After resting my tired body, off I went to the slopes again. Visibility was very poor, and it was snowing heavily. The day’s weather forecast was a mix of rain and sunshine with temperature of negative 10 degrees on top of the mountain. Not really the best time to snowboard.
In the back of my mind, I can see myself falling a hundred times that I can feel the pain of it already. Why was I projecting negative energy when I know all the positive mantra tools? And so I tapped into the energy and hope I have left. Indeed, thoughts are powerful. My excitement rose up.
This is my second time going up on a chairlift, an aerial steel chair that lifts three to four persons from one terminal to another, up to a vertical rise of over 600 meters. My heavy snowboard dangles from my right foot which makes the ride quite uncomfortable. I was hoping that a snowboarder would join me on the way up, and to my surprise, there he was.
Oliver, a professional snowboarder from Berlin, Germany, has been practicing the sport for eight years. I’m surprised he didn’t mind joining me, after seeing my amateur moves earlier. Breaking the ice, I hit off the conversation by asking how he finds his stay and where he came from. Then I went straight to my favorite topic – snowboarding. Introducing myself as an author with a blog, I asked permission if I can record our conversation and he willingly agreed. Carpe diem!
To avoid injuries while dismounting the chairlift, Oliver said one must always point the board on the direction of the hill or where the lift is going. The next step is to prepare your body to a standing position and put forward one leg, that which is not strapped to the snowboard, next to the bindings. Once you are about five inches to the ground, give yourself a little push off the chairlift and then slide forward. He said it is okay if I fall, just get up again.
