Private Lesson

16 Saturday Jan 2016

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Eldora, Eldora Snowboard Lessons, Nederland

Normally my weekends present me with a running event to write about. Or a hike or some workout even more massive than a marathon. We can’t always have what we want. I’m still injured. Ellie then provides me with some sport to relate. That’s my girl. Today it’s snowboarding up at Eldora. I know, this is what we did last weekend too. Sliding down a snow covered mountainside on a board is something I would do every weekend if only I could.

After a few runs together, Ellie met up with Juliana for a private lesson. We set our plan at the end of last year to begin this season with some training. Hooking up with Juliana was just random but she was Ellie’s group instructor last year. Ellie was able to study boarding on her toe edge. And the proper technique to shift from her back edge to front edge by shifting her weight on her feet independently rather than keeping both feet in synch. I need to work on this myself. I boarded solo during her lesson and took my share of spills.

Snowboard Legs

10 Sunday Jan 2016

Posted by Ed Mahoney in Snowboard

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Eldora, GNU snowboards, Nederland

Ellie and I got up to Eldora today for the first time this year. Normally Eldora wins the prize as the windiest ski hill in Colorado but today was nice. Full sun and maybe 20° with very little wind. Ellie got to try out her new GNU B-NICE board and matching bindings. I got to relearn how to snowboard. I don’t have much muscle memory at this sport, but we both found our snowboard legs fairly quickly.

Ellie found her snowboard legs much quicker and I wouldn’t see her until the bottom of the hill. A couple of her girlfriends were up here, Grace and Ivy, but we didn’t hook up with them until we were leaving. They were alpine skiing. We’re committed to boarding.

We intend to get up here as many weekends as possible. Anyone else wants to go, skiing or snowboarding, let me know. I’ll haul your kids up. I’m looking into lessons for next weekend. Seems like a good idea to accelerate the learning curve early in the season. Today was a warmup. This is the season Ellie and I truly learn how to snowboard with confidence.

Snowboarding with Ellie

15 Sunday Mar 2015

Posted by Ed Mahoney in Ellie Rose, Snowboard

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Breckenridge, Eldora, Keystone, Nederland

“Keep your back straight!” Ellie coached me today on how to snowboard. That’s fair, I taught her how to ride a bike. I thought I knew how to snowboard but six years have somehow passed by since I last went. Could have something to do with breaking my ribs on that last outing in Idaho. Falling on a snowboard comes fast and hard. Ellie knows, check out that photo of her below.

What really helped me today was renting some snowboard boots. I started out in my snow boots, trying to save some money. That was a mistake. I felt totally uncoordinated on my first couple of runs. It only took a few minutes to rent some boots and I improved dramatically. My two key lessons for today were proper boots and keeping my back straight.

To go out with Ellie, I first had to acquire a snowboard. I bought a ten year old K2 off Craigslist on Monday for $30. The guy wanted $40 but then we both noticed a screw missing from the bindings. For my speed, the one screw isn’t critical. I might buy some newer bindings though off Craigslist this week. I don’t need new gear at my novice level of experience. I just need to keep up with Ellie. We started out on the magic carpet and worked our way onto the lift after a few initial runs.
Today’s weather was unbelievably warm and sunny. Neither of us wore gloves. We’re going to try to get up another weekend or two before spring break to work on our skills. Then, we plan to join the Sebesta’s at the start of spring break at the Stockert’s cabin in Breck. And we plan on boarding another couple of days at the end of break in Keystone. I’m confident Ellie and I will be real snowboarders by the end of the season. We lunched at the end of today at the Black Forest in Nederland. Awesome day!

Rainbow Lakes

23 Sunday Mar 2014

Posted by Ed Mahoney in Snowshoe

≈ 4 Comments

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Black Forest Restaurant, Nederland, Sourdough Trail

After a month long break, Karen and I headed back up the hill to continue our snowshoe season. The drive up was icy and we only drove about 35 mph. The Peak-to-Peak Hwy 72 was in better shape and we decided on the fly to pass up our previous trailheads and launch from Rainbow Lakes. The entrance to this trailhead is almost exactly five miles south of the road to Brainard Lake. This is the south end of the Sourdough Trail, which we hiked in a northerly direction.

We expected cooler weather but we stepped out of the minivan into full sun and 30° with very little wind. Zero wind on the trail in the trees. I was surprised at how large the parking area is at the trailhead, which sits less than a half mile off the highway. I left my jacket in the car and Karen tied hers’ around her waist. A woman cross country skier headed out ahead of us and we saw two other couples on the trail. Otherwise I imagine everyone else was home today watching March Madness. Couch potatoes missed an awesome day to be in the mountains.

We slogged for one and a half miles, up hill the entire way, before turning around. We got in three miles in ninety minutes. The ascent made for a great workout. The trailhead sits at 9200 feet and we turned around at 9800 feet.

We decided to drive back through Nederland since it was closer than Lyons. We lunched at the Black Forest. I recalled eating their steak tartare once before so I ordered that again. So satisfying. Karen savored the fresh fish catch of the day – trout sautéed with parsley butter and lemon, potatoes and vegetables . Just another perfect snowshoe outing.

This is likely our last of the season. We’re thinking of spending next weekend in Denver with the kids to see a play and the Denver Art Museum. I have surgery after that and won’t be active for possibly three months. That might make this blog somewhat inactive. I’m blogging about my medical escapades on another site. Here’s a link if you’re interested and can handle graphic content.