A Day of Firsts at Powderhorn

Me during my snowboard lesson with Bob.

Kaleb with Lindi his instructor doing a "pizza" snowplow.

Katie with her instructor using the hula hoop method of learning to ski.

Video of me working on my toe edge with Bob.

Sooooooo. We ended up keeping the kids Saturday night so Renae and I packed things Saturday night so we could just pile into the car to be at Powderhorn at 8am. We woke up early and did the morning routine then woke the kids up at 0710 and wrapped them in blankets and strapped them into the car and we were on our way. I had to be there at 0800 to sign forms and what not for my lessons and Katie and Kaleb needed to be signed in by 0900. Once we got there it was mass confusion. I went and signed in, Renae took Katie and Kaleb into the bathroom to change, then I got the keys to the car to get my board and change, then I had all of the kids snow clothes, but couldn't find Renae and the kids. The lobby police wouldn't let me in the lobby with my snowboard, and my hands were way full, but he showed me around to the back where I put my board. I walked up stairs, downstairs, around the building, back out to the car, but still couldn't find Renae. By then it was like 840am and my lessons started at 0900. I finally asked at the lessons counter if the kids age 3 and 5 check in for lessons somewhere else. Of course they said yes at the children's learning center outside. Just then I see Renae coming through the door, I hand her the keys to the car and all the kids stuff and grab my board to go meet with the class. Having never been on a board, strapped into a board, or put on boarding boots, this was quite the experience. Renae came out and showed me how to loosen the bindings so I could get my boots in. The instructor asked if I was regular or goofy, I was like well I'm pretty goofy, Bob (instructor) was like no how do you come down the mountain. I'm thinking probably on my butt. So they had me jump over a snowboard and apparently I'm left foot dominant so regular. Whatever.
So then I had this stomp pad thingy, but since it was two years old (bought my board two years ago and this is the first day I've been on it) wouldn't stick to my board, oh well. Little did I know that latter on this would cause me quite a bit of pain (You know getting off the lift). So Bob, our instructor, gathered the 5 of us and took us over to the learning area. We strapped in our front foot and glided in a circle, ok, then we worked our way up this little incline to glide down, to get the feel of it you know. Then we worked on off-loading from the lift chair. This gave me a little bit of trouble in knowing how to get on the lift without getting my leg caught, keep the board straight, lean into the mountain as you get off, not away from the mountain. So I fell twice in getting off the practice seat. Then we grabbed our boards and all moved over to the easy rider lift. After taking 5 minutes to strap in my lead leg with leash we were working our way over to the chair lift. I made it onto the chair ok, but dumped as I got off apparently I leaned back on my board not forward toward the mountain, so my first fall, but definitely not my last. Then we unstrapped our boards and walked down the first little hill to a flat area so Bob could provide us with a little instruction.
This is where we learned the turtle roll and the toe edge of our boards. I got the toe edge down pretty quickly, however when we stopped to learn about heel or as I like to call it hell edge, I didn't fair so well. This is probably due to just getting comfortable with skiing in powder and leaning back. So adjusting to leaning forward is and was somewhat awkward for me. Not to mention getting up on the board from the hell edge position. Bob had to help me up every time because I'm to fat or have no butt muscles to pull myself up like that. Then he wanted me to sit back like in a chair and pop my feet up so I was on my heels, what the freak are you talking about young man. So I proceeded to fall over maybe 60 times. At some point Bob came running over to me and said I don't want you to fall down so much......yeah right don't ask me to sit in a chair and pop my feet up. Kids. I think I got my heel edge turn once during the whole day. So after getting most of the way down during our first time on the mountain, I said to Bob, are my heels supposed to move around so much, and he kinda gave me this confused look, and came to check my boots and bindings. He said your boots aren't even laced tightly and your liner isn't snug. I just gave him a blank look and he said I'm sorry I just assumed everyone knew about their boots. I said ummm nope, I didn't know I could tighten my liners. So he fixed my boots up and tightened my bindings and I was able to do a little bit better. But by that time I had fallen more than a cast out angel and I hurt, was dehydrated, and hungry. But just in time for our 1 hour lunch break.
Renae was right there so we went to the lodge where I sat down and couldn't answer any questions she posed about lunch because I was so beat. We got lunch eaten, kinda, and I went back down to meet my class. We headed right for the chair lift. This time I must have been really disoriented because I didn't wait at the wait line I followed the people in front of me (in my defense the wait line area is way different than the other resorts I've been too) so the lift operators are yelling stop stop to me, of course I fall down, they stop the lift get me up, move me forward and start the lift. Then I fall getting off the lift, even though they slowed down the lift, great. More toe edge...to heel edge and heel edge to toe edge practice. I fall down 60 more times. We get down the mountain and I am utterly exhausted to the core of my being but my group is going up again. I tell Bob I really need to sit this one out because I'm really dehydrated. So Renae brings me some water while we stand and watch Katie come down from the mountain on skis. She was doing really well. Then pretty soon I see my class coming down and they get in line again, so I join them, then Bob says we don't have enough time because our class ends in 20 min. So we get on the magic carpet conveyor belt and practice. I went down once and fell then told Bob I couldn't fall down anymore and took off my board.
Let me tell you something about pain. It is good to embrace the pain one fells, because if you fight it, it will attack and kill you. My butt hurts from the skin to the inner most part of my butt hole, like trying to push out a thirty pound turd. Then in the midst of all my falling I must have reached out with my left arm and pulled my shoulder, so my chest from shoulder to shoulder hurts like I was doing the "cliffhanger" scene for 3 1/2 days. My wrists and forearms burn like the Chicago Fire of 1908. My shins and calves scream from leaning into my bindings. My butt is still frozen from spending most of the day on it. I have two nice bright purple bruises in my butt crack (how they got there I have no idea). I can't even talk about my inner and outer thighs but I know they are they because they talk to me. Last but not least my butt was so swollen today (lesson + 1) that I couldn't even put my pants on so had to wear my running sweats. But it was a great day. I made it 20-25 seconds on my board without falling.

Katie and Kaleb's story
This is kinda loosely gathered from information from Renae and what I saw, but when I met back up with Renae in the early morning she said Kaleb was throwing a fit and asked if I would go check on him while she went and got her jacket out of the car. I walked in and Kaleb was being held by one of the girls and just wailing. I asked if everything was ok and she said yes, so went back outside. At one point during my lesson Renae had told me that they took Kaleb and three other boys up to the mountain and Kaleb started crying and would just fall down on his skiis. When lunch came, Renae went to go get Katie, and she was super excited and was having fun learning to ski. She was also mad because they had just served Goldfish in the learning center and Renae had pulled her out so she kept asking for Goldfish. After finishing my second run on the mountain and was stopped with Renae for a breather we saw Katie coming down the mountain with her instructor. She looked like she was having an awesome time. The instructor had a hula hoop around her...so instructional tool I suppose. So about an hour later after 2pm when my lesson was over we went to go get Katie and Kaleb from the learning center. We never saw Kaleb on the mountain so assumed he was still throwing a fit and they didn't take him back up. Well when we went in they said Kaleb was on the mountain with Lindi. So we went back outside and there he was coming down smiling and waiving at us. So we took pictures of him getting back on the lift and then coming down again. They did a really good job with both the kids. We signed them up for next Sunday to have lessons again.