Today I went for my first snowboarding trip in Canada.
I set off at 7am picking up Dale & James along the way. Lake Louise opened last week, but only one lift & a token number of runs. Sunshine opened on Thursday with about half the available lifts open, & Dale had been there on Friday, so we figured we'd give it a go. The two main peaks shown on the trail map above were closed.
The day just didn't go to plan after that. James couldn't find his gloves & I had to stop for fuel, so we got there later than we would have liked. Then I struggled to get my new gear rigged up properly & the guys had to wait. Once we got going, it was disastrous for me. My first run was hopeless & I was back to being a beginner. Dale spotted that my bindings were too close together & we reset them. After that it was a whole new ball game. My balance & confidence returned & I started having fun.
The rest of the day went OK considering the crowds. I was cruising along for a while until my body gave started to fail me, then the rocks started to appear through the thin snow cover. We called it quits about 3pm & headed for home.
Hopefully the other resorts will open up soon, along with the remaining lifts at Louise & Sunshine. There is so much potential in these mountains!
