wardsgirl
Active member
My 13 year-old son has been wanting to incorporate snowboarding into our winter trips for awhile now. The kid is already an accomplished hiker, (WM48 finisher, avid backpacker, etc.) and snowshoer, so he knew what he was getting into in the woods. I noticed recently that he has three brochures from ski areas on his desk: Waterville Valley, Wildcat, and Cannon. Hmmm... I see a trend here. Not willing to trust the kid's insistence that he could "hike for miles" in his snowboard boots, I posed a question on this site as to whether this was possible. Only knowing the uncomfortable feeling of ski boots, I had my doubts. Thanks to all that responded positively, we were ready to give it a try.
The kiddo was in our rec center's Championship basketball game in the morning. L 37-41,
although they were up by 4 with 1:20 left! With no celebratory party to attend, and the afternoon wide open, we decided to make a trial snowboarding run on the open carriage roads of Da Ossipee Massive. Mt. Roberts seemed to be as good a choice as any for this practice.
We reached the parking lot at 2pm and briefly chatted with a couple from Durham who had just descended from Turtleback Mtn. Other than them, we saw no one else out in the Ossipees today. We geared up and snowshoed along the Mt. Roberts Trail. The mushy trail had been recently snowshoed, but seemed largely unconsolidated. When we reached the top of every steep pitch, we drew an arrow in the snow to let us know that this would be a good place to try a snowboard descent. We reached the top at 5pm and the kiddo switched from snowshoes to snowboard.
Let me just say that I have not visited a ski area in many years. I used to ski a long time ago, and I have never snowboarded. The last time I actually saw my son on a snowboard was about 5 years ago when I signed him up for a "learn to snowboard" lesson at nearby Gunstock. I watched him struggle to stay upright on a completely level surface while holding the other newbie's hands. He'd fall to the ground and have to be helped up by the instructor. It was pathetic! I couldn't watch! As time went on, I have diligently written the check every year for my son to go snowboarding with a program offered by our town's school system. I never went, I just let him go and have fun with his friends. Well, a lot of progress had been made in 5 years!
On Mt. Roberts, I was completely unprepared to see the snowboarder that my son has become. He rode, he ripped, he shredded, he avoided trees. I was totally impressed! Our friend, Swiss Bob, helped me with the descent. As my son reached the top of every steep pitch, he glided down with the greatest of ease, carving turns in the loose powder. He had to walk a bit on the less-steeply angled sections, but was able to negotiate trees and wide open glades on the steeper descents. I cannot believe how easy my son made it look, although at nearly 50 years old, I doubt that I will ever be able to learn to snowboard!
Now, it looks like the snowboard may accompany us on more of our winter hikes. Eventually, we reached the bottom and my son carved one more stretch through the corral gate at the trailhead. We walked back to the car as darkness fell, and the lights of Gunstock glittered brightly from across the lake. It was a great day in the Ossipees!
The kiddo was in our rec center's Championship basketball game in the morning. L 37-41,
although they were up by 4 with 1:20 left! With no celebratory party to attend, and the afternoon wide open, we decided to make a trial snowboarding run on the open carriage roads of Da Ossipee Massive. Mt. Roberts seemed to be as good a choice as any for this practice. We reached the parking lot at 2pm and briefly chatted with a couple from Durham who had just descended from Turtleback Mtn. Other than them, we saw no one else out in the Ossipees today. We geared up and snowshoed along the Mt. Roberts Trail. The mushy trail had been recently snowshoed, but seemed largely unconsolidated. When we reached the top of every steep pitch, we drew an arrow in the snow to let us know that this would be a good place to try a snowboard descent. We reached the top at 5pm and the kiddo switched from snowshoes to snowboard.
Let me just say that I have not visited a ski area in many years. I used to ski a long time ago, and I have never snowboarded. The last time I actually saw my son on a snowboard was about 5 years ago when I signed him up for a "learn to snowboard" lesson at nearby Gunstock. I watched him struggle to stay upright on a completely level surface while holding the other newbie's hands. He'd fall to the ground and have to be helped up by the instructor. It was pathetic! I couldn't watch! As time went on, I have diligently written the check every year for my son to go snowboarding with a program offered by our town's school system. I never went, I just let him go and have fun with his friends. Well, a lot of progress had been made in 5 years!
On Mt. Roberts, I was completely unprepared to see the snowboarder that my son has become. He rode, he ripped, he shredded, he avoided trees. I was totally impressed! Our friend, Swiss Bob, helped me with the descent. As my son reached the top of every steep pitch, he glided down with the greatest of ease, carving turns in the loose powder. He had to walk a bit on the less-steeply angled sections, but was able to negotiate trees and wide open glades on the steeper descents. I cannot believe how easy my son made it look, although at nearly 50 years old, I doubt that I will ever be able to learn to snowboard!
Now, it looks like the snowboard may accompany us on more of our winter hikes. Eventually, we reached the bottom and my son carved one more stretch through the corral gate at the trailhead. We walked back to the car as darkness fell, and the lights of Gunstock glittered brightly from across the lake. It was a great day in the Ossipees!
