As soon as winter approaches, the die-hard snowboarders and skiers prepare for the short time they have to enjoy the white powdered hills.
Whether it is last year’s viral trend of sneezing into your inner elbow and then taking a shot or girls boarding down a mountain in a bikini doing incredible tricks, I see new trends every year on my Instagram and TikTok feeds. I’ve always wanted to be one of them – minus the alcohol and with a few additional layers of clothing.
This year, I decided that I would officially begin my journey by learning how to snowboard. My first step was buying the necessary equipment.
Snowboarding is relatively expensive. With boards ranging from $200 to $800, boots from $200 to $500 and bindings around $200 to $400, I considered taping my feet to a baking pan and testing my luck.
I knew I had to be wise and only buy things that were on sale; I’m a broke university student trying to pay for a sport that I don’t have the budget for. Typical.
I waited until November when Sport Chek was having their annual friends and family sale to purchase my equipment. I was able to buy a new snowboard, boots and bindings on sale, albeit still paying around $700.
Aside from the hefty amount, I still had to pay for a season’s pass. Depending on where and when you buy the pass, it can range from around $200 to $500. I was, unfortunately, too late to purchase mine and was not trying to spend another $400 on a pass. So, I decided to go only a few times this year.
I planned out a day to go to Blue Mountain, a popular snowboarding and skiing hill and began to prepare for the future soreness I would have. I stayed up late watching different TikTok and YouTube videos of snowboarders doing tricks and explaining tips on how to master the sport as a beginner.
Luckily, I had my best friend who helped me learn as much as possible until I eventually gave up from exhaustion.
I would be lying if I said learning was easy. I fell numerous times and bruised just about every part of my body. But I had a blast and could not contain my excitement when I finally advanced my skillset, even if it was in the tiniest of ways.
There is pressure to learn quickly when you are first beginning. There are not many hills to choose from and the hills that come after the beginner hills are incredibly intimidating. I had to reel back my expectations for the day; there was no way I would be elegantly storming down a mountain by nightfall.
I know my skills need lots of work and I won’t be a professional soon. But the videos I scroll through on social media encourage me to continue learning. Hopefully, the next time I go, I’ll fall and bruise a little less, but either way, it will all be worth the experience (and money).