Wannabe (someone who wants to be a specific type of person) Snowboarder (a person who practices the sport snowboarding)

I decided to try snowboarding because that’s what the cool kids (popular people) were doing. I say “kids”, but my friends were mostly in their upper 20s (25-29 years old). They had embraced snowboarding (they already did it), whereas I was still trying to get used to (become familiar with) skiing again. I gave in to peer pressure (the strong influence of a group a people) and decided I would at least try it.

My snowboard instructor didn’t speak English. As I didn’t speak French yet, I knew that my first lesson was going to be a challenge for numerous reasons and not just because I strapped (attached) my feet to a board to slide (to move smoothly over a surface) down a mountain. Seriously, what was I thinking?

Luckily, this man had the patience of a saint (he was very patient). He would explain to me the exercise (a movement to practice), I would look at him with a blank stare (like I didn’t understand anything), and he would explain it again but using a lot of body movements. We both laughed a lot. Eventually I was able to understand what I needed to do but understanding what you needed to do and doing it? That was a whole different story.

I can not say that I am a gifted (very good) skier, but as a snowboarder, I was hopeless (not good at all). I was so scared of the sensation of sliding, even though it was more of a “side to side” movement rather than going from “top to bottom”. I think half of the time I was holding my breath (I didn’t breathe). I was sure that at any moment I was going to have an epic fall and I’d get the opportunity to try a French hospital.

We stayed on green slopes where I was almost flattened (to be hit by another person and be flat on the ground as the result) by snowboarders one third my age (my age divided by three) and half my size. I was not feeling it. I know it’s always difficult to try something new, but this just didn’t feel right.

After my first lesson, I was exhausted (extremely tired). I didn’t have the wrist (joint below the hand) pain that most people complained of, but my butt hurt from falling over and over. I didn’t give up (stop trying) and I took another lesson the following week. Practice makes perfect, right?

My technique started to improve, but that lingering fear (a fear that does not stop) of sliding was so overwhelming (very strong). I understand that you slide on skis too, but for whatever reason (a reason I don’t know), snowboarding scared me to death (I was terrified)!!! At what point do you give up and decide it’s not for you?

I wanted to go one time by myself (alone). Well, that was interesting. I have to say that after going down a few green runs and a blue, there was not a part of my body that didn’t hurt (every part of my body hurt). I was beginning to second guess (question) my choice of snow sports.

From that moment on, I focused on skiing. I would rather spend my time (use my time) and money doing something I actually enjoyed instead of doing something I clearly was not meant to do (not my purpose in life). As someone who has always been athletic, this was hard (difficult) for me.

Maybe I didn’t excel (have a high level) at any sport, but there are only few sports that I absolutely can not do. (Basketball is in this category, but I’m vertically challenged (I’m short!)) Saying goodbye to snowboarding was like admitting defeat (admitting that I couldn’t do something). I didn’t like it.

Then I became friends with a girl who convinced me (changed my mind/decision) I needed to try it one more time. She assured me (made me feel confident) that she would teach me the basics and we would have so much fun! I was skeptical (not sure/convinced). We were talking about snowboarding. I did not associate snowboarding with fun… it was more like frustration.

When we arrived at the ski resort, we went to rent (pay to use something and then return it at the end of the day) my snowboard. They asked me what type of snowboard I used. I remember saying something like “classic”. Remember (don’t forget), I still didn’t speak French very well!

My friend asked me if I understood what the guy (man) was saying. I told her that I didn’t (she didn’t speak French either) but I told her I was just getting a regular snowboard. She laughed and asked which foot do I put in front?

I began to stutter (saying with hesitation), “Wait, what? What do you mean (what are you trying to say)? You can have a different foot that leads (goes first)?” I had no idea. I was absolutely clueless (didn’t understand). How did I miss this important step? And how do you know if you are a lefty (left foot dominant) or a righty (right foot dominant)?

She told me to stand with my legs together and she was going to push me from behind. I wasn’t sure if she was serious or if she was just going to make me look like a fool (an idiot) in front of a bunch of (a lot of) people. Feeling like I didn’t have a choice, I stood there with my legs together waiting for her to push me.

When she pushed me, my right foot went forward (advanced). What does this mean? In French, it means that I’m “goofy”. My right foot is normally in front as I go down the mountain. Apparently, you’re either “goofy” or “regular”. I had been renting a “regular” snowboard the last three times. Ugh!

My friend told me that this is obviously why I hated snowboarding! I wasn’t so sure, but I was happy to give it a try (to try). At the very least, we were going to laugh, and I was okay with that. I needed a good laugh!

In the end, I didn’t continue snowboarding. I can’t say that I didn’t enjoy it (eventually), but I really enjoyed skiing, so I decided to focus on that. I don’t have any regrets (feel bad for making that choice).

For those of you who decide to try snowboarding, remember to find out your dominant foot before you rent your snowboard. I truly think that it makes a huge (very big) difference when you try this sport. I know it made a huge difference for me.

And for those of you who strap on a snowboard as your snow sport of choice, you have my admiration (respect). It is not an easy sport and yet so many of you make it look completely effortless (to do without effort). Bravo! I am truly impressed (I have a lot of respect for you)!

And you, what do you prefer? Skiing? Snowboarding?

*Did it help to have the explanations?*

This blog was updated November 5, 2019 to include an audio version.

Adapted Version