Snowboading: My Unfortunate Tail(bone)

Yesterday, I tried snowboarding for the first time. The GSDO at Notre Dame took a large group of us to a ski lodge about 45 min away called Swiss Valley. We had the choice to either ski or snowboard. I choose snowboarding for two reasons.

1.) I felt I would have an easier time if I was locked into a frame and only had to concentrate on balancing rather than having to keep my skis straight, together, and balancing.
2.) Snowboarding looks so much cooler.

So we arrived. Michael also choose to snowboard and Anne choose to ski. We got our gear and headed to the bunny slope. It was definitely not what I pictured a bunny slope to be. I was hoping for a short, not too steep slope that I could use to get the hang of it before trying anything with speed. After about 10 min of figuring out how to strap on, I was ready to go.

I kinda managed to slide over the edge and pick up speed. At first, I felt pretty good. I didn't feel like I was off balance or anything and was thinking this isn't so bad when I started to spin. While I may be okay if I am just going straight, there is no way I can keep my balance on a spinning board. Sadly, I was going way faster than I should have been for my first time and so when I fell, it really hurt. I am not sure in what order I hit, but I know I hit my head really hard and my tailbone even harder. I also remember still sliding and spinning while flat on my back. I was in so much pain, but I forced myself to lift my head and wave to my friends up top. I was worried that if I hadn't moved they would have called the emergency staff and I didn't want that. Michael came down and helped me down the rest of the way.

Going up the slope was just as bad. The bunny slope used a rope to pull you up the hill. The only problem was you had to know how to stand on your board, so I ended up on my front. At this point, I just decided to climb the hill myself. My next two runs consisted of Michael holding my hands as I slid down the side of the slope. By this time, my backside was hurting so much I couldn't bend or twist which made doing anything really really painful. My foot was also bothering me.

Warning: If you don't like hearing about injuries skip to the next paragraph.
Back in high school I went to a youth convention and on the first night there, someone stomped on my foot and broke my right big toenail in half. The rest of the week involved miles of walking and by the end of the week was excruciating. When the nail finally healed I had to have part of it removed and the root killed because it was painfully ingrown. Sometimes, when I stub my toe or accidentally injure my foot, that nail acts up again. For the past couple of weeks it has been bothering me. So the very stiff and tight board boots caused lots of pain every time I put weight on my right foot.

So about one hour and three attempts, I gave up. Michael continued to pick up the sport and he and Anne eventually moved to the intermediate slope in order to use the ski lift. Since Michael couldn't steer, he would try to wait until the slope was mostly clear before going. However, numerous times people would stop halfway down to watch their friends, so he would be forced to fall down so he wouldn't crash into them.


While waiting at the top of the intermediate slope, a snowboarder made a spectacular fall as he was sliding off the lift. Then he came over and sat on the snow near me. After glancing over a couple of times he struck up conversation by telling me he had made too many face plants today for his own good. The conversation continues as follows:

Him: "So who are you here with?"

Me: "I came here with a bunch of friends."

Him: "Is one of them your boyfriend?"

Me: "Yes."

Him: "Never fails."

We continued to make awkward small talk until I had to go meet Anne and Michael coming off the lift. I wondered what would have happened if I had told him I didn't have a boyfriend.


Even though I really didn't have fun, I am not totally turned off of snowboarding, but if I do it again I would want
1.) lessons
2.) a helmet

I really don't like doing things where I can seriously injure myself without some instruction. I think next year the GSDO should set up some sort of lessons either official or unofficial since they are taking a bunch of first timers and it really isn't fun to be just left to your own devices.

Today, I am still very sore. I can't stand up by myself and I still cannot bend over, which makes doing anything very hard. I am hoping that a couple of days will erase all the painful memories from last night.