Hi Friend,
Greeting from Newark.
The weather is starting to warm up around here in Delaware. The ski resorts nearby that my friends and I frequented all of winter have closed for the season. As our rental snowboards are due next weekend we decided to finish off our 2022-23 ski/snowboard season with a big trip.
We drove 7 hours up north to Stowe Mountain Resort in Vermont. The weather up there was still cold and it had snowed 2ft in the week leading up to this trip.
After work on Friday, we packed our gear in the car trunk and left on our drive, stopping only at a Chic-Fil-A to grab dinner. The drive was scattered with silly jokes, jamming to a range of songs, and trash talking about football teams. Once we got off the main highway and onto the dark barren back roads of Vermont, we even tried to scare each other with horror stories. By the time we reached our hotel and were ready for bed it was 1 am.
We managed to get a few hours of sleep and were at the resort at bright and early at 8:30 am. We geared up and headed for the trails.
The first few trails were sketchy because it had rained the previous night and the snow had turned into a sheet of ice. It didn’t feel like snowboarding it felt more like ice skating. On one of the trails, I couldn’t control my balance and fell down at a weird angle on my face. My phone that I had in my jacket pocket jabbed me in the stomach and knocked the wind out of me. Took me a few minute to get back up.
To get better snow conditions, we decided to go on the higher trails. A nice 10 minute gondola ride took us to the top of Mt. Mansfield. The views from the top were gorgeous. The valley below covered in patches of white snow. The cars and houses looking like ant colonies.
The higher up the mountain you go, the longer the trails are to come down. These trails were at least 4-5 times longer than any of the other trails I had done in the past. The slopes were also steeper. I had to use more than normal energy to manage my speeds and making my S-shaped turns so that I don’t go down the mountain like a torpedo. It was challenging.
My muscles weren’t used to these longer trails and it was tiring. We retired a couple hours early before the closing time and returned to the hotel. But it was fun at the end of the day.
Snowboarding is an individual and a team sport, the act of snowboarding itself needs individual skills but having friends along makes you enjoy it more. I’m glad I had my friends tag along to these snowboarding trips almost every other weekend this winter. Having the Epic Pass ensured that it didn’t cost us a kidney each to afford these weekend shenanigans.
As this season comes to an end, I have a sense of pride that I picked up a new skill. I went from the bunny hills at my local ski resort trying to learn to balance on the board to cruising on the steeper slopes in Vermont. Super proud of the progress I have made this winter. This was a memorable season for me and I’m excited to see what the next season brings.
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📺 Jolly
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I started with their video of British High School Kids react to memes and then ended up binge watching videos about them trying Korean food. Pick any random video from their channel and I’m sure it will brighten up your day.
Quote of the week
In the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years.
- Abraham Lincoln
Thank you for reading.
I really appreciate your attention.
Your Friend,
Shubham